ISG Research Insights into Data Intelligence and Self-Service Access

Matt Aslett, Director of Research, Analytics and Data at ISG Research, recently wrote about the importance of data catalogs, data intelligence, and the need for self-service access in an Analyst Perspective on the Actian Data Intelligence Platform. He notes that the “acquisition of Zeenea provides the company with much of the functionality to provide the data intelligence catalog and data product capabilities required to facilitate data democratization.” 

The Essential Role of Data Catalogs in Data Discovery

According to ISG Research, while multiple types of data catalogs address specific use cases and user roles, the data intelligence catalog is an emerging category. This type of catalog combines technical metadata, business metadata, and data governance capabilities with knowledge graph functionality to give users a holistic, business-level view of data production and usage. 

Aslett wrote, “Actian’s 2024 acquisition of Zeenea was designed to add these capabilities as a complement to its established data platform, data integration, and data quality functionality.” 

The Need for Data Intelligence

Aslett expects that through 2027, 75% of organizations will launch data intelligence strategies to gain a deeper understanding of when, how, and where data an organization’s data is being used.  

“As enterprises seek to increase data-driven decision-making, many are investing in strategic data democratization initiatives to provide business users and data analysts with self-service access to data across the enterprise,” Aslett explained.

Self-Service Data Access: A Long-Awaited Reality

Having self-service data access has been a long-standing goal for many companies. Yet only 15% of participants in ISG’s Analytics and Data Benchmark Research say their organization is very comfortable allowing business users to work with data that’s not been integrated or prepared for them by IT.

Aslett summarized his perspective by writing “I recommend that any enterprises engaged in data intelligence initiatives and exploring the potential for data products include Actian within their evaluations.”

Want to learn more about the Actian Data Intelligence Platform? Get a copy of the Analyst Perspective for additional insights or connect with one of our experts.

About Actian Corporation

Actian makes data easy. Our data platform simplifies how people connect, manage, and analyze data across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments. With decades of experience in data management and analytics, Actian delivers high-performance solutions that empower businesses to make data-driven decisions. Actian is recognized by leading analysts and has received industry awards for performance and innovation. Our teams share proven use cases at conferences (e.g., Strata Data) and contribute to open-source projects. On the Actian blog, we cover topics ranging from real-time data ingestion, data analytics, data governance, data management, data quality, data intelligence to AI-driven analytics.