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Data Engineer at GISbiz
Real User
Top 5
Used to query databases, but it is slower than other available tools
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is used to query MySQL clients and store data and documentation."
  • "It would be good if the tool could show the output from the records while querying."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the solution to query databases.

What is most valuable?

The solution is used to query MySQL clients and store data and documentation.

What needs improvement?

It would be good if the tool could show the output from the records while querying.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Alation Data Catalog for one and a half years.

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Alation Data Catalog
November 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sometimes, the solution's stability was low, but it was mostly fine.

I rate the solution’s stability a six out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

We had no issues integrating the solution with Redshift. Alation Data Catalog is a good tool for analytics, but we need to go for some other tools for reporting. Alation Data Catalog is mostly a tool for querying. We need to integrate it with other third-party tools for reporting.

Redshift, AWS, and MySQL tools are better than Alation Data Catalog for querying purposes. MySQL and Databricks are visually appealing and faster tools than Alation Data Catalog.

Even though Alation Data Catalog is a free tool, we can check other available tools. If other tools perform well, we can choose them over Alation Data Catalog.

Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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PeerSpot user
Hariprasath Thiyagaraj - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager - Data Governance, Master Data Systems at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
User-friendly for technical users but problems with stability and data governance
Pros and Cons
  • "Alation Data Catalog's best feature is the SQL query publication."
  • "Alation Data Catalog needs to develop a lot in terms of data governance and would be improved with a built-in interactive data quality solution."

What is our primary use case?

I use Alation Data Catalog for metadata management and data ownership, quality, and lineage.

What is most valuable?

Alation Data Catalog's best feature is the SQL query publication.

What needs improvement?

Alation Data Catalog needs to develop a lot in terms of data governance and would be improved with a built-in interactive data quality solution. It also has fewer features than competitors like Informatica and has issues with integration. In the next release, Data Catalog should include a visualization feature for data quality and profiling.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Alation Data Catalog for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Data Catalog is not stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Data Catalog is easy to scale.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward because Alation has a good IT team who helped us. Installation took two to three weeks.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I've also evaluated Informatica and Collibra and found that Informatica is the best data governance solution on the market right now.

What other advice do I have?

Alation Data Catalog is more user-friendly for technical users than business users. I would rate it five out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Alation Data Catalog
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Alation Data Catalog. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Business Intelligence Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
MSP
Top 20
The solution enables users to customize templates, but it is expensive, and the interface is not user-friendly compared to some of the other products in the market
Pros and Cons
  • "We can customize templates based on our use cases."
  • "The interface is not user-friendly."

What is most valuable?

We can use the tool to put additional information about things. People can go through articles and get detailed knowledge. We can also create queries. We can customize templates based on our use cases. We can use API. We can create forms for the user.

What needs improvement?

It was not very clear how to connect to databases. The interface is not user-friendly. Some things in the interface must be made user-friendly. Some features are quite technical. A non-technical user might find the tool difficult to use.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for one or two months.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I used OvalEdge two years ago. A non-technical person also can use OvalEdge quite easily. It enables users to connect to a database, crawl, and extract the metadata. It was not quite easy to do the same in Alation Data Catalog. OvalEdge is quite user-friendly. We can create rules behind the data and add data dictionaries and glossaries.

In Alation, we can write a complete article for a specific object and link it to different tables and columns so the user can easily navigate to a particular object or table. OvalEdge is cheaper, though.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is a little expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I have gone through the training for Alation Data Catalog. Overall, I rate the product a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Alation Data Catalog Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Alation Data Catalog Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.