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Alation Data Catalog vs Microsoft Purview Data Governance comparison

Alation and Microsoft are both solutions in the Data Governance category. Alation is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.4, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.6. Alation holds a 6.3% mindshare in DG, compared to Microsoft’s 23.7% mindshare. Additionally, 76% of Alation users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.
Alation Data Catalog
Read 11 Alation Data Catalog reviews
  • 6,264 Views
  • 3,771 Comparison Views
76% willing to recommend
Microsoft Purview Data Gove...
Read 56 Microsoft Purview Data Governance reviews
  • 19,357 Views
  • 10,013 Comparison Views
83% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Alation Data Catalog and Microsoft Purview Data Governance are competing products in the data governance category. Microsoft Purview appears to have more robust features, especially in terms of functionality and integration with the Microsoft ecosystem.

Features: Alation Data Catalog offers strong collaboration tools, an easy-to-navigate user interface, and advanced data lineage capabilities. These features enhance data transparency and understanding. Microsoft Purview excels in compliance capabilities, integration with Microsoft services, and provides comprehensive data protection across multi-cloud environments. It also has a powerful data cataloging tool that automates metadata management.

Room for Improvement: Alation could improve its integration capabilities with non-Microsoft platforms and enhance its data governance features beyond SQL query publication. It also lacks support for comprehensive compliance needs. Microsoft Purview could enhance its automation for metadata management and improve its user interface for better ease of use. There is also room to expand its multi-cloud functionalities to include more platforms seamlessly.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Alation offers a straightforward deployment process, facilitating a quick setup with strong support throughout integration. Microsoft Purview provides a seamless deployment for businesses already within the Microsoft Azure ecosystem, benefiting from Microsoft's well-established customer service aimed at resolving integration issues effectively.

Pricing and ROI: Alation Data Catalog offers competitive pricing with a quicker ROI, thanks to its collaborative features that improve productivity. Microsoft Purview involves higher initial costs but offers long-term value by leveraging its extensive features and seamless Azure integration, justifying the investment for larger enterprises looking for comprehensive solutions.

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Buyer's Guide
Alation Data Catalog vs. Microsoft Purview Data Governance
March 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Alation Data Catalog
Ranking in Data Governance
6th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (2nd)
Microsoft Purview Data Gove...
Ranking in Data Governance
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Alation Data Catalog is 6.3%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Governance is 23.7%, down from 25.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance
 

Featured Reviews

Brahma Lam - PeerSpot reviewer
Has metadata cataloging features but needs changes in domain model
The tool's metadata cataloging is the most valuable feature.  The tool's domain model needs to be changed.  Alation Data Catalog is stable.  The solution is scalable.  Alation Data Catalog's deployment is easy. I rate it a nine out of ten. Deployment takes only two to three hours to complete.…
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James McDowall - PeerSpot reviewer
The sensitivity and retention options in Purview are excellent
Some of the menu headings may not be easy to understand for some people. For example, when I first used Purview, I noticed that one of the self-compliance centers had changed its name. Microsoft has done a huge amount of updates, and sometimes it's hard to keep track of what Purview can do. We almost constantly have to explore it. Maybe Microsoft could have a 365 roadmap where we can look at upcoming features, or some kind of bulletin announcement for Purview users that explains new features and what they can do in simple terms. We could also look at the menu settings. In my experience of using Purview, we've never used it as an exclusive system for IT professionals or technical staff. We were very keen that other specialists around the business made use of some of these features because we thought that some of what Purview could do was relevant to other departments as well as IT. For example, we have HR managers and financial staff who use it. I think that some of the terminology in Purview is pitched toward IT and tech professionals, and it may not be immediately understood by other specialists. This is something that could be improved.
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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is cloud integration."
"We can customize templates based on our use cases."
"Given the relatively low level of maturity, Alation's most relevant feature at the moment is a user interface that's easy to navigate, which helps us find and understand the data. So while Alation has a lot more functionality, our pain point right now is being able to easily find, understand, and trust the information to use it."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the ALLIE AI feature."
"The most valuable features of Alation Data Catalog are the simplicity in onboarding data sources, the security in securing the data sources, and the way the various users of Alation Data Catalog communicate with each other through a messenger."
"We had some of our data science engineers, who had built out some cloud-based data and data products for users. They were spending a lot of their time, up to 30 to 35% of their time, answering questions about the data and helping people understand how to use it. Once they were able to document that information within Alation, they were only focusing on around 5% of the high-value questions that really couldn't be solved through the catalog itself. It freed them up to be more productive, it made their end-users more productive, and it made the adoption rate of their data products rise more quickly because people were able to get to using them."
"Alation Data Catalog's best feature is the SQL query publication."
"Alation Data Catalog provides a nice interface for connecting to the database, querying the data, and working on it."
More Alation Data Catalog pros
"One of the best features is the classification rules, especially the scan rule sets. They are really useful, especially when we need to understand the current data the company has to ensure that all the problematic data can be put under someone's responsibility."
"One important feature is data security, which both end users and the organization seek."
"Microsoft Purview is scalable."
"The audit log has been a lifesaver for a lot of reasons. Historically, when using SaaS products, there were always questions about how the audit was going and whether we were sufficient out of the box. Purview has many capabilities available through centralized reporting that provide a view of a specific segment."
"The custom classifications are one of the most valuable features."
"The time to onboard is pretty short."
"The feature that I find most valuable is its ability to block unintended data sharing, like forcing unencrypted emails to be encrypted. We're evolving technologically, so people aren't always working from their desks. Our people are on the move. We have data everywhere. For example, in airlines, they're mobile and working from one door to another. They can't carry a computer from one station to another. That's where a lot of airlines use iPads. Securing and integrating iPads is helpful."
"It is pretty early, but the decision to go with this investment was largely driven by the simplification of our information security technology management stack. That is the primary objective. Once you simplify and you have a connected structure, it allows for faster adoption there. It also gives us additional capabilities as we go on using the technology that we are familiar with, and we do not have to depend on outside parties to come in and tell us how to do certain things."
More Microsoft Purview Data Governance pros
 

Cons

"I know that this has been on their roadmap and they're working on it, but as a whole, there's an untapped reservoir of capabilities within their article features that could be used and built upon."
"The interface is not user-friendly."
"Data observability within Alation would be incredibly helpful for addressing these challenges"
"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 would be good if the tool could show the output from the records while querying."
"We have had issues setting up the connectors and getting Alation's support team to resolve issues."
"The product's data governance features need improvement."
"The tool's domain model needs to be changed."
More Alation Data Catalog cons
"One drawback of Microsoft Purview, though it's beneficial and easy to use, is that when you start plugging in connectors for third-party sources when setting the solution up for data collection, it becomes a bit more tricky."
"Privacy features should be integrated into the core product rather than offered as optional add-ons, as privacy is not a luxury but a fundamental requirement."
"The Microsoft Purview data connector platform, which supports ingestion from non-Microsoft data sources, can be somewhat complex."
"Setting up Purview in a production tenant proved challenging due to a lack of clear documentation on permission requirements."
"The product needs improvement to edit the number of assets. It needs to be more inuitive as well."
"While Microsoft Purview currently allows weekly scans for data sources, this limitation hinders the usefulness of the tool for frequently changing data."
"Some of the menu headings may not be easy to understand for some people."
"I lose a little bit of that control when we're talking about third-party connectors. Compliance-wise, I would like to see more ability to audit from a user perspective, where I could extrapolate what the user was thinking or trying to do."
More Microsoft Purview Data Governance cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is a little expensive."
"A three-year agreement is better than a one-year rolling 12-month agreement from a price point of view. I'd recommend looking at a three-year deal because you can't stand up a catalog and produce value in 12 months."
"The platform is moderately expensive compared to the other competitors in the market."
"I don't have all the details on the pricing side, but the solution was more expensive than originally expected."
"Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is not cheap."
"The price is reasonable considering its value."
"The pricing depends on the client's requirements and the number of applications."
"While Purview's standard pricing might not be accessible to most small businesses, we were fortunate to benefit from the educational pricing which made it a financially viable option for our needs."
"Purview's price is pretty high when you factor in storage costs."
"Microsoft Purview is the best option I have encountered when it comes to price. Maybe some of my information is outdated, but Microsoft offered it so that you could use it almost without paying."
"The pricing is decent. It is neither too low nor too high. Given its capabilities, the pricing is justified."
"The price is a little bit high, but it's worth the money because it has a lot of features."
More Microsoft Purview Data Governance pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Alation Data Catalog?
The platform's most valuable features are workflow automation, automated business metadata tagging, technical metadata tagging, and data integration with data quality tools or platforms.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alation Data Catalog?
I don't have all the details on the pricing side, but the solution was more expensive than originally expected. On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solut...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Alation Data Catalog?
When issues arise, two key concerns arise. First, how can we perform root cause analysis faster? Second, how can we optimize resource allocation, considering the associated costs? Every customer is...
See all answers
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Purview?
It is designed to seamlessly connect to various data sources, which is particularly beneficial for our customers who primarily use Microsoft technologies.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Purview?
The auto-tagging feature should be available at a lower licensing level.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Purview?
Auto-tagging should be available at lower levels of licensing. Right now, a high level of licensing is needed for auto-tagging, and this feature should be made available at a lower license level.
See all answers
 

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Alation Data Catalog
March 2025
Alation Data Catalog reportDownload Alation Data Catalog product report
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Purview Data Governance
March 2025
Microsoft Purview Data Governance reportDownload Microsoft Purview Data Governance product report
 

Also Known As

Alation
Microsoft Purview, MS Azure Purview
 

Overview

Alation pioneered the data catalog market and is now leading its evolution into a platform for a broad range of data intelligence solutions including data search & discovery, data governance, lineage, stewardship, analytics, and digital transformation.

Thanks to its powerful Behavioral Analysis Engine, inbuilt collaboration capabilities, and open interfaces, Alation combines machine learning with human insight to successfully tackle even the most demanding challenges in data and metadata management. With Alation, analysts are empowered to search, query and collaborate on their data to achieve faster, more accurate insights.

Trusted by 400+ enterprises worldwide like Salesforce, Nasdaq, LinkedIn, Finnair, and Cisco.

Alation

The new Microsoft Purview portal offers an enhanced governance experience, serving as a unified platform for managing and governing data across various sources, including Azure, Microsoft 365, on-premises, and multicloud environments. Designed to streamline governance, compliance, risk, and security efforts, the new portal provides a user-friendly interface and unlocks advanced features like live view and preset scans. Existing users of Microsoft Purview can upgrade to this enhanced experience, gaining access to improved user interface, enhanced capabilities, and consolidated management of data assets. Additionally, the upgrade sets the stage for future developments, including account consolidation and fine-grained access control.

Microsoft
 

Sample Customers

Salesforce, Snowflake, Citrix, eBay, TripAdvisor, Albertsons, Nasdaq, Pfizer, LinkedIn, Finnair.
Information Not Available
Buyer's Guide
Alation Data Catalog vs. Microsoft Purview Data Governance
March 2025
Free Report: Alation Data Catalog vs. Microsoft Purview Data Governance
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