We are happy to share some insights about IBM drawn from our latest market research, Ventana Research Buyers Guide: DataOps, which assesses how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements.
We recently published four Ventana Research 2023 DataOps Buyers Guides, an assessment of technology vendors and products that provide individual and combined DataOps, data 
observability, data orchestration and data pipeline platform support.
At Ventana Research, we continue to believe that, for most use-cases, there is a clear choice for DataOps platforms for any use in your organization. We developed four technology assessments and buyers guides to focus on overall DataOps requirements as well as specific data observability, data orchestration and data pipeline platform use-cases.
In all of our Buyers Guides, we utilize a structured research methodology called the Value Index that includes evaluation categories designed to reflect real-world criteria incorporated in a request for proposal (RFP) and vendor selection process for DataOps. We evaluated IBM and 17 other vendors in seven categories, five relevant to the product (adaptability, capability, manageability, reliability and usability) and two related to the vendor (TCO/ROI and vendor validation).
In the overall DataOps Buyers Guide, our analysis classified IBM as Exemplary, receiving an overall grade of B++ with a 75.9% performance. IBM’s best grouped results came in Customer Experience at 86.5% performance 
and A- grade due in part to its A- in TCO/ROI. In Product Experience, IBM received a B+ grade with a 74.1% performance due to its 69.9% performance in Capability. IBM was designated a Leader in Overall, Product Experience, Customer Experience, Adaptability, Capability, Manageability, Usability and TCO/ROI. IBM did not participate in the RFI process.
IBM’s B+ grade in Product Experience was impacted by its B+ in Capability where it could improve data observability functionality and enhance data pipeline development and collaboration. Customer Experience was impacted by its A- in Validation where it could better articulate its processes and documentation in relation to sales and onboarding.
IBM performed best in Customer Experience with an A- grade, notably in TCO/ROI, where it was a Leader with an A- grade due to its strategic value and business case. In Product Experience, it did well in Usability where it was a Leader with an A- grade, due to its user experience and accessibility.
In the Data Observability Buyers Guide, our analysis classified IBM as Exemplary, receiving an overall grade of B++ with a 78.0% performance. IBM’s best grouped results came in Customer Experience at 86.5% performance and
an A- grade due in part to its A in TCO/ROI. In Product Experience, IBM received a B++ grade with a 75.8% performance due to its 86.2% performance in Usability. IBM was designated a Leader in all categories of this evaluation. IBM did not participate in the RFI process.
IBM’s B++ grade in Product Experience was impacted by its B in Capability where it could improve support for agile and collaborative practices as well as the prevention of data reliability issues. Customer Experience was nominally impacted by its A- grade in Validation where it could better articulate its sales and onboarding processes.
IBM performed best in Customer Experience with an A- grade, notably in TCO/ROI, receiving an A due to its articulation of strategic value and help for building a business case. In Usability, IBM score well in relation to accessibility and user experience, earning an A-. IBM’s scalability and continuity led to its A- grade in Reliability.
In the Data Orchestration Buyers Guide, our analysis classified IBM as Exemplary, receiving an overall grade of B++ with a 78.7% performance. IBM’s best grouped results came in Customer Experience at 86.5% 
performance and an A- grade due in part to its A in TCO/ROI. In Product Experience, IBM received a B++ grade with a 76.6% performance due to its 86.2% performance in Usability. IBM was designated a Leader Overall as well as in Product Experience, Customer Experience, Adaptability, Manageability, Usability and TCO/ROI. IBM did not participate in the RFI process.
IBM’s B++ grade in Product Experience was impacted by its B+ in Capability where it could enhance its support for agile and collaborative practices. Customer Experience was impacted by its A- grade in Validation where it could provide more information related to sales and onboarding.
IBM performed best in Customer Experience with an A- grade, notably in TCO/ROI where it received an A due to its articulation of strategic value. In Usability, IBM scored particularly well for accessibility. IBM’s focus on configuration and APIs led to its B++ grade in Adaptability.
In the Data Pipelines Buyers Guide, our analysis classified IBM as Exemplary, receiving an overall grade of B++ with a 78.1% performance. IBM’s best grouped results came in Customer Experience at 86.5% performance 
and A- grade due in part to its A- in both TCO/ROI and Validation. In Product Experience, IBM received a B++ with a 75.8% performance due to its 86.2% performance in Usability. IBM was designated an Overall Leader as well as a Leader in Product Experience, Customer Experience, Adaptability, Manageability, Usability and TCO/ROI. IBM did not participate in the RFI process.
IBM’s B++ grade in Product Experience was impacted by its B+ grade in Capability where it could enhance pipeline testing. Customer Experience was impacted by its A- grade in Validation where it could better articulate its sales and onboarding and customer references.
IBM performed best in Customer Experience with an A- grade and designation as Leader, notably in TCO/ROI where its A- and Leader designation was due to its articulation of strategic value and business benefits. In Usability, accessibility and users experience are strengths, earning the designation of Leader and an A- grade. IBM’s configuration and APIs led to its B++ in Adaptability and Leader designation.
This assessment was based on IBM Data Observability by Databand, Version 1.0.12, released September 2022; and Cloud Pak for Data, Version 4.7, released August 2023.
This research-based guide is the most comprehensive assessment of the value of DataOps software in the industry. Technology buyers can learn more about how to use our Buyers Guide by clicking here and included vendors that wish to learn more can click here. Click below to read the individual reports:
Data Observability Buyers Guide
Ventana Research
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