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Demand for advanced data platforms is likely to grow significantly over the next three years as more organizations adopt intelligent applications driven by GenAI and other forms of artificial intelligence, a new research report from leading global technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III) finds.

The ISG Data Platforms Buyers Guide, produced by ISG Software Research (formerly Ventana Research), says that by the end of 2027, the development of intelligent applications providing personalized experiences through the use of GenAI will increase demand for hybrid data platforms capable of supporting both operational and analytical processing.

Despite the anticipated growing demand for hybrid data platforms, the report says there will continue to be a role for specialist analytic and operational data platforms to support a range of intelligent applications that might rely on real-time analytic or operational processing to deliver functionality and contextual recommendations or processing.

“The importance of advanced data platforms capable of supporting both operational and analytic workloads has been accentuated by an increased investment in artificial intelligence,” said Matt Aslett, director of analytics and data research at ISG. “While data-driven companies continue to use specialist analytic and data science platforms to train models offline, the need for online predictions and recommendations requires operational data platforms that are capable of performing AI inferencing in real-time.”

Adoption of GenAI capabilities by data platform providers remains relatively nascent, the study says. Among the more than 40 providers evaluated by ISG, only about one quarter (10) have generally available digital assistant capabilities for converting natural language questions into database queries. A further ten have natural language query capabilities in preview, while the remainder have such capabilities in development.

Data platforms are essential for organizing, managing, and analyzing data within an enterprise, supporting operational applications for business operations and analytic applications for business evaluation. Additionally, data operations platforms and tools, as well as data intelligence platforms and tools, complement data platforms by enabling agile development and facilitating a better understanding of data production and consumption.

When choosing a data platform, the primary consideration is whether the workload to be run on the platform is operational or analytic. Operational data platforms support applications for running the business, such as finance, operations, sales and customer experience, while analytic data platforms are used for decision support, business intelligence, data science and AI/ML analysis.

ISG research finds the data platforms market is shifting from traditional relational data models to a proliferation of non-relational data platforms, including the use of NoSQL databases and object storage. The report also notes the increasing importance of intelligent operational applications driven by AI is blurring the traditional segmentation between operational and analytic data platforms.

“The use of data platforms is essential to the digital foundation of every enterprise and to the governed utilization of AI, which overall needs to be trusted and used securely, but also must be reliable and adaptable to the systems across the cloud and on-premises environments,” said Mark Smith, partner, ISG Software Research.

For its 2024 Data Platforms Buyers Guides, ISG evaluated software providers across three data platform categories – Data Platforms, Operational Data Platforms, and Analytic Data Platforms – and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 42 unique software providers were assessed: Actian, Aerospike, Aiven, Alibaba Cloud, AWS, Cloudera, Cockroach Labs, Couchbase, Databricks, DataStax, Dremio, EDB, EXASOL, Google Cloud, Huawei Cloud, IBM, Incorta, InterSystems, KX, MariaDB, Microsoft, MongoDB, Neo4j, OpenText, Oracle, Percona, PingCAP, PlanetScale, Progress Software, Redis, Salesforce, SAP, ScyllaDB, SingleStore, Snowflake, SQream, Starburst Data, Tencent Cloud, Teradata, TigerGraph, VMware by Broadcom and Yugabyte.

ISG Software Research designates the top three software providers as Leaders in each category. For the 2024 study, the leading providers in ranked order are:

Data Platforms: Oracle, IBM and Microsoft

Operational Data Platforms: Oracle, IBM and Microsoft

Analytic Data Platforms: Oracle, Teradata and IBM

The ISG Buyers Guides for Data Platforms are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments.

Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Data Platforms Buyers Guides and read the executive summaries for each of the three reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Software Research.

About ISG Software Research

ISG Software Research, previously Ventana Research, provides authoritative market research and coverage of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its on-demand service provides structured education and advisory support through subject-matter experts. ISG Buyers Guides support the RFI/RFP process and help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessment services and the ISG Software Research Value Index methodology. Visit www.ventanaresearch.com for more information and to sign up for free community membership.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including AI and automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.