Global enterprises are ramping up long-awaited investments in data management software to meet the rising demands of artificial intelligence (AI), according to new research from Information Services Group (ISG), a leading technology research and advisory firm.
Companies increasingly understand that scaling AI requires immediate access to curated, high-quality, and trusted data. However, many organizations admit that their current data is not adequate, pushing them to strengthen data management practices and accelerate their AI strategies.
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The ISG Buyers Guides for Data Management, released by ISG Software Research, evaluates 42 software providers and their solutions to support intelligent, enterprise-wide data management. While businesses have long considered data management a cornerstone of IT strategy, ISG emphasizes that its role has become even more critical as AI initiatives rely heavily on well-integrated, reliable data.
“Enterprises recognize that successfully deploying AI at scale requires instant access to trusted and curated data of all kinds,” said Matt Aslett, director of research, Analytics and Data, for ISG Software Research. “Many have recognized their data is not fit for purpose and are improving data management to accelerate future AI initiatives.”
According to the report, data management spans multiple functions, including integration, governance, and quality assurance. These functions enable enterprises to collect, store, and process data securely while aligning with both business goals and regulatory requirements.
For example, data integration allows organizations to merge information from various platforms, helping them design value-driven use cases like personalized customer offers. ISG predicts that by 2027, three-quarters of enterprises will adopt data fabric technologies to orchestrate these complex data pipelines across multi-cloud environments.
Furthermore, the study highlights the symbiotic link between data governance and AI. Governance ensures that data remains cataloged, protected, and reliable, while AI streamlines governance processes. This relationship becomes especially important for generative AI (GenAI), where governance safeguards sensitive data and minimizes risks of harmful outputs.
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Ensuring data trust also demands master data management (MDM). ISG expects three-quarters of enterprises to adopt MDM and data quality tools by 2027 to strengthen both AI and business intelligence (BI) applications. In addition, data intelligence software is emerging as a vital enabler, allowing business users and analysts to easily discover, access, and apply data effectively.
For its 2025 Buyers Guides, ISG assessed providers across six platform categories: Data Integration, Data Governance, Data Quality, Master Data Management, and Data Intelligence. Leading vendors such as Informatica, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, Google Cloud, SAP, and Databricks earned top recognition.
“The need for more unified and secured data management presents enterprises with a complex set of requirements that can be hard to meet with existing software,” explained Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst at ISG Software Research. “This research reveals the comparative strengths of data management software providers and how their products can help companies orchestrate data architectures for AI deployments.”
Conducted over more than a year, ISG’s Buyers Guides serve as an independent, non-sponsored benchmark to help enterprises make informed decisions and maximize returns on software investments.
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