What is Metadata Management Software?

Metadata are the key characteristics of recorded data, including but not limited to data type, storage location, size, version, and connection to hardware or software. Metadata allows data to be easier to locate and retrieve, faster to identify, and more efficient to use for specific use cases. Thus, Metadata Management Software improves the maintenance and administration of metadata by providing a centralized format for this information to be collected, accessed, and analyzed. This facilitates faster and more robust data utilization and analytics processes.

Metadata Management Software ensures that you can edit and control data categorization. These tools reduce the complexity of data recordkeeping, allowing for easier data consolidation and management. Since Metadata Management Software organizes and tracks information about data, it can help you identify and appropriately handle sensitive content. This also makes Metadata Management Software useful for ensuring that governance, regulation, and compliance standards are met.

Metadata Management Software is similar to Master Data Management (MDM) Software in that they both consolidate, process, and analyze data information. However, Metadata Management Software is concerned exclusively with metadata and keeps data information separated and stored in repositories. Master Data Management (MDM) Software identifies and manages all data deemed essential, which may include metadata as well as other data sources, and then compiles these sources into a single master file.

Metadata Management Software Features

Metadata Management Software typically includes the following features:

Data asset extraction, aggregation, and cataloging
Automated data asset annotation
Data asset relationship mapping and pattern analysis
Data asset modeling
Data asset lineage and movement tracking
Data context management
Data asset governance
Data asset profiling
Risk and compliance management and tracking
Custom data dictionary and glossary creation
External data dictionary and glossary importing
Data integration and integrity control
Data use and dependency visualization
Data search and discovery
Dataset exportation
Impact analysis
Semantic search
Collaborative and group functionality
User access control and authorization
Customizable GUI and UX tools
NoSQL support
Big data support
Object Storage support and referencing
Knowledge databases

Metadata Management Software Comparison

When comparing Metadata Management Software, these are the most common considerations:

Type of data. The type of data you need to manage metadata for will play a major role in choosing the best product for you. Many vendors offer industry or data-specific products to help efficiently integrate their solutions into your workflow. For example, if you anticipate working with big data, ASG Technologies Data Intelligence has specific support for these sources. Alternatively, Collibra can efficiently manage metadata coming from the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Data relationship tools. Metadata can detail how data interact with each other, which in turn provides insight into customer behavioral patterns, data access trees, and other useful information. How a product handles identifying these relationships will be important to consider. Automated discovery from Io-Tahoe allows ‘dark’ data relationship discovery, illuminating obscure or unexpected relationships in structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data. Smartlogic Semaphore offers a customizable rules-driven approach to relationship tracking, which includes identifying and handling sensitive data appropriately. This makes Semaphore a great option for industries such as healthcare and financial services.

Data analytics tools. Related to data relationship tools, you’ll want to consider how deeply the Metadata Management Software allows you to report, visualize, and export findings on individual data or changes in data over time. For example, IBM Watson Knowledge Catalog offers impact analysis and dynamic information management, allowing users to identify the relative importance of individual data items within their native environments. Alex Solutions offers a wide range of visualization and reporting tools, granting great visibility into data assets.

System compatibility. You’ll want to make sure your Metadata Management Software seamlessly and effectively complements your current workflow. A solution’s platform, application, language, and architecture compatibility will be crucial in successful integration. Informatica is platform and app agnostic, and supports the widest array of information architectures.

Indirect costs. Metadata management is important because it touches on many corners of your organization, including the areas you may not think of first, or by finding previously unseen relationships in your data. For this reason, there may be costs outside of licensing, including new or adapted IT or security measures, additional training, or unexpected issues stemming from improper data management. Regardless of your choice of Metadata Management Software, you’ll want to make sure that you can reduce the likelihood of indirect costs.

Pricing Information

Metadata Management Software tends to be enterprise grade and thus requires price quoting and custom pricing plans based on your business needs. Plans tend to be subscription based, with the lowest tiers ranging from $50 to $1300 per month per user at the lowest levels. Free trials and demos are available. Apache Atlas is a free, open-source Metadata Management Software, which will require the user to personally install, integrate, and update the product.

Operating Systems	Unspecified
Mobile Application	No

Azure Data Catalog

Cloudera Data Platform

Qlik Catalog

Collibra

Atlan

Informatica Cloud Data Quality

TIBCO EBX

Informatica MDM & 360 Applications

SAP Master Data Governance

Alteryx

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Informatica Cloud Data Governance

SAP Information Steward