Gartner’s® September release of the “Market Guide for Data Management Platforms” delivered clear direction to technology leaders:
“A data management platform is an integrated and dynamic data environment for managing data with operational simplicity, catering to technical and business users’ needs. [Companies] can use the technology in this emerging market to reduce silos, and to augment their data for current and innovative use cases.”1
The good news is Quest Software is already there – and we are the only company offering a fully converged data management platform.
Rather than relying on disconnected point solutions, we offer a platform that enables organizations to manage, govern, and activate data consistently across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. This approach directly aligns with Gartner’s guidance and positions Quest well ahead of the curve.
Our erwin Data Management Platform brings together data intelligence, modeling, governance, metadata management and AI-driven use cases into a single integrated platform, the very capabilities Gartner identifies as essential for the future of data management. It is the only platform in the industry that spans from data modeling to data product to marketplace, underpinned by trust scores and AI model certification to ensure reliable, successful AI. Organizations using the erwin Data Management Platform have already seen a 54% faster increase in trusted data products, improving data accuracy, all while reducing costs.
Gartner predicts that by 2028, mandatory features of converged platforms will include unified capabilities for full support, metadata management, data integration, data quality, data governance, and platform-based pricing.
Quest’s erwin Data Management Platform already meets those standards today giving organizations the trusted foundation they need to move at the speed AI requires, with confidence, clarity, and control.
At Quest Software, we’ve long believed that metadata is the foundation of trusted data, and that trusted data is the foundation of successful AI. Without accurate, well-documented metadata, underpinned by modeling, AI outputs can quickly become biased and unreliable. Metadata management provides every piece of data with a clear identity — showing where it came from, what it means, and how it’s been used. Effective metadata management connects technical details with business context, so teams can confidently turn raw data into reliable insights. This belief, and the strength of our platform, led Gartner to recognize Quest as a Challenger in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Metadata Management Solutions, focusing on three key strengths:
- Robust governance and modeling: Strong foundation in semantic modeling, virtual stewards, and automated policy enforcement ensures trusted, high-quality data.
- Data marketplace and productization: Enables curation, scoring, and monetization of datasets and AI models, driving a “data as a product” approach.
- Automation and efficiency: Integrates automation into modeling and governance, reducing errors, saving time, and ensuring continuous compliance.
But metadata is just one part of the full data lifecycle. The greater opportunity – and where the industry is headed – is in unifying all aspects of data management into a single, converged platform. Gartner’s own research reinforces this trajectory, and Quest is already operating in that future.
What sets Quest apart
Quest Software is uniquely positioned in the data management landscape as the only vendor that operates deeply across both the metadata and data domain. While most companies focus on either metadata (the context, lineage, and governance around data) or the data itself (through databases, replication, and performance optimization), Quest does both. Our erwin platform delivers rich active metadata management, while other Quest solutions like Foglight, SharePlex, and Toad manage, move, and monitor live data across environments like Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Databricks, and Snowflake. This unique combination allows us to not only describe and govern the data but also act on it – bridging the gap between data design, operation, and governance in a way no other company can.
This approach empowers customers to build AI ready data pipelines with verified lineage and context, accelerate governance and compliance across hybrid environments, and enable collaboration between business and technical teams through shared understanding.
In a market where organizations are racing to deploy AI and make it profitable, metadata is one of the connective tissues that ensures data integrity, transparency, and accountability – and Quest provides the platform that brings it all together.
Looking ahead
While we are pleased to be recognized by Gartner in their Metadata Management MQ2 for the work we did in early 2025, we are most proud of our broader converged management platform and being the only vendor with a model first approach that meets the vision that Gartner has outlined.
As we continue to invest in AI innovation, enhanced user experiences and operational excellence, our goal remains clear: to be the foundational platform that enables every organization to accelerate AI adoption and drive measurable business value.
- Gartner, Market Guide for Data Management Platforms, Robert Thanaraj, Ehtisham Zaidi, Adam Ronthal, Sharat Menon, September 2, 2025.
- Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Metadata Management Solutions, Melody Chien, Thornton Craig, Guide De Simoni, Roxane Edjlali, November 19, 2025.
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