In any organization, data analysis is very important and for that, data lineage tools are recommended.
Conversely, data lineage tools are software systems that help companies and data analysts understand the source of their data and how it has evolved.
Check out the 15 best data lineage tools of 2021 below.
15 Best Data Lineage Tools
OvalEdge
The first data lineage tool on this list is OvalEdge.
OvalEdge is described as a data governance and data catalog toolset. It can be used to understand, find, govern, and regulate data. Also, the tool helps you deliver insights in the best ways. Everyone can make use of OvalEdge including novices and professionals alike.
The software works by crawling your system database to gather all available data to create a catalog. It indexes all this data and draws a lineage that shows the complete data cycle.
Also, the data is organized so you can easily access each one and get a data summary for easier comprehension. You can personalize the data using tags, user names, and other markers.
With OvalEdge, data scientists and analysts can easily collaborate. Furthermore, it engages with different data management platforms, business intelligence, and analytical platforms amongst others. Some of these include Amazon S3, Salesforce, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.
This software can be used via the web as it’s cloud-based or installed on Windows and Linux computers.
OvalEdge Pricing
OvalEdge features a simple pricing model and you have to pay annually.
- Starter Package – $100 per month per user
- Other Packages – Custom pricing
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Octopai
Octopai is a software platform for data lineage automation. The tool has features to help you find and understand your data. It’s a very fast data lineage tool and is easy to use.
You don’t need any installation as Octopai is completely cloud-based. This software is used by some top companies such as First Interstate Bank, QuoteWizard, CooperVision, etc.
Data Analysts, Data Scientists, BI managers, BI developers, Data Engineers, and Data architects can all make use of Octopai. In fact, Octopai works as an intelligent metadata management tool. Hence, users can quickly identify metadata from different systems easily and get a 360-degree view of the data journey. The simple search makes it easy for you to locate any reports or references.
As an automated software, Octopai helps eliminate manual data mapping. Being completely cloud-based makes it easy to migrate between systems. Notably, the software works hand in hand with Microsoft’s Power BI. You can seamlessly migrate business intelligence data from Octopai to Power BI.
Octopai Pricing
Octopai is a premium data lineage tool, but its pricing isn’t public. You’ll have to schedule a demo after which you talk with the team on how you’ll be charged.
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Collibra
Another best data lineage tool is Collibra.
This is a data intelligence cloud tool for discovering trusted data in any organization. Adobe, Honeywell, T-Mobile, and SouthWest are some renowned companies that use Collibra. Data lineage is just one of the products that Collibra features.
The Collibra data lineage tool extracts lineage data automatically from systems. It collects only important data to free up resources and it keeps the lineage up to date. When extracted, you get a detailed technical lineage with business-friendly visualization.
With the tool, you can carry out impact analysis via tables, business reports, or columns. Collibra ensures that your data comply with different regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and BCBS239. The Collibra data lineage tool integrates with Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft, Databricks, Snowflake, and Tableau.
Although it’s a cloud tool, you can install Collibra on Windows and Mac computers as well as iPads and iPhones. For the cloud, you can use it directly from the web or as SaaS.
Collibra Pricing
Collibra is a relatively expensive data lineage tool. Like some other tools, the pricing isn’t public and you have to chat with the support team to discuss pricing. However, Collibra pricing is usually based on the number of users.
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CloverDX
CloverDX is a popular data lineage tool developed to help solve data challenges. Notably, the tool is ideal for enterprise data management.
In addition, CloverDX features a developer-friendly visual designer. This is most beneficial to data novices as it makes the entire data design process not appear complex. The tool is ideal for data migration as repeatable tasks can be automated such that they are always completed on time.
The CloverDX data lineage tool cleans data and helps fix any error so consistency is not affected. The tool is available on Cloud, Windows, and Mac.
CloverDX Pricing
With CloverDX, you have the option to pay for a subscription or simply pay once to purchase the software. Both pricing plans are not public and you have to request a quote before settling on which price.
However, the starting price to purchase the software perpetually is around $5,000. You can use the CloverDX tool for free for 45 days.
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Datameer
Datameer provides data and analytics solutions to all industries. It’s a data lineage choice tool for many individuals and businesses because it is easy to use and their team provides quality support. The platform features two main products which are Datameer Spotlight and Datameer Spectrum – both are data engineering solutions.
With Datameer products, you have access to tools for discovering, accessing, modeling, and delivering data. There are also collaborating features to help data experts work with each other. Modeling and building data pipelines with Datameer requires no coding. It’s a complete visual process and you can count on its efficiency.
Furthermore, it’s very easy to discover the tools/data you need thanks to the Google-like search engine. You can use the Datameer tool in other cloud solutions including Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Google Cloud. Other platforms the tool integrates with include Oracle, Qlik, Teradata, SnowFlake, etc.
Datameer Pricing
Datameer pricing is based on the software edition and there are three main editions featured, which include:
- Personal Edition – $300 per year
- Workgroup Edition – $19,188 per year
- Enterprise Edition – Custom pricing
Note: You can first request a free trial before paying for any of the editions.
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Trifacta
Launched in 2012, Trifacta is described as a data wrangling software. The tool makes it easy for data professionals to combine artificial intelligence and human intelligence in accessing, transforming, and automating data pipelines. It’s a renowned tool because it is used by over 10,000 companies.
Trifacta helps you speed up data transformation by providing a visual and scalable data transformation solution. The visual profiles are relatively interactive, you can pick out the particular elements you want to work with as well as its transformation suggestions.
This data lineage tool ensures data quality by making it seamless for you to identify errors and outliers and also correct them. Also, with Trifacta, data pipeline automation takes just minutes.
This tool supports almost every cloud and open API available. This includes systems like SQL, Python, Spark, and dbt. Trifacta can only be used on the cloud and it integrates with Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, SnowFlake, and Databricks.
Trifacta Pricing
You have three pricing options with Trifacta, which include:
- Starter Plan – $80 per month per user
- Professional Plan – $400 per month per user
- Enterprise Plan – Custom pricing
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Atlan
Atlan works as a modern data workspace for data lineage, catalog, quality, and exploration. The software was developed for non-technical users with an open API architecture and it is quick to deploy.
With Atlan, you can quickly discover all your data assets with the help of powerful search algorithms. Furthermore, the software’s interface is intuitive and relatively easy to navigate. You can easily discover assets like intelligence reports and data tables.
Data lineage is automatically performed by the Atlan bot. The bot browses through SQL query history to create the data lineage and also discover and classify PII data. You can group data using tags, metadata, and other classifications. Furthermore, you can control the access levels of individual users, teams, and groups.
Atlan integrates with several third-party platforms including Snowflake, Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, Azure, Google Cloud, MySQL, Tableau, Power BI, etc.
Atlan Pricing
Atlan has three pricing plans. However, these are pay-as-you-go plans, so they don’t have a fixed subscription price. Nevertheless, they include:
- Atlan Starter – Up to 500 data assets
- Atlan Premier – Up to 3000 data assets
- Atlan Enterprise – Unlimited data assets
Note: You get a free trial with the first 2 plans.
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Alation
This is a data intelligence software launched in 2012. It is AI-driven and can help with data discovery, data lineage and governance, analytics, and transformation. The software works with a native cloud service – the Alation Cloud Service – which allows faster delivery.
Alation features an advanced behavioral analysis engine that discovers the deepest insights. With guided navigation, anyone can use this software seamlessly.
For data lineage, the software features an intelligent stewardship dashboard. It follows a people-first approach and cataloging, data classification, and stewardship can all be automated.
From the analysis reports, you get a detailed look at the effects caused by data changes which can help you manage risks. You can easily engage with others as the software encourages collaboration. Furthermore, the software automatically delivers quality flags, warnings, etc. to help you make the best decisions.
This software integrates with platforms like Einstein Analytics, Manta, Tableau, Kyle, Trifacta, etc. Alation is popular among top organizations like Pepsico, Motorola, ComED, etc.
Alation Pricing
To use the Alation data lineage software, create an account and schedule a demo. After that, you can discuss with the sales team to decide on a suitable pricing plan. Note that Alation charges per feature.
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Dremio
Dremio is described as a software platform for data liberation. The software can be used to migrate data warehouse workloads, move from on-prem to cloud, move off data warehouses, etc.
It’s a swift software that helps get rid of data transfer bottlenecks such that you can transfer large data between different applications effortlessly. The software works with Apache Arrow to deliver such speed. Hence, you can transfer data up to 1000x faster.
With Dremio, you can construct better data lineage using the best architecture. In fact, it is compatible with any compute engine. Using cloud data lake, you can modernize your data analytics with Dremio without affecting your workloads.
It eliminates the two main issues enterprises face when modernizing which are staging and rebuilding the data pipeline. You can connect with Azure, AWS, Preset, Tableau, Qlik, DellEMC, Looker, and a few other platforms.
Dremio Pricing
Dremio doesn’t have a transparent pricing structure. Nevertheless, after scheduling a demo and discussing with the team, you can get a quote to pay monthly, annually, or for a lifetime.
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Kylo
Launched by Teradata, Kylo is a renowned software for building data pipelines. The software has five key features which include ingesting, preparing, discovering, monitoring, and designing data. It is applicable as a data lake platform.
Kylo has features for metadata management, data governance, and data security. It’s an open-source software which makes it an advantage for programmers.
With the simple guided user interface (UI), data ingestion is seamless and the software features a pipeline template mechanism that makes it possible to connect it with any data source, data format, and deploy data into any target.
There’s the transformation feature for preparing data and Kylo also uses Apache Spark. Data exploration is carried out using the integrated metadata repository and the search system is Google-like. Kylo features modern methods of monitoring feeds.
The lineage process is visual so it’s easy for non-tech users, while data profiling is automatic. Using Apache NiFi, you can develop new pipeline templates to extend Kylo capabilities. Both platforms integrate seamlessly.
Kylo Pricing
Kylo is offered by Teradata under the Apache 2.0 license which makes it a free-to-use data lineage software.
Tokern
Here’s another best open-source data lineage software.
Tokern is useful for collecting, organizing, and analyzing data lake’s metadata. It’s simple to use and you can either use it to continuously collect metadata information or as a command-line app to quickly execute tasks. Not to mention, it is commonly used by data stewards, engineers, and analysts.
Tokern collects all data and delivers them in a centralized data catalog. Hence, you can manage all datasets and metadata from one point. You can create data lineage by programming using the featured APIs or simply use the available interactive graphs. The software scans through your entire infrastructure to track data lineage.
For data lineage, Tokern integrates with Snowflake, AWS Redshift, and BigQuery. The software integrates seamlessly with any of these platforms and you can start the building process with ETL scripts or your query history. You can easily deploy Tokern to GCP, AWS, and other cloud platforms.
Tokern also tracks PHI, PII, and other critical data. Furthermore, there’s the data dictionary that helps you manage correct data assets.
Tokern Pricing
Tokern is free to use. However, this could be because the tool is relatively new.
SentryOne Document
SentryOne provides an easy way of generating data lineage with the Document software. This software can generate data lineage from multiple sources to give a comprehensive detail of the data source and how it’s been handled over time.
SentryOne Document can source data from multiple platforms including SQL servers, Power BI, Azure, SSAS, SSIS, Excel, and other platforms. It’s easy to monitor data dependencies in your lineage as the process is visual.
With this data lineage tool, managing data documentation tasks is easy. Plus, it is available on the cloud or as desktop software.
Creating data lineage with the cloud software is very fast and since the platform is hosted on the cloud, you have less to manage. Furthermore, you can easily access your data and tasks from any device. The desktop software gives you more management options and it is highly configurable.
SentryOne Document Pricing
This software is available in three different versions and you have to pay annually in advance. They include:
- Essentials Version – $495 per year per user
- Standard Version – $795 per year per user
- Premium Version – $1,209 per year per user ($4,650 for 5 users & $8,799 for 10 users)
Note: You can contact the SentryOne sales team to discuss other discounts if you’re purchasing bulk licenses.
Axon Data Governance
The Axon Data Governance tool is an Informatica product. Its main uses are for data governance and data lineage. The software was developed to help enterprises deliver trusted data. It features AI-driven automation systems for streamlining data discovery, sharing, and quality assessment.
With the Axon Data Governance Tool, you get access to a curated data marketplace where you can easily find the right data you need. Furthermore, you can create a data dictionary with this tool.
Data lineage with the Axon Data Governance Tool is visualized. The software automatically monitors and measures data quality based on definitions off your data dictionary. If you’re concerned about security, you can count on this software’s risk and change impact assessment to ensure data privacy.
Axon Data Governance Pricing
Like all Informatica products, Axon Data Governance is priced privately. You have the option to test the tool for free after which you discuss with their Sales Rep to decide on pricing.
Truedat
With truedat, you can turn your data into a valuable business asset. The software was developed by Bluetab Solutions and its open source.
It works for cloud ingestion, data lake governance, data quality, etc. LaLiga, Telcel, BMN, Naturgy, and Bankia are some top organizations that use truedat.
Truedat provides a solution for end-to-end data governance that involves both data lineage and data quality. Furthermore, you can switch from a technical view to a simple business view; hence, the software is ideal for novices and experts.
There are global search tools to easily discover data items and you can create a business glossary for reference. Truedat integrates with other third-party tools including MicroStrategy, Google BigQuery, Microsoft Azure, Oracle, Hive, Power BI, Amazon Redshift, S3, and more.
Truedat Pricing
Like other best data lineage tools for 2021 mentioned in this post, truedat is free to use.
Bottom Line
A lot of data lineage tools are available but you need the best ones with the right features. Here, we’ve done the work as we have sorted out the 15 best data lineage tools of 2021.
With any of these tools, you’ll be able to properly audit data from its origin to the current endpoint.
