Informatica Leads Data Governance as GenAI Raises the Stakes

REDWOOD CITY, CA – January 09, 2026 – In a move that underscores the escalating importance of data integrity in the age of artificial intelligence, Informatica from Salesforce has been named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Data and Analytics Governance Platforms. The recognition, based on the company's Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute, arrives as enterprises globally grapple with the dual challenge of unlocking the potential of Generative AI while mitigating its inherent risks.

The report, published January 6, 2026, by Gartner analysts Anurag Raj, Guido De Simoni, and Sarah Turkaly, evaluated 15 different vendors in a market that has become central to modern business strategy. For organizations navigating accelerated digital transformation, the announcement solidifies the pivotal role of robust governance platforms in building the trusted data foundation required for innovation.

The New Governance Imperative in the AI Era

The timing of Informatica's leadership recognition is particularly significant. It coincides with a period of intense focus on AI, where the quality and governance of underlying data directly determine the success, safety, and ethical standing of AI initiatives. Gartner's own research paints a clear picture of this shifting landscape, projecting that the demands of AI will force a fundamental evolution in data governance practices.

According to the research firm, “By 2027, 60% of data governance teams will prioritize governance of unstructured data to deliver GenAI use cases and improve decision quality in organizations.” This prediction highlights a critical gap for many companies, as large language models (LLMs) and other generative tools are increasingly trained on vast repositories of unstructured information like documents, images, and audio files. Without strong governance, this data can introduce bias, inaccuracies, and security vulnerabilities into AI systems.

Furthermore, Gartner anticipates a broad-based strategic shift at the enterprise level, stating that “Through 2028, 80% of S&P 1200 organizations will relaunch a modern, D&A governance program, based around a trust model.” This suggests that the ad-hoc, siloed governance approaches of the past are no longer sufficient. Businesses are recognizing the need for a centralized, automated, and trustworthy framework to manage their data assets, not merely as a compliance checkbox but as a core driver of competitive advantage. In this context, platforms capable of delivering streamlined, scaled, and automated governance are moving from a niche IT tool to a C-suite priority.

A Deep Dive into the Intelligent Data Management Cloud

At the heart of Informatica's recognized leadership is its Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) platform, a comprehensive suite designed to address these modern challenges. The platform's architecture is built for multicloud and hybrid environments, providing a unified solution for managing data regardless of where it resides. Crucially, it is engineered to handle the full spectrum of data types—from traditional structured databases to the unstructured text and AI models that are fueling the current technology wave.

Leveraging its proprietary AI engine, CLAIRE, the IDMC platform automates many of the labor-intensive tasks associated with data governance. This includes data discovery, cataloging, quality assessment, and policy enforcement, allowing organizations to scale their governance efforts across vast and complex data estates. This automation is critical for creating what the company calls “AI-ready assets.”

“As enterprises innovate with Generative and Agentic AI, they need powerful data and analytics governance capabilities,” said Brett Roscoe, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Data Governance and Cloud Operations at Informatica, in the company's official announcement. “Leveraging advanced AI-powered automation with CLAIRE, our Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) platform empowers enterprises to scale critical governance controls across diverse ecosystems, enabling AI ready assets. We believe this recognition as a Leader affirms our dedication to innovation and customer success.”

With a customer base of over 5,000 global organizations, the platform integrates capabilities spanning data cataloging, integration, data quality, privacy, metadata management, and master data management, providing an end-to-end view of the entire data lifecycle.

Navigating a Competitive and Consolidating Market

Informatica's position in the Leaders quadrant is a testament to its sustained performance in a dynamic and increasingly crowded market. While the Gartner report assessed 15 vendors, with other companies like Ataccama also being recognized, Informatica's long history of leadership across multiple data-related categories—including a 20-year run as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools—demonstrates a consistent ability to innovate and execute.

This year's recognition is also framed by a significant strategic development: the company's branding as “Informatica from Salesforce,” following its acquisition by the CRM giant. This alliance creates a powerful value proposition by connecting Informatica's deep data management and governance capabilities directly with Salesforce's market-leading AI CRM platform. The integration promises a more seamless flow from back-end operational data to front-end customer engagement, all powered by trusted, well-governed data. For customers, this could mean a more holistic approach to building AI-powered applications that are both intelligent and reliable.

This consolidation reflects a broader market trend where best-of-breed point solutions are giving way to unified platforms. Buyers are increasingly showing a preference for vendors that can provide a comprehensive, integrated suite of tools to manage the entire data lifecycle, reducing complexity and improving total cost of ownership.

Building the Foundation of Trust for Digital Transformation

Ultimately, the discussion around data and analytics governance platforms transcends technical features and functions. It is about building a foundational layer of trust that enables broader business transformation. As organizations become more data-driven, the ability to trust the data powering their dashboards, algorithms, and AI models becomes paramount. A modern governance platform serves as the central nervous system for ensuring this trust.

By providing visibility into data lineage, enforcing quality standards, managing access controls, and ensuring regulatory compliance, these platforms empower organizations to democratize data responsibly. This allows business users, analysts, and data scientists to innovate with confidence, knowing that the data they are using is accurate, compliant, and fit for purpose. This is the essence of the “trust model” that Gartner predicts will become the standard for modern governance programs.

The need for this trusted foundation extends far beyond AI. It is essential for successful digital transformation initiatives, effective regulatory compliance with laws like GDPR and CCPA, and fostering a data-centric culture. As enterprises continue to invest heavily in data as a strategic asset, the platforms that govern and protect that asset are becoming indispensable for achieving sustainable growth and resilience in an increasingly complex digital world.