Quest Data Intelligence vs SAP Information Steward comparison

Quest Software and SAP are both solutions in the Metadata Management category. Quest Software is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.0, while SAP is ranked #12. Quest Software holds a 6.7% mindshare in MM, compared to SAP’s 3.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Quest Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Quest Data Intelligence

Read 22 Quest Data Intelligence reviews

5,399 Views
2,322 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SAP Information Steward

Read 9 SAP Information Steward reviews

2,013 Views
845 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Quest Data Intelligence

SAP Information Steward

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 16, 2026

SAP Information Steward and erwin Data Intelligence compete in the data governance tools category. While SAP excels in structured data management, erwin has the upper hand with its broader data governance capabilities.

Features: SAP Information Steward offers metadata management, data profiling, and integration within the SAP ecosystem. erwin Data Intelligence provides lineage and impact analysis, a broad governance framework, and reporting capabilities.

Room for Improvement: SAP Information Steward could improve in non-SAP integrations, user interface, and cost reduction. erwin Data Intelligence needs enhancements in integration flexibility, UI simplicity for non-tech users, and deployment efficiency.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP Information Steward facilitates rapid integration within SAP environments. However, erwin Data Intelligence adapts to varied IT ecosystems, with comprehensive customer support for broader deployments.

Pricing and ROI: SAP Information Steward involves higher initial costs for full SAP integration, catering to SAP system users. erwin Data Intelligence may have higher licensing costs but provides strong ROI with extensive functionality and long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed Quest Data Intelligence vs. SAP Information Steward Report (Updated: July 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Quest Data Intelligence vs. SAP Information Steward

July 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Quest Data Intelligence

Ranking in Metadata Management

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Governance (18th), AI Governance (3rd)

SAP Information Steward

Ranking in Metadata Management

12th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Quality (18th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Metadata Management category, the mindshare of Quest Data Intelligence is 6.7%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Information Steward is 3.1%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Metadata Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Quest Data Intelligence	6.7%
SAP Information Steward	3.1%
Other	90.2%

Metadata Management

Featured Reviews

Jog Raj

Senior Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Automated lineage and business glossaries have improved data understanding and collaboration

I am open to answering a few questions about erwin Data Intelligence and sharing my opinion about the product. Regarding the analytic part of the product, I find it very interesting that erwin Data Intelligence has its own inbuilt reporting toolset, with a new version coming out in January that will be AI-powered. This means you will be able to write analytical reports and questions based on the metadata and data lineage, making it more powerful than the current version, as AI will assist in creating those reports and performing analysis on the metadata. I find that the time taken to realize value from erwin Data Intelligence can be quite long. Creating a data catalog and developing data lineage takes significant time, and I expect that AI will help accelerate the process of creating data products by streamlining the steps involved. I can recommend erwin Data Intelligence to other users. I would rate this review as an eight out of ten overall.

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FranciscoSantos

Director at Pixel Studio PTY

Provides accurate data that is validated against a personalized reference tool

For most SAP customers, Information Steward is enough because it is able to build quality data rules to detect issues in the source systems like SAP HANA, Business Warehouse, or other systems. A business user can first organize their data into several data domains. For example, procurement, human resources, and logistics setup. The domains can build data quality dimensions where you can describe the kind of rule that you are going to use. The user then can immediately see if something is wrong with their data using traffic lights. Another great feature of SAP Information Steward is the accuracy that the content is followed by validating against the reference tool. With the solution, you are creating data quality dimensions. Within these dimensions, you are creating business data quality rules that are looking for specific fields. From these rules, you can create a scorecard. The scorecard will highlight the percentage of good data and ensure the user can feel confident that the data is accurate within predetermined limits. SAP tables have field names that are very cryptic, making them hard to understand the meaning of the fields. Metapedia helps describe these fields in business terms.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The biggest benefit with erwin DI is that I have a single source of truth that I can send anybody to. If anybody doesn't know the answer we can go back to it. Just having a central location of business rules is good."

"The solution saves time in data discovery and understanding our entire organization's data."

"erwin has tremendous capabilities to map right from the business technologies to the endpoint, such as physical entities and physical attributes, from a lineage standpoint."

"The solution gives us data lineage which means we can see an impact if we make a change. The ability for us to have that in this company is brilliant because we used to have 49 data stewards from some 23 different groups within six major departments. Each one of those was a silo unto itself. The ability to have different glossaries — but all pointed to the same key terms, key concepts, or key attributes — has made life really simple."

"Data governance is helping us become even a better company because we know our data and how to use it."

"We always know where our data is, and anybody can look that up, whether they're a business person who doesn't know anything about Informatica, or a developer who knows everything about creating data movement jobs in Informatica, but who does not understand the business terminology or the data that is being used in the tool."

"I can estimate that we lowered our time to market by 70 percent right now using these automation scripts, which is a really big thing."

"There is a wide range of widgets that enables the user to find the proper information quickly. The presentation of information is something very valuable."

More Quest Data Intelligence pros

"Data integration is much easier with Information Steward - irrespective of the data sources, integration is very smooth and easy."

"The most valuable features are data quality insight, metadata management, and metadata dictionary."

"Ability to collect information, monitor user access and to plan storage capacity."

"The product has improved company efficiency because we're able to categorize the need for user access at the folder level across storage enterprise wide."

"The ability to analyze the data even before we start the transformation of it, and generating the user-friendly interface, giving analytical reports, and helping create the transformation rules before we proceed with the data migration part was the most helpful part of the solution for our company."

"The Data Cleansing and the scorecard dashboard are very valuable. Additionally, the financial aspect of SAP Information Steward is very good. When a rule is incorrect then it will show how much is it costing the business. These features are very valuable."

"Setup is straightforward."

"The solution is user-friendly even for those who are dealing with it for the first time."

More SAP Information Steward pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement with the data cataloging capability. Right now, there is a list of a lot of sources that they can catalog, or they can create metadata upon, but if they can add more then that would be a good plus for this tool."

"The fact that I sometimes have to go in and out of different applications, even though it's all part of the whole erwin suite, perhaps means it could be architected a little bit better. I think they do have some ideas for improvements there."

"In my opinion, the analytics part of erwin Data Intelligence is not satisfactory."

"We still need another layer of data quality assessments on the source to see if it is sending us the wrong data or if there are some issues with the source data. For those things, we need a rule-based data quality assessment or scoring where we can assess tools or other technology stacks. We need to be able to leverage where the business comes in, defining some business rules and have the ability to execute those rules, then score the data quality of all those attributes. Data quality is definitely not what we are leveraging from this tool, as of today."

"The solution's Arabic language processing is limited. The results are limited when you use the interface in Arabic."

"The technical support could be improved."

"Improvement is required for the AIMatch feature, which is supposed to help automatically discover relationships in data."

"If we are talking about the business side of the product, maybe the Data Literacy could be made a bit simpler. You have to put your hands on it, so there is room for improvement."

More Quest Data Intelligence cons

"We'd like to see some manipulation techniques included in SAP Information Steward."

"Performance could be improved."

"The solution could improve by incorporating other applications, such as Power BI to show more visualization. More interaction with other solutions would be a good benefit."

"In some cases they have given extraneous or erroneous information, which is completely useless."

"The user experience of metapedia could be improved."

"SAP Information Steward could be improved by offering a cloud version of the product."

"SAP is a bit pricey, and better tools are available for a lower price."

"The support team is not very responsive."

More SAP Information Steward cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is reasonable and competitive. When you get into forward and reverse-engineering, the cost could go up. However, if you are a large organization, you would probably be able to access different packages. If, however, you don't need forward and reverse-engineering, then the price is relatively cheap."

"The solution is aggressively priced."

"Erwin Data Catalog is very expensive."

"The price is reasonable, and a subscription is required."

"I am not very familiar with its pricing. I know it is not cheap, but it is also not super expensive. It depends on the company size. For a company making $1 million, it is very expensive. For a company making 10 million and above, it might be okay."

"You buy a seat license for your portal. We have 100 seats for the portal, then you buy just the development licenses for the people who are going to put the data in."

"The whole suite, not just the DI but the modeling software, the harvester, Mapping Manager — everything we have — is about $100,000 a year for our renewals. That works out to each module being something like $8,000 to $10,000."

"The licensing cost was very affordable at the time of purchase. It has since been taken over by erwin, then Quest. The tool has gotten a bit more costly, but they are adding more features very quickly."

More Quest Data Intelligence pricing and cost advice

"A bit pricey, and better tools are available for a lower price."

"I do not know if there were additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."

"SAP Information Steward is an expensive solution compared to others."

"Smaller-sized organizations may not be able to invest in SAP Information Steward because of the cost."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

10%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

19%

Government

12%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	16

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	1
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

In my opinion, the analytics part of erwin Data Intelligence is not satisfactory. The name 'Intelligence' is not related specifically to analytics; it is focused on data governance with no advanced...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

My main use case for erwin Data Intelligence is applying it and the DQ Labs in a financial institution.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering erwin Data Intelligence by Quest?

The integration of business glossaries has significantly helped improve collaboration in our organization. We define the business glossaries first during meetings with the business, and then we bul...

See all answers

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Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs Quest Data Intelligence

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Compared 5% of the time

Global Data Excellence DEMS vs Quest Data Intelligence

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Compared 12% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs SAP Information Steward

Compared 12% of the time

SAP Data Quality Management vs SAP Information Steward

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle Enterprise Data Quality (EDQ) vs SAP Information Steward

Compared 9% of the time

Syniti Information Management vs SAP Information Steward

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Quest Data Intelligence

July 2026

Download Quest Data Intelligence product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP Information Steward

July 2026

Download SAP Information Steward product report

Also Known As

erwin DG, erwin Data Governance, erwin Data Catalog

Information Steward, SAP Data Insight

Overview

erwin Data Intelligence is a comprehensive platform for metadata management, data cataloging, and governance. It enables organizations to gain insights, improve traceability, and streamline compliance through its advanced features.

Focusing on data lineage, metadata repositories, and seamless integrations, erwin Data Intelligence provides a unified perspective of enterprise data. Its robust capabilities include Smart Data Connectors for automation, efficient data visualization with mind maps, and adaptable metadata properties. While the platform integrates well into existing systems, areas for improvement include automation, SDK inconsistencies, and the need for better data quality assessments. Use cases highlight its importance in enhancing business data models and regulatory compliance.

What are the key features of erwin Data Intelligence?

Single Source of Truth: Centralizes data for consistent information across the organization.
Smart Data Connectors: Automate connections to data sources, enhancing efficiency.
Data Lineage: Tracks data pathways for better traceability and understanding.
Business Glossaries: Enables clear definitions and shared vocabulary for all users.
Metadata Management: Streamlines metadata organization and retrieval.
Impact Analysis: Assesses implications of data changes rapidly and accurately.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Enhanced Efficiency: Automation scripts reduce manual processes and increase productivity.
Improved Data Visualization: Mind maps facilitate an intuitive understanding of complex data.
Customizable Properties: Adapt metadata attributes to fit specific organizational requirements.
Unified View: Offers a comprehensive perspective of data governance practices.

Industries implementing erwin Data Intelligence often focus on mapping data sources and integrating governance with ETL tools. This supports comprehensive data management strategies, enabling business teams to better locate, understand, and utilize data effectively. Its application in metadata management and automated reporting is particularly valuable in sectors requiring stringent regulatory compliance.

Quest Software

SAP Information Steward offers data quality insights, metadata management, and data validation scorecards, ensuring accurate data validation through scorecards and dashboards, making it user-friendly and efficient for businesses seeking clarity and effective data profiling.

SAP Information Steward provides a comprehensive approach to managing data quality and governance. It is designed to simplify deployment and streamline data profiling and cleansing with ease. Businesses leverage its capabilities to create data quality rules and detect issues in source systems, enhancing business clarity and accurate data validation. Centralizing cloud data and offering business-friendly metadata descriptions with Metapedia, it supports better metadata management and data profiling. However, it requires improvements in data export capabilities, integration for data manipulation, data filtering features, and enhanced support responsiveness.

What are the key features of SAP Information Steward?

Data Quality Insight: Provides tools for insightful data quality assessments.
Metadata Management: Allows centralized management of metadata through Metapedia.
Scorecard for Data Validation: Offers intuitive scorecards and dashboards for validating data accuracy.
Data Profiling and Cleansing: Facilitates effective profiling and cleansing processes.
Cloud Data Centralization: Centralizes cloud data for effective management.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Ease of Deployment: Simplifies the integration into existing systems ensuring swift usage.
User-friendly Interface: Enhances usability for efficient operations.
Accurate Data Validation: Improves the accuracy of business data.
Comprehensive Metadata Descriptions: Offers detailed business-friendly descriptions.
Integrated Data Profiling: Enhances the quality and accuracy of data management.

Industries implement SAP Information Steward widely, notably in global enterprises for S/4HANA business processes and historical reporting, prioritizing data profiling, data quality assessments, and business rules for managing customer information and transformations. Its Metapedia component supports data governance initiatives within these businesses.

SAP

Sample Customers

Oracle, Infosys, GSK, Toyota Motor Sales, HSBC

American Water, Graphic Packaging International, OSRAM Licht AG, Maxim Integrated

Buyer's Guide

Quest Data Intelligence vs. SAP Information Steward

July 2026

Free Report: Quest Data Intelligence vs. SAP Information Steward

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