Data Management Software

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Meet the Experts

Photo of Carl W. Olofson
Carl W. Olofson

Research Vice President, Data Management Software



IDC's Data Management Software service presents a strategic view of IT information management strategies and approaches. Through this research, product, and marketing, strategic planning professionals gain essential market intelligence on database management systems (DBMSs), Big Data collection software, data grid management software, and database administration (DBA) tools and utilities.


Markets and Subjects Analyzed


  • Operational and analytic database management systems
  • Tools and utilities for database development, tuning, and maintenance
  • The evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing the self-management of databases, the usability of databases, the user experience, and the use of database data in training AI models
  • The conflicting appeal of converged database systems versus "best of breed" purpose-built DBMSs
  • Big Data–related data management products and vendors, supporting data lake and lake house technology
  • The rising significance of graph databases
  • The evolving role of document databases
  • Challenges and opportunities for data management in cloud computing, open source software, and others
  • Distributed cache service managers (data grids) and their role in cloud application data management and sharing

Core Research


  • Database Management Systems Competitive Analyses and Forecasts by Submarket: Relational DBMS, Non-Schematic DBMS, Data Lake Technology, Low-Code DBMS, Navigational and Multivalue DBMS, and In-Memory DBMS
  • Analyses and Forecasts for Database Administration and Development Tools Software
  • Emerging DBMS Trends, Such as Graph Databases, Vector Databases, and Data Platforms
  • Database Cloud Migration
  • Survey Research Covering Evolving RDBMS, NoSQL, and Big Data Deployment Use Cases

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.


Key Questions Answered


  1. What are the emerging trends that will provide competitive opportunities for DBMS vendors?
  2. What are the different database technologies available, including data lakes and NoSQL, and what workloads do they best support?
  3. How will open source DBMS products and alternative cloud-based data management services affect the DBMS and DBA tools markets?
  4. What is the impact of document databases on the database software market as a whole?
  5. What technologies and business practices are needed to succeed in the database cloud service market?
  6. Who is leading, who is emerging, and who is challenging in the Big Data space, including Spark and Presto, and in the area of lake house technologies and platforms?
  7. Which DBMS type is appropriate for which user workload?
  8. What is the rate of production of database cloud deployment?
  9. What is the impact of AI in general, and vector database technology in particular, on databases generally?

Companies Covered