DBTA Readers’ Choice Awards Winners (2020)

Aug 6, 2020

By Joyce Wells

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In the future, the year 2020 may be seen as the critical turning point for digital transformation. The COVID-19 crisis has prompted individuals and organizations to reevaluate how they function, increasing reliance on online transactions, new strategies for collaboration and management, and innovative work-from-home approaches. The result has been a dramatic spike in data, which is the lifeblood of business today.

More than 59 zettabytes of data will be created, captured, copied, and consumed in the world this year, according to a May 2020 update to IDC's Global DataSphere forecast. The COVID-19 pandemic is adding additional fuel to the already brisk pace of data growth, IDC contends, due to the increase in the number of work-from-home employees. It is also changing the mix of data being created to include more video communication and more activity in downloaded and streamed video. In addition to these trends in data growth and usage, there continues to be a marked increase in the deployment of sensors to gather and add context to data.

The possibilities for gaining business benefits with this rich treasure trove of data are endless. Enterprises around the globe are focused on becoming data-driven in order to provide better service to their customers, make processes more efficient, arrive at decisions faster, and avoid risk.

However, advances in technology to derive more value from the tsunami of data flowing from on-premise facilities, the cloud, the edge, and devices may also be accompanied by new hurdles.

Organizations need to not only ingest and store all this data but also deliver real-time data and insights, while addressing requirements for data quality, governance, and security. The new hybrid reality of on-premise and cloud-based systems enables more flexibility but also presents management difficulties. And, AI and automation can help make IT and data professionals’ roles easier but the hitch is that the data fed into these systems must be accurate and trustworthy to achieve the desired results.

Whether well-known with established positions built over the course of years, or new to the data management space, the mix of solutions being used to fuel business success is constantly changing. What's the best way to know which ones are worth exploring? In the IT industry, there are certainly many resources for learning about products and services. But sometimes, hearing about a product or service from an associate, a colleague—or a fellow DBTA reader—is also useful.

To help companies make their data-driven goals a reality, each year, Database Trends and Applications presents the Readers’ Choice Awards, providing an opportunity to recognize companies whose products are selected by experts—you, the readers.

Representative of the IT market itself, the product categories in this year's competition are diverse, with well-established technologies such as relational database management, MultiValue, and BI but also newer ones, including AI and cognitive computing, graph databases, and the Internet of Things.

Here we present the top three vote-getters in each category. Congratulations to all and thanks to everyone who submitted nominations and voted!