Secoda vs Atlan: Comparing data integration capabilities

Why are integration capabilities important in data management platforms?

Integration capabilities are essential in data management platforms because they provide a full-picture view of how data flows across different tools within an organization’s tech stack. By connecting diverse data sources and tools, a data management platform can create a single source of truth that centralizes all relevant data, improving accessibility and enabling more informed decision-making. Here’s why strong integration capabilities matter:

• Full visibility and single source of truth: Integrations allow data from various sources to be connected in one platform, giving users a complete view of data movement and dependencies across systems. This centralized approach enables organizations to track data lineage, understand data flow, and maintain a single source of truth, which is critical for making consistent, data-driven decisions.
• Improved collaboration across teams: When a data management platform integrates with all the tools in an organization’s stack, it enables different teams (like data, analytics, and business teams) to work within the same platform using the same data. This reduces silos, enhances cross-functional collaboration, and ensures that everyone is working from the same, up-to-date data.
• Enhanced data quality and consistency: Integrated data management platforms help maintain data quality and consistency by synchronizing updates across all connected systems. When data sources are connected, changes made in one system are reflected across others, reducing discrepancies, ensuring that data is accurate, and preventing duplicated efforts or errors.
• Automated workflows and increased efficiency: Integration capabilities enable automated workflows by connecting to various tools across the data lifecycle (e.g., ingestion, transformation, monitoring). This reduces manual, repetitive tasks, allowing teams to automate processes such as data tagging, quality checks, and metadata updates. When a platform integrates with the full tool stack, these workflows become more efficient, enabling teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine maintenance.

By comparing Secoda and Atlan, we can evaluate their abilities to connect with diverse technologies and support these key benefits, helping organizations build a unified, high-functioning data ecosystem that scales with their needs.

What integration capabilities does Secoda offer?

Secoda offers extensive integration capabilities, allowing organizations to build a unified and highly customizable data ecosystem. Secoda connects with a wide variety of tools across the data lifecycle, including:

• Diverse data sources: Secoda integrates with a wide range of data warehouses, databases, data visualization tools, data pipeline tools, data transformation tools, data quality tools, data lakes, query engines, and productivity tools. This variety supports a complete view of data across the organization, bringing all relevant data into one platform.
• No-code setup for accessibility: Secoda’s no-code integration capabilities make it accessible for non-technical users to connect data sources seamlessly, removing the complexity often associated with data integrations.
• Advanced security options: Secoda provides multiple secure connection options, including SSH tunnels, VPC peering, AWS cross-account roles, and AWS Private Link, ensuring data integration meets strict security and compliance requirements.
• Custom integration options: Users can create custom integrations by uploading data from files (CSV, JSONL) or through the Secoda Marketplace. Secoda offers a detailed SDK to help users build custom integrations seamlessly, allowing for greater flexibility in connecting unique or proprietary data sources.
• Flexible metadata syncing: Secoda allows users to choose between pull or push syncing for metadata, providing flexibility in how data is updated across the platform. Users can also schedule syncs with customized run frequencies using Cron Expressions, enabling teams to keep their data current without manual effort.
• Granular access controls: Secoda enables precise control over which data is synced, visible, and accessible to different users and teams. Users can:some text
  • Select specific groups, schemas, or databases to sync.
  • Configure team-based visibility on each integration, with options to override default team settings at the database, schema, or group level.
  • Use filters to exclude resources (schemas, tables, columns) from extraction based on naming conventions or other criteria.
  • Set preview and query permissions based on user roles or individual usernames, ensuring the right users have appropriate access.

With these integration capabilities, Secoda enables organizations to build a connected, secure, and efficient data environment tailored to their needs.

What integration capabilities does Atlan offer?

Atlan provides a range of integration capabilities focused on connecting with core data tools, making it suitable for data professionals who need access to popular data warehouses, databases, and analytics platforms. 

• Integrates with core tooling: Atlan connects with key data sources, including data warehouses, databases, cloud storage solutions, data pipelines, and BI tools. While Atlan integrates with core and widely-used tools, it lacks support for some newer or specialized tool categories, such as data quality platforms. 
• No-code setup for key tools: Atlan offers no-code integration options for many common data tools, reducing technical barriers for connecting standard data sources. This allows teams to onboard widely used tools without requiring advanced setup.
• Custom integration options through APIs: Atlan offers API-based customization options, allowing users to connect additional data sources and tailor integrations to fit their organization’s specific workflows. 

How do Secoda and Atlan compare in terms of integration capabilities?

Secoda’s integration capabilities are slightly more flexible and customizable, especially for users who need advanced security, custom integrations, and fine-grained control over syncs and access permissions. Atlan, while still robust, is more tailored for standard data integrations and the needs of technical data professionals.

• Integration connector list: Secoda supports a wider range of integrations across modern data tools, including data warehouses, databases, data visualization tools, data quality platforms, and productivity tools. Atlan, while strong in core tooling, lacks connectors for some newer or specialized tools, which may limit its adaptability for a modern data stack. See the full integration comparison list.
• Granular access controls: Secoda stands out with its granular control over syncs, allowing users to specify integrations at the group, schema, or resource level. Additionally, Secoda enables team-based visibility settings, which can be customized for individual integrations. Atlan provides basic access controls but lacks the same level of granularity and customization options.
• Custom integrations options: Both platforms support APIs for custom integrations, but Secoda goes further by offering a detailed SDK and a Marketplace for building user-defined integrations. These features allow for easier and more flexible connection of unique or proprietary data sources. Atlan’s API-driven approach is effective but more limited in scope compared to Secoda’s offerings.
• Flexible metadata syncing: Secoda allows for both push and pull sync configurations, as well as customizable sync frequencies using Cron Expressions. This provides greater control over how and when metadata is refreshed. Atlan relies on scheduled syncs but does not emphasize the same level of customization or flexibility.
• Focus on collaboration and security: Secoda’s integrations are designed with collaboration and security in mind, offering advanced options like SSH tunnels, VPC peering, and AWS Private Link for secure connections. Its team-based features and access controls promote collaboration across diverse teams. Atlan, while robust for technical professionals, doesn’t emphasize these collaborative or security features as strongly.

Which platform is better suited for organizations with diverse data environments?

For organizations with diverse data environments, Secoda stands out as a highly comprehensive platform, offering an extensive integration ecosystem that connects with a wide range of tools, including newer and specialized categories like data quality platforms. Its no-code setup, granular access controls, and flexible metadata syncing options make it a strong choice for teams of all technical skill levels. Secoda’s support for both modern and core tooling ensures it caters to both technical and non-technical users seamlessly.

Secoda also provides advanced features like custom SDKs, a Marketplace for building integrations, and granular filtering capabilities for schemas, tables, and columns during syncs. Coupled with advanced security options such as SSH tunnels, VPC peering, and AWS Private Link, Secoda is designed to handle both secure and flexible integrations for modern data stacks.

While both platforms offer robust integration capabilities, Secoda’s combination of breadth in integrations, flexibility in workflows, and ease of use makes it particularly well-suited for organizations that need a scalable and adaptable data management solution to fit their growing needs.