# Data virtualization: what AI models recommend, October 2026

Gane Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "data virtualization platform" and as "data fabric for federated queries", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Added to the October 2026 Edition on October 4, 2026. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/it-data/data-virtualization/2026-10

This is the permanent record of the October 2026 Edition, published October 1, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/it-data/data-virtualization/index.md

**Standing:** Denodo leads with 28% of first choices; verdict contested. 54 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Denodo](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/denodo/index.md) | 28% | 35% | 66 |
| 2 | [Trino](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/trino/index.md) | 15% | 17% | 18 |
| 3 | [Starburst Galaxy](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/starburst-galaxy/index.md) | 13% | 0% | 13 |
| 4 | [Starburst](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/starburst/index.md) | 11% | 6% | 32 |
| 5 | [Dremio](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/dremio/index.md) | 9% | 3% | 35 |
| 7 | [CData Virtuality](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cdata-virtuality/index.md) | 4% | 0% | 10 |
| 8 | [Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/informatica-intelligent-data-management-cloud/index.md) | 2% | 12% | 16 |
| 9 | [TIBCO Data Virtualization](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/tibco-data-virtualization/index.md) | 2% | 35% | 34 |
| 17 | [IBM Cloud Pak for Data](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/ibm-cloud-pak-for-data/index.md) | 0% | 25% | 12 |
| 20 | [IBM Data Virtualization](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/ibm-data-virtualization/index.md) | 0% | 38% | 13 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 96 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Denodo; alternatives CData Virtuality, Dremio, TIBCO Data Virtualization
- GPT-5.4 mini: Denodo; alternatives IBM Data Virtualization, TIBCO Data Virtualization
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: CData Virtuality; alternatives CData Connect Cloud, Denodo, Dremio
- Perplexity Sonar: Denodo; alternatives CData Virtuality, IBM Cloud Pak for Data, TIBCO Data Virtualization
- Grok 4.20: Denodo; alternatives Dremio, IBM Data Virtualization, Starburst Galaxy, TIBCO Data Virtualization
- Mistral Small: Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud, TIBCO Data Virtualization; alternatives CData Virtuality, IBM Data Virtualization, Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Denodo; alternatives Dremio, Starburst Galaxy, TIBCO Data Virtualization
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Starburst Galaxy; alternatives Dremio
- Kimi K2: Starburst Galaxy; alternatives CData Connect Cloud, Dremio Cloud
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Denodo; alternatives IBM watsonx.data, Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud, TIBCO Data Virtualization
- MiniMax M2.5: Denodo; alternatives TIBCO Data Virtualization, Teiid, Trino
- GPT-6 Luna: Denodo; alternatives Dremio, Starburst
- Muse Glimmer 30B: AtScale, Dremio; alternatives Denodo, TIBCO Data Virtualization

## Sources the answers cite

78 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- domo.com: 39 answers, 39 citations
- thectoclub.com: 36 answers, 37 citations
- checkthat.ai: 35 answers, 54 citations
- promethium.ai: 28 answers, 38 citations
- etlclub.net: 28 answers, 28 citations
- g2.com: 27 answers, 45 citations
- devopsschool.com: 25 answers, 29 citations
- dremio.com: 22 answers, 34 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://domo.com/learn/article/best-data-virtualization-platforms (38 answers)
- https://thectoclub.com/tools/best-data-virtualization-software (34 answers)
- https://checkthat.ai/answers/what-are-the-best-data-virtualization-solutions (31 answers)
- https://etlclub.net/best-data-virtualization-platforms (28 answers)
- https://airbyte.com/top-etl-tools-for-sources/data-virtualization-tools (22 answers)
- https://devopsschool.com/blog/top-10-data-virtualization-platforms-features-pros-cons-comparison (21 answers)
- https://promethium.ai/guides/data-virtualization-tools-vendors (20 answers)
- https://bignewsnetwork.com/news/279338211/top-10-data-room-providers-the-ultimate-guide-for-businesses (17 answers)
- https://zipdo.co/best/data-virtualization-software (16 answers)
- https://verifiedmarketresearch.com/blog/best-data-virtualization-software (15 answers)

## Warned against

- Denodo: 23 of 66 labels negative. "What to Avoid on a Tight Budget ... Denodo | ~$180,000/year | Enterprise pricing is out of reach" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt)
- TIBCO Data Virtualization: 12 of 34 labels negative. "one data science professional described their experience with a TIBCO-based platform as "so slow and shitty"" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)
- IBM Data Virtualization: 5 of 13 labels negative. "IBM Data Virtualization | Custom/enterprise tier | No free plan, expensive licensing" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt)
- IBM Cloud Pak for Data: 3 of 12 labels negative. "IBM Cloud Pak for Data can feel "heavy" and over-engineered for companies not already in the IBM ecosystem" (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, October 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.