Cloudera named leader in Forrester Wave amid ANZ AI spend
Cloudera has been recognised as a leader in The Forrester Wave: Data Fabric Platforms, Q4 2025 report, following an assessment of its offerings by the independent research firm Forrester.
The report evaluates 14 data fabric vendors across 26 criteria, focusing on areas such as current offering, strategy, and customer feedback. Forrester concluded that Cloudera "is an ideal choice for organisations that want robust data processing, scalable storage, and persistent data management to power modern business use cases."
Spending and challenges
Australian enterprises are spending an average of AUD $28 million annually on artificial intelligence projects; however, up to 95% of these projects do not deliver measurable return on investment. Industry observers attribute these shortcomings not to the technology itself, but to weak data foundations and governance structures.
This environment has prompted organisations to seek technology tools that can reflect their internal values and address demands for stronger governance, particularly as government oversight of data and AI intensifies.
Data fabric platforms, such as those provided by Cloudera, form a unified foundation that connects, manages, and secures data regardless of whether it is on public clouds, in data centres, or at the edge. These platforms allow organisations to integrate disparate sources, draw deeper insights, and make data securely accessible at scale.
The Forrester report notes, "Cloudera's unified platform integrates and orchestrates diverse data, delivering the scalability and flexibility needed to drive actionable insights across the enterprise."
Regional focus and requirements
Reflecting on the current market in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Vini Cardoso, Chief Technology Officer of Cloudera Australia and New Zealand, commented on the pressures facing organisations as they adopt generative AI:
The race to generative AI is creating immense pressure in the ANZ market, which, after significant data breaches, rightly demands higher levels of trust and responsibility. For that, organisations need a unified data foundation that delivers performance, governance, and sovereign control. This recognition underscores our commitment to empowering ANZ businesses to manage data where it lives, ensure policy traceability, and unlock real AI value - all while meeting the region's stringent regulatory, security, and privacy requirements.
Assessment and performance
Cloudera received the highest possible scores in seven criteria within the report: End-to-end Integrated Fabric, Unified Data Catalog, Real-time Performance and Scalability, Vision, Roadmap, Metadata Management, and Agentic AI. According to Cloudera, these results reinforce its commitment to supporting a scalable, intelligent, and connected data ecosystem for businesses.
Leo Brunnick, Chief Product Officer at Cloudera, stated, "For us, being named a Leader reinforces our belief that the future of data management lies in unified and adaptive fabrics that empower organisations to manage and access their data anywhere. We believe our position in this report is validation of our vision and commitment to delivering technology that simplifies data architectures, accelerates innovation, and unlocks trusted AI."
The company's data fabric solution is designed to support persistent data management and scalable storage, positioning it for modern business use cases where the integration and secure access of enterprise data is increasingly critical not only for innovation but also compliance with emerging regulatory frameworks.
With the appointment as a leader by Forrester, Cloudera confirms its market position amidst heightened attention to data sovereignty and privacy, particularly in jurisdictions such as Australia and New Zealand where regulatory demands are increasing.
