Actian Wins 'Best Data-Driven SaaS Innovation' in The 2026 SaaS Awards

Recognition honors Actian Data Intelligence Platform for technical innovation that delivers measurable customer results at scale

ROUND ROCK, Texas, Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Actian, the data and AI division of HCLSoftware, has been named the winner of the Best Data-Driven SaaS Innovation category in The 2026 SaaS Awards. The SaaS Awards recognize innovation and excellence across the global software-as-a-service industry.

"Actian demonstrated not only an innovative approach, but also clear proof that it delivers measurable results in real-world enterprise environments," said Jon Whittall, a lead judge for The SaaS Awards. "In a category full of strong entries, it was one of the few solutions to excel across innovation, impact, scalability, and execution."

The Actian Data Intelligence Platform gives organizations the semantic foundation for their AI and data initiatives. At its core is a federated knowledge graph that connects data assets, systems, and business concepts across the enterprise while letting each business domain retain control of its own metadata. This foundation turns disconnected data into governed business context, so people and AI agents can discover, trust, and activate data.

The cloud-delivered platform's capabilities span the full data intelligence lifecycle:

• Automated metadata harvesting across 100+ connectors
• Graph-based business glossary and ontology management
• End-to-end data lineage for transparency and compliance
• Real-time data observability for continuous quality monitoring
• An enterprise data marketplace built around data products and contracts
• A shared workspace for data stewards and business users to define, version, and govern data contracts
• A steward agent that intelligently builds and maintains a governed data foundation 
• Conversational analytics for explainable and traceable answers on demand

Two purpose-built interfaces make the platform's capabilities accessible to different user groups across the organization: Studio, where data stewards manage governance and curation, and Explorer, where  business users discover, understand, and consume data assets. Both user groups can query governed data in plain language with the Actian AI Analyst, no technical skills required.

"Data discovery without context and governance just means faster access to data you still can't trust," said Jennifer Jackson, chief marketing officer at Actian. "The Actian Data Intelligence Platform gives people and AI agents the context to know what the data means, who owns it, and whether it's ready to use, along with the governance to act on it with confidence."

For more information about the Actian Data Intelligence Platform, visit https://www.actian.com/data-intelligence/platform/.

About the Cloud Awards       

The Cloud Awards is an international program which has been recognizing and honoring industry leaders, innovators and organizational transformation in cloud computing since 2011. The Cloud Awards comprises five awards programs, each uniquely celebrating success across cloud computing, software-as-a-service (SaaS), cloud security, artificial intelligence (AI), and financial technologies (FinTech).

Winners are selected by a judging panel of international industry experts. For more information about the Cloud Awards, please visit https://www.cloud-awards.com/.       

About Actian

Actian empowers enterprises to confidently manage and govern data at scale. Actian data management and data intelligence solutions help streamline complex data environments and accelerate the delivery of AI-ready data. Designed to be flexible, Actian solutions integrate seamlessly and perform reliably across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. Learn more about Actian, the data and AI division of HCLSoftware, at actian.com.

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SOURCE Actian