Data Products & Platforms: State of Industry Report 2026

Benchmarking insights from data and architecture leaders, this report provides a practical blueprint for building AI-ready data foundations, modernising legacy estates, and scaling distributed platforms across complex European regulatory environments.

• Shifting to Scalable Data Products: Executive Summary on moving from internal data assets to scalable, business-led products.
• Cultivating Value: Treating data as a product by shifting organisational culture from technology-first to business value.
• AI-Ready Foundations: Strengthening data quality, metadata management, and automated lineage to feed agentic workflows.
• Scaling Platforms Safely: Navigating distributed architectures (Data Mesh) while embedding policy-driven governance and security.
• Commercialisation Pathways: Evaluating strategies for monetising data assets internally versus launching external commercial offerings.
• Business-Led ROI & Compliance: Quantifying tangible impact while retrofitting compliance into existing architectures within regional contexts.
• European enterprise drivers: Regulatory frameworks and risk appetite versus UK data enterprise drivers.