
Hub & Spoken: Data | Analytics | Chief Data Officer | CDO | Data Strategy The Next Horizon: What Cynozure's 2026 Data & AI Report Reveals
Feb 19, 2026
Pete Williams, ex-Director of Data at Penguin Random House and seasoned data leader, joins to unpack Cynozure's 2026 Data & AI report. They discuss the shift from platform building to proving commercial impact. They explore why organisations still pour resources into foundations, confusion over AI ownership, governance needs, and how generative AI can broaden data access.
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Intent Versus Investment Gap
- Data leaders are shifting intent from foundations to adoption and impact rather than just building platforms.
- Yet many still prioritise BI and core capabilities, revealing a gap between intent and investment.
Value Is Often Measured By Spend
- Organisations often equate value with purchased technology rather than commercial impact or behavioural change.
- That narrows focus to buying platforms instead of proving how data changes decisions and outcomes.
Budget Won't Auto-Fix Legacy
- Boards unlocked budgets for AI much like GDPR unlocked spend for data in prior years, but money alone doesn't remove legacy operating friction.
- Legacy ways of working and competing investment priorities still block transformation despite available budgets.

