THE STATE OF DATA 2025/26
Navigating Change - One Year On
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Drawing on responses from professionals across the UK, this year’s edition, in partnership with DAMA UK, reveals how organisations are scaling AI, improving data quality, adapting hybrid working strategies, and tackling skills shortages. It also includes salary benchmarks, emerging governance trends and a clear-eyed view of what’s helping teams succeed.
Whether you're a data leader, hiring manager, or early-career professional, you'll find real-world benchmarks and forward-thinking strategies to inform your decisions and stay ahead of the curve.
74%
Have adopted AI (up from last year)
77%
Are not worried that AI will take over from human business functions (down from last year)
28%
Data Quality has taken over from managing expectations as No1 challenge to AI
30%
Use AI to automate repetitive tasks
(down from last year)
ON USAGE
67%
Of data professionals have improved or fairly improved their data usage
Download the report to discover the strategies for success.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE DATA
Employee satisfaction levels
60%
Of data professionals are happy in their job - a huge leap from last year
23%
Of data professionals feel neutral about their job
17%
Of data professionals feel unhappy in their job
BUT WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO SATISFACTION?
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29%
Of data professionals are not confident they will execute on their data strategy next year. (Up from last year)
25%
Of data professionals are concerned their infrastructure won't be able to cope with the amount of incoming data over the next 2 years. Down from last year.
BUDGET
Is still the biggest challenge facing data professionals going into next year.
DATA USAGE
AI
CHALLENGES
PEOPLE MATTERS
