Austin, Texas, USA, August 10, 2026
Aspirational AI goals are giving way to hard execution as data teams pivot toward top-line revenue, faster delivery, and strict SLA reliability.
The 1H 2026 Data Intelligence, Analytics, and Infrastructure Decision Makers Survey (2H 2025 n=841, 1H 2026 n=818) finds that the two leading objectives for enterprise data teams, building AI capabilities and increasing trust in data, both fell by more than 5 percentage points over the past six months, while execution objectives, from new business opportunities and project completion to SLA attainment, all gained meaningful ground.
Figure 1: Most Important Objective for Data Team (2H 2025 vs. 1H 2026)
“What we are watching is a reorientation of the data team from more traditional, aspirational framing to measurable delivery. Work is increasingly concentrated on objectives that can be counted, shipped, and audited. Leadership has signaled that the time for aspirational narratives is over and execution is the currency that matters.” — Brad Shimmin, VP & Practice Lead, Data Intelligence, Analytics, and Infrastructure, The Futurum Group
The survey reveals several key developments shaping data team priorities:
- Execution objectives are surging. New business opportunities rose 4.7 points to 16.9%, SLA attainment rose 3.5 points to 8.3%, and project completion rose 3.2 points to 13.4%, the three largest positive deltas in the objective set.
- Aspirational objectives are retreating in tandem. Increasing trust in data fell 6.5 points to 17.8%, and building AI capabilities fell 5.6 points to 23.5%, the two largest negative deltas, signaling that framing a data-team mission as AI-first or trust-first is losing ground.
- Financial goals and team enablement are steady. Financial goals held roughly flat at 14.9% and team enablement barely moved at 5.1%, confirming that the reordering is concentrated in the aspirational-versus-execution axis, not in underlying resource priorities.
Read more in the “1H 2026 Data Intelligence, Analytics, and Infrastructure Decision Makers Survey Report” on the Futurum Intelligence Platform. Non-subscribers click here for more information.
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Author Information
Brad Shimmin is Vice President and Practice Lead, Data Intelligence, Analytics, & Infrastructure at Futurum. He provides strategic direction and market analysis to help organizations maximize their investments in data and analytics. Currently, Brad is focused on helping companies establish an AI-first data strategy.
With over 30 years of experience in enterprise IT and emerging technologies, Brad is a distinguished thought leader specializing in data, analytics, artificial intelligence, and enterprise software development. Consulting with Fortune 100 vendors, Brad specializes in industry thought leadership, worldwide market analysis, client development, and strategic advisory services.
Brad earned his Bachelor of Arts from Utah State University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Brad lives in Longmeadow, MA, with his beautiful wife and far too many LEGO sets.
