The 2026 Data Streaming Report: Bridging the Gap Between Data and AI Value

In an AI-driven world, success depends on more than powerful models—it depends on access to real-time, trustworthy, and contextualized data.

Now in its fifth installment, the 2026 Data Streaming Report: Bridging the Gap Between Data and AI Value taps into insights from 4,625 IT leaders across industries and geographies. The findings reveal how data streaming platforms (DSPs) have become a strategic imperative for organizations looking to accelerate AI adoption, unlock business value from data, and compete in an increasingly real-time world. In fact, 88% of IT leaders rank data streaming as a high investment priority, underscoring its growing role at the center of modern data and AI strategies.

The business impact is clear. Half of organizations report at least 5x ROI from their data streaming investments, while 88% achieve 2x ROI or more. At the same time, 94% of technology leaders have seen or expect to see data streaming amplify the impact of their AI investments.

Organizations aren't just investing in data streaming—they're using it to build the foundation required for AI success. Explore the report to learn how DSPs:

• Accelerate AI adoption (90%) by helping organizations overcome persistent challenges related to data access, quality, and governance.
• Power agentic AI initiatives by delivering the real-time, trustworthy, and contextualized data needed to support autonomous systems at scale.
• Drive business outcomes through richer customer experiences (97%), AI innovation (93%), improved risk management (93%), and faster time to market (89%).
• Enable shift-left data integration by moving processing, quality controls, and governance closer to the source—improving data quality while reducing costs and complexity.

As AI adoption accelerates, organizations are recognizing a fundamental truth: AI is only as effective as the data behind it. Discover why DSPs have become the real-time data foundation for AI success—and how leading organizations are using them to drive innovation, ROI, and competitive advantage.