The 8 Data Trends That Will Define 2026
Data is evolving just as fast as AI—and according to strategic business & technology advisor Bernard Marr in an article he shares on Forbes, the organizations that win in 2026 will be those that rethink how they collect, govern, and activate information.
Marr highlights eight major data trends shaping 2026:
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Agent-Ready Data: Ensuring data is accessible, structured, and secure for AI agents.
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GenAI for Data Engineering: Automating cleaning, formatting, ETL, and audits with natural-language-driven pipelines.
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Data Provenance: Strengthening traceability and authenticity across all data sources.
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Compliance & Regulation: Navigating new rules like the EU AI Act and evolving U.S. state-level laws.
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The Agentic Edge: Moving AI agents onto devices and sensors for real-time, on-site decision-making.
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Generative Data Democracy: Enabling everyone to access insights using natural language—supported by strong data literacy.
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Synthetic Data: Accelerating adoption of realistic, privacy-safe AI-generated data.
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Data Sovereignty: Managing cross-border rules, ownership, rights, and IP-safe usage.
These trends reflect a broader shift: AI agents are becoming the primary consumers and processors of enterprise data. To prepare, organizations must modernize their data infrastructure, remove silos, and adopt stronger governance frameworks. GenAI will drastically reduce the friction in data engineering, but only trustworthy, well-governed data will deliver reliable insights.
Marr’s message is clear: the data landscape of 2026 is faster, smarter, and more autonomous. Those who invest early in agent-ready systems, generative tooling, and compliance-aligned architecture will gain a sharp competitive edge—while those who wait risk being left behind in the agentic era.
