CData

State of AI Data Connectivity Report: 2026 Outlook

Solving the hardest problem in enterprise AI: data infrastructure

Based on research with 200+ data & AI leaders and insights from AI pioneers at Microsoft and AWS, this report is the first to examine how data integration maturity drives AI success. By combining perspectives from enterprises operationalizing AI and software providers embedding AI features, it reveals the data connectivity challenges that determine whether AI initiatives scale or stall.

AI teams across industries are discovering the same truth: you can't scale AI without fixing data connectivity.

In this report, you'll learn:

  • Why only 6% of companies are satisfied with their data integration architecture for AI adoption.
  • Why 71% of AI teams spend most of their AI implementation time "playing data plumber" instead of training models.
  • Why real-time connectivity and semantic intelligence are becoming the new foundation of AI maturity.
  • What separates AI-native ISVs from those still struggling to embed AI copilots and agents in product.
  • How leading organizations are building the connectivity layer for GenAI and agentic AI systems.

Get the report now
“Data is absolutely the lifeblood of AI agents actually being helpful for your enterprise. And so, having the right connections, the right fidelity, the right security, the right compliance around your data is critical.”

— Philip Stephens, Senior Staff Software Engineer, Google

Google
6%

Only 6% of enterprises are satisfied with data connectivity.

83%

83% of enterprises have built or plan to build a semantic data access layer to unify and contextualize data.

A practical guide for driving AI business impact by fixing your data infrastructure

  • Identify the biggest data readiness gaps slowing AI adoption, and benchmark your AI maturity against validated maturity models for both enterprises and software providers.
  • Understand the data infrastructure capabilities that define AI success, based on what the most mature and highest-performing organizations have already built.
  • See where visionary AI leaders are investing in 2026, from real-time connectivity to semantic intelligence, so you can align priorities with what's actually driving impact.