Trend Radar Data & Cloud Services 2025/2026

The world of data and cloud services is evolving rapidly. Companies continue to face the challenge of not only managing large amounts of data, but also using it intelligently and efficiently.  

With the increasing use of AI models and new data fabric concepts, 2025 was a year full of learning, eye-opening moments, and technical innovations. And 2026 promises to be even more exciting.

Looking back at 2025: Key insights

Before we look at future trends, let's first take a brief look back at the most important developments this year. If we had to describe the year in the data and cloud environment in three keywords, we would choose the terms: open data platforms, artificial intelligence (AI), and data governance.  

The most important developments and findings were:

• Open platform concept: SAP's strategic realignment with the Business Data Cloud (BDC) and the integration of Databricks enables companies to achieve greater flexibility, faster innovation, and more efficient use of their data. This makes it easier for teams to integrate new data sources, perform analyses more quickly, and respond agilely to market changes.

• AI requires data: Many pilot projects have shown that AI can only reach its full potential if it has a solid, high-quality data foundation. Reliable data enables more accurate analyses, better predictions, and more efficient automation.

• Data governance as a success factor: Clear processes, data products, and data profiles enable reliable control and effective use of data. The eye-opening realization of many projects: Without data governance, there is no trustworthy data—and, as mentioned, no usable AI results.

• Data sovereignty: Companies that retain control over their data not only meet compliance requirements, but can also structure and analyze their data in a targeted manner and use it for strategic decisions. This allows new opportunities to be identified and exploited more quickly.

The findings from 2025 clearly show where things are headed: data is not only the basis for AI, but is only valuable if it is reliable and well structured. Building on these experiences, clear trends are emerging for 2026 that will enable companies to make their data strategy even more intelligent and agile.

Outlook for 2026: Agents, agility, and clear responsibilities

The year 2026 will be marked by greater autonomy, agility, and accountability in the world of data. The focus will be on moving from passive data usage to autonomous, self-learning analytics processes. Companies that take advantage of these trends early on will be able to accelerate their decision-making processes and take their data strategy to a new level.

Overview of important developments:

• Agentic Analytics & AI Agents: Modern AI agents can independently recognize patterns in large amounts of data, identify anomalies, and derive recommendations for action based on this information. This automates routine tasks, noticeably reduces the workload on teams, and enables faster and more informed decision-making. Companies benefit from faster analysis, fewer sources of error, and more effective use of their data resources.

• Agile data architectures: Modular, domain-based, and real-time capable data structures enable the flexible integration of new data sources and more efficient analysis. Such agile architectures make companies significantly more adaptable, as new requirements or data sources can be quickly integrated, and increase the speed of data-driven decision-making processes.

• Clear responsibility for data: Only with clear ownership structures can the quality and use of data be reliably controlled. Responsible data owners ensure that key figures are calculated correctly, analyses are traceable, and decisions are made on a sound basis. This creates transparency, reduces risks, and makes data-based strategies plannable and implementable.

The trends presented show that in the future, not only will technology become smarter, but the way companies use their data will also undergo significant development.

Conclusion: Data intelligence becomes a competitive advantage

2026 will be the year in which companies take the next step: away from static reports and toward autonomous, self-learning data solutions. Those who focus on AI agents, agile data architectures, and clear responsibilities early on will gain a decisive competitive advantage.

We can help you to effectively design and successfully implement your data strategy in this context – just get in touch with us!

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