2026年数据流报告 弥合数据和人工智能价值之间的差距 Data Streaming Report 2026 Bridging the Gap Between Data and AI Value

anIBMCompany

CONFLUENT

20Data

Streaming

26Report

BridgingtheGap

BetweenDataandAIValue

KEYFINDING3

24

DataStreamingPlatformsUnlockAgenticAIWithReal-TimeContext

KEYFINDING4

31

AcceleratingDataValueviaShift-LeftIntegration

KEYFINDING2

18

DataStreamingPlatformsPowertheDataFoundationThatAIDemands

TableofContents

ExecutiveSummary

3

CurrentDataStreamingMaturityLandscape

7

KEYFINDING1

10

DataStreamingIsa

High-ROIStrategicPriority

TakeYourDataStreamingGametotheNextLevel

38

UseConfluenttoYourAdvantage

39

Methodology

40

report.confluent.io

Executive

SummaryTHEBUSINESSIMPACTOFDSPsISUNDENIABLE:

97%

richercustomerexperiences

93%

improvedriskmanagement

%

InanAI-drivenworld,datastreamingisfoundationaltosuccess.

93

AIinnovation

89%

reducedtimetomarket

Datastreamingplatforms(DSPs)haverapidlyevolvedfromemergingtechnologytoastrategicimperative,enablingorganizationstooperateinrealtime,unlockthefullvalueoftheirdata,andstaycompetitiveinanincreasinglyAI-poweredlandscape.

Unlikelegacydataarchitecturesbuiltonbatchprocessingandfragmentedpipelines,DSPsdelivercontinuous,governeddataflowsthatAIsystemsdependontofunctioneffectivelyatscale.

Inour“2026DataStreamingReport:BridgingtheGapBetweenDataandAIValue,”whichisbasedoninsightsfrom4,625ITleaderssurveyed,themessageisclear:

Organizationsthatfailtomodernizetheirdatafoundationsriskfallingbehind.Today,88%ofITleadersrankDSPsasahighinvestmentpriority,reflectingthegrowingroleofDSPsatthecenterofmoderndataandAIstrategies.

Thebusinessimpactisundeniable—richercustomerexperiences(97%),AIinnovation(93%),improvedriskmanagement(93%),andreducedtimetomarket(89%).These

outcomesreinforceDSPsasessentialinvestments,with50%oforganizationsreportingatleast5xreturnoninvestment(ROI)and88%achieving2xormore.

report.confluent.io3

report.confluent.io4

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

94%

oftechnologyleaderssaythey’veseenorexpecttoseedatastreamingamplifytheimpactoftheirAIinvestments.

Datastreamingplatformsarethecriticalenablerforovercomingthesebarriers.

Bydeliveringreal-time,trustworthy,andcontextualizeddata,theyaddressthe

infrastructureanddataqualitychallengesthatlegacysystemscan’tsolve—while

alsoreducingtheoperationalcomplexityandskillsrequirementsforteamsthroughmanagedservices.Accordingto83%ofITleaderssurveyed,DSPshelpreduceskillsgapsandbolsterorganizationalreadinessforagenticAIadoption,allowingthemtomovefromexperimentationtoproductionwithgreaterspeedandconfidence.

90%

oftechnologyleaderssayDSPseasethepathtoAIadoption.

Theimplicationforexecutivesisclear:DSPsarenolongeroptional;they’rethe

foundationforAIsuccess.Organizationsthatcontinuetorelyonfragmented,batch-baseddataarchitectureswillstruggletoscaleAI,delayinnovation,andincurrisingcostsfromdatacomplexity.Thosethatembracedatastreamingwillbepositionedtoturndataintoreal-timevalue,unlockingthenextwaveofAI-drivengrowthand

competitiveadvantage.

Whilesomeorganizationsattempttoachievetheseoutcomeswith

patchworkdatastacks,warehouse-orlakehouse-centricarchitectures,or

self-managedstreamingtools,theseapproachesoftenintroducelatency,

fragmentation,andoperationalcomplexity.Theymovedatabutstruggletomakeitcontinuouslyusable,governed,andreadyforAI.DSPsstandapartbyprovidingaunified,real-timedatafoundationthatsupportsthescale,speed,andreliabilitythatAIdemands.

InterestinagenticAIisrapidlyaccelerating,andtheconversationhas

becomeubiquitousasorganizationsexploresystemsthatcanreason,act,andautomatecomplexworkflows.Yetdespitethismomentum,only32%oforganizationsareusingagenticAIinproduction.Progressisoftenhinderedbypersistentchallenges,includingskillsgaps(69%),largelanguagemodel(LLM)reliabilityconcerns(68%),anddatainfrastructureandqualityissues(66%)—allofwhichmakeitdifficulttoscaleAIeffectively.

Explore

theReport

Learnmoreabouthoworganizationslikeyoursare

usingdatastreamingplatformstoaccelerate

AIadoptionanddriveROIacrosstheenterprise.

INDUSTRY

RETAIL

TECHLEADERINSIGHTS

report.confluent.io5

“

OREAL

GROUPE

Datastreamingiscrucialfordriving

digitaltransformationatL’Oréal,whichin

turnhelpsusincreaseagilitytomeetour

consumers’needsrapidly…Inanerawhereweenvisionhavingdataatourfingertips,Confluent’sdatastreamingplatform

helpssetourdatainmotionbyfacilitatingreal-timedataflowsbetweenoursystems

andapplications.“

SindhuPrasanna

Event-DrivenArchitectureLeadL’OréalGroup

SOFTWARE

DEVELOPMENT

TECHLEADERINSIGHTS

report.confluent.io6

“

Notion

Adatastreamingplatformallowsusto

streamchangesastheyhappen,ensuringthatourAItoolsalwaysprovidethemost

relevantandtimelyinformation.“

EkanthSethuramalingam

EngineeringLeadNotion

CurrentData

Streaming

MaturityLandscape

Forthosenewtothereport,weincorporatedtheconceptofthe

datastreamingmaturitycurve—stagesthatorganizationsprogressthroughontheirdatastreamingjourneys—intoourresearchin2023.

Thisyear’sreportrevealsthatmaturitycontinuestotrendinapositivedirection.Morethanever,organizationsarelandinginLevel3,nowthelargestsegmentat55%—upfrom51%in2025.Atthisstage,streamingbeginstodelivermeasurablebusinessvalueacrossmultipleuse

casesandcriticalsystems.ThecontinuousexpansionofLevel3

signalsagrowingbaseofcompaniesoperationalizingstreamingatscaleandlayingthegroundworkforbroaderenterpriseadoptionin

theyearsahead.

report.confluent.io7

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Level52%

Level48%Level122%

2026MATURITY

DISTRIBUTION

Level214%

Level355%

LEVEL1

LEVEL3

LEVEL2

LEVEL4

LEVEL5

22%

Explorationandlearning

Stillattheevaluationand/orproofofconceptstage

55%

Criticalsilos

Broaderscopeproductiondeployment,includingforcriticalsystems

14%

Earlyadoption

Initialproduction

deploymentswithafocusonnon-criticalsystems

8%

Foundationalintegration

Implementationof

cross-systemandcross-businessunitreuse

andintegration

2%

Real-timeenterprise

Dataproductsbased

ongovernmentstreamsembeddedasstrategicenablers

In2026,22%oforganizationsreportbeinginLevel1,reflectingasteadyinfluxofnewadoptersdrawninbytheneedtoactonreal-timedata.Atthesametime,88%ofITleadersrankdatastreaminginvestmentasatoppriority,underscoringhow

real-timedatahasbecomeacompetitiveadvantageintheageofAI.

It’sencouragingthatorganizationsarealsomovingthroughtheearlystagesmorequickly.Level2participation

continuestoshrink—downto14%

from15%lastyearand23%theyear

before—suggestingthatcompaniesareacceleratingbeyondexperimentation.

Atthemostadvancedendofthematuritycurve,Level5organizationshavedoubled—from1%to2%yearoveryear.Whilestill

asmallcohort,thisgrowthsignalsthatmoreenterprisesarereachingfull-scale,embeddedstreamingarchitectures.

Increasingly,manageddatastreaming

platformsaremakingthislevelofmaturitymoreaccessiblethanever,demonstratingwhat’spossiblewhenreal-timedata

becomesacorepartofabusiness.

FINANCIAL

SERVICES

TECHLEADERINSIGHTS

report.confluent.io9

“

SEMENS

Adatastreamingplatformcreatesasinglepointoftruthbetweenthephysicaland

virtualworlds.It’stransformingourfactory

digitalizationeffortsandunifyingoperationalandinformationtechnologyintoasingle

sourceofinformation.“

JoseCarlosMendesNeves

ServiceOwnerSiemens

KEYFINDING1

50%

oforganizationsreportatleast5xROIfromdatastreaming,with88%making2xROIormore.

DataStreamingisaHigh-ROI

88%

oforganizationsrankdatastreamingtechnologyasahighinvestment

priority.

StrategicPriority

ForITandtechleaders,investmentindatastreamingisconsistentlygeneratingstrategicvaluebyturningenterprisedataintoreal

businessoutcomes—acceleratingAIinitiatives,speedingtimetomarket,boostingrevenue,reducingcostsandrisk,andunlockingefficiencyacrossteams.

report.confluent.io10

FINANCIAL

SERVICES

TECHLEADERINSIGHTS

report.confluent.io11

“ConfluentCloudhelpedusunifyourentire

datastreaminglandscape,andthemanagedconnectorshaveacceleratedourintegrationtimelinesby40%–50%.It’stheenginethat

allowsStonetomovequicklyinacompetitive

fintechlandscape.“

AllanOliveira

SiteReliabilityEngineeringManagerStonePagamentos

KEYFINDING1

report.confluent.io12

DeliveringMeasurableReturns—YearOverYear

Oursurveyshowsthatdatastreamingvalueiswidespread,

withorganizationsreportingstrongROIandtangiblegainsin

data-drivenoperationsandinnovationacrossabroadrangeoffunctionsandindustries.Thepatternwe’veseeninpreviousyearsholdstrue:Themorematureanorganization’sdatastreaming

adoption,thehighertheROI.

OverallROIachievedoranticipated:

10xreturn(ormore)5xreturn(ormore)2xreturn(ormore)1xreturn(ormore)

Lessthan1xreturn(orunsure)

LEVELS4&5Integrateddeployment

17%51%26%4%

LEVEL3Silo-baseddeployment

7%44%39%6%

LEVEL2Earlyadoptionstage

2%33%44%10%

RoughorderofmagnitudeoftheROIrealizedfromdatastreaminginvestments:

PercentageofITleaderswhosaytheircompaniesareachievingoranticipatingatleast5xROI:

LEVELS4&5

68%

LEVEL3

51%

7%10xreturn(ormore)

43%5xreturn(ormore)

28%2xreturn(ormore)

6%1xreturn(ormore)

5%Lessthan1x(orunsure)

KEYFINDING1

report.confluent.io13

ROIExtendsAcrossaWideRangeofBusinessPriorities

Organizationsrecognizedatastreamingasaprovenoremergingdriveroftangiblevalueacrossbothday-to-dayoperationalneedsandlonger-termstrategicobjectives.

Boostingcustomerexperienceleadsasthetopbenefit(97%),followedby

cybersecurityandriskmanagement(93%),AI/machinelearning–drivenproductinnovation(93%—upfrom90%lastyear),data-drivenoperationaldecision-

making(92%),andreducedtimetomarketfornewproductsandservices(89%—upfrom86%lastyear).

Significantbenefitsachievedfromdatastreamingactivitiesinthefollowingareas:

Yes

Nobutexpecting

Notexpecting

N/A(orunsure)

Creatingrichandresponsivecustomerexperiences

70%+4YoY

Improvingcybersecurityanddigitalriskmanagement63%+3YoY

EnablingmoreeffectiveITmonitoringandmanagement62%+3YoY

54%+5YoY35%-2YoY

Enablingproduct/serviceinnovationaroundAI/MLinparticular

54%+1YoY39%+2YoY

61%+2YoY31%-1YoY

Drivingautomationandresponsivenessofinternalprocesses

59%+4YoY33%-3YoY

27%-2YoY

30%-2YoY

30%-2YoY

3%+0YoY

5%-1YoY

6%-1YoY

9%-2YoY

6%-3YoY

6%-1YoY

6%-1YoY

Enablingmoredata-drivenoperationaldecisionswithinthebusiness

Reducedtimetomarketfornewproductsandservices

KEYFINDING1

report.confluent.io14

TheimpactDSPshaveonbusiness-levelobjectivesasaresultofinformationflowingmorequickly,freely,andsafelyaroundtheorganization:

DirectbenefitIndirectbenefitLittle/noimpactNegativeimpact(orunsure)

Product/serviceinnovation

Datastreamingplatformshaveaclearimpacton

business-levelobjectives

byenablingdatatoflowmorefreelyandsecurelyacrossanorganization,increasingefficiencyandacceleratinginnovation.Technologyleaders

reportthatDSPsdriveproductandserviceinnovation(91%),driverevenueandgrowth(88%),reducecostsandrisks(87%),and

speedtimetomarket(84%).

57%

Reducedbusinesscostsandrisks

52%

Increasedrevenueand/orgrowth

50%

49%

Fastertimetomarket

47%

34%

35%

38%

7%

10%

9%

37%

37%

Improvedcustomersatisfaction

11%

13%

report.confluent.io15

ACatalystfor

CompetitiveAdvantage

HowmuchDSPsenablethefollowingbusinesspriorities:

IntheAIera,datahasbecomeevenmorecentraltobusinessstrategydiscussions.

Fortechnologyleaders,prioritiesareclear—gainingreal-timevisibilityintooperations(91%),maximizingbusinessvaluefromdataassets(88%),effectivemanagementof

datasovereignty(88%),strengtheningdataprovenanceandtrackingcapability(86%),improvingdataaccessibilityandreusefordiverseusecases(85%),andtheobvious:usingenterprisedatatodriveAI-basedsystems(80%).

Notably,thecapabilitiesofdatastreamingplatformscorrespondclearlywiththeverysameareasthattechnologyleaderssaymattermost:DSPsfacilitatecontinuousandup-to-datebusinessvisibility(85%),theyhelpmaximizebusinessvaluefromdata

assets(81%),andtheyenableeffectiveuseofenterprisedatatodrive

AI-basedsystems(76%).

1

6

78

9

10

9/10

technologyleaderssayDSPs

arekeytoachievingtheir

data-drivenbusinesspriorities.

23

4

5

KeyEnablerOneofanumberofimportantenablersCanmakethingseasier

Continuousandup-to-datebusinessvisibility

40%45%14%

Maximizingbusinessvaluefromdataassets

33%48%17%

Easyaccessandreuseofdatafordrivingdiverseusecases

32%45%21%

UseofenterprisedatatodriveAI-basedsystems

32%44%21%

Effectivedataprovenanceandtrackingcapability

35%45%18%

Effectivemanagementofdatasovereignty

35%47%17%

KEYFINDING1

report.confluent.io16

Fromsplit-seconddecisionsto

always-onAI-drivenexperiences,real-timedataisredefininghowbusinessgetsdone.

Datastreamingplatformsareatthecenterofthistransformation,enabling

continuousflowsoftrusteddataacrosssystemsandteams.Technologyleaderspointtoreal-timeanalytics(95%),livecustomerinteractions(88%),event-drivenmicroservices(87%),andAI/machinelearning(ML)datapipelines(86%)assomeofthemostimpactfulusecases—poweringeverythingfromfasterinsightstonew,intelligentapplications.

DSPsaresuitableforaddressingthefollowingtypesofusecase:

HighlysuitableSuitableWouldleantowardsDIYintegrationofopensourcetechN/A(orunsure)

Real-timeanalyticsanddashboards

58%37%

AI/MLdatapipelines

46%40%

Livecustomerinteractions

44%44%

IoTdataingestionandprocessing

42%41%

Datalake/warehouseingestion

38%46%

Event-drivenmicroservicescommunication

35%52%

4%

11%

10%

14%

13%

11%

Investmentfocusfor2026:

KEYFINDING1

report.confluent.io17

OneofthetopstrategicprioritiesNotabigfocus(orunsure)

Secondarybutimportantpriority

Lowerprioritybutshouldbehigher

DoublingDownonDataStreamingInvestments

Withmeasurablegainsacrossdata-driveninnovation,efficiency,andgrowth,it’snosurprisethatmoretechnologyleadersareincreasinginvestmentindatastreamingplatformstoexpandreal-timecapabilitiesandsupportAIinitiatives.

Caseinpoint:Inoursurvey,88%citeinvestmentindatastreamingasakey

priorityforITagendas,including49%whociteitasatopstrategicpriority.It’sclearthatdatastreamingtechnologyhasfirmlyestablisheditselfamongthemost

importanttechnologypriorities—alongsidesecurityandsecuritymanagement(96%),datamanagementandgovernance(88%),andAI/MLsolutions(82%).

ReflectingthegrowingroleofdatastreaminginpoweringmodernAIsystems,investmentindatastreamingplatformshas,forthefirsttime,surpassed

investmentinAIandMLsolutionsasatopstrategicpriority(byfourpercentagepoints).

Securityandsecuritymanagement

67%+4YoY

4%

29%-2YoY

-1YoY

Datamanagement,protectionandgovernance

54%+5YoY34%-1YoY

11%

-3YoY

Datastreaming/technologyplatforms

49%+3YoY39%-1YoY

10%

-1YoY

AIandmachinelearningsolutions

45%-2YoY37%+1YoY

13%

-1YoY

AI/MLsolutionsfedbydatastreams

42%+1YoY42%+0YoY

12%

-1YoY

Cloudstrategy,adoption,andmanagement

42%+3YoY42%+0YoY

13%

-3YoY

Datacentertransformation/modernization

37%+0YoY42%-1YoY

17%

+2YoY

ITOpsautomation,incAlOps

34%-7YoY45%+5YoY

16%

+2YoY

Softwaredelivery,incDevandDevOps

33%+1YoY52%+1YoY

12%

-2YoY

Edgecomputingand/orloT

27%-3YoY42%-1YoY

21%

+3YoY

KEYFINDING2

DataStreaming

PlatformsPower

theDataFoundationThatAIDemands

BusinessesareallinonAI—fromchatbotsthatdriveengaging

conversationstoemergingagenticsystemsthatcanplanandact

autonomously.Butonestatementstillringstrue:GoodAIoutcomes

requiregood,timelydata.Andtechnologyleadersoverwhelmingly

confirmthatdatastreamingplatformsareeasingenterpriseadoptionbypoweringaccesstoAI-readydataandovercomingpersistent

challengeswithdataaccess,qualityassurance,andgovernance.

94%

oftechnologyleaderssaythey’veseen

orexpecttoseedatastreamingincreasetheimpactoftheirAIinvestments.

41%

oftechnologyleaderssaytheboostissignificant.

report.confluent.io18

PUBLIC

SECTOR

TECHLEADERINSIGHTS

report.confluent.io19

“GoodAIneedsgooddata.

Confluent’sdatastreamingplatformis

ourtrustedsourceoftruth,streaming

high-qualitydatatoourdatalakesand

AIplatformstotrainmodelsinrealtime.It

providescontextandorchestrationforouragentstoautomateworkflows,accelerating

oursmartcitytransformation.“

AtilioRanzuglia

HeadofDataandAI

PalmerstonNorthCityCouncil

report.confluent.io20

KEYFINDING2

DataChallenges

RemainaThorninAI’sSide

AIhasthepotentialtotransformhoworganizationsmakedecisions,streamlineoperations,anddriveinnovation.Butlikeanysystem,AIisonlyasstrongasthedatabehindit.Whendataisincomplete,inconsistent,ordelayed,eventhemostadvancedAImodelsstruggletoalignwiththeirdesigns.

Andwhilemanyorganizationsaimtobecometrulydata-driven,persistent

operationalchallengesstillstandintheway.Datasilos(74%),inconsistencyof

datasources(72%),uncertaindatalineage,timeliness,andquality(71%),out-of-datedata(66%),andgovernance-relateddisjoints(64%)continuetocreate

frictionacrossdataecosystems.Inoursurvey,60%ofITleadershighlightatleastfivechallenges,demonstratinghowwidespreadtheseissuescontinuetobe.

Commondata-relatedchallenges:

Unsure

MajorissueFrequentchallengeGenerallynotaproblem

Dataspreadacrossseparatesilos

26%+14YoY48%-3YoY25%-11YoY

Inconsistencyofdatasources

28%+6YoY44%-2YoY28%-2YoY

Uncertaindatalineage,timelinessorquality

25%+6YoY46%-2YoY28%-3YoY

Fragmentedownershipofdata

25%+4YoY42%+0YoY32%-3YoY

Dataistoooftenout-of-date

24%+3YoY42%-2YoY33%-1YoY

Discovering/accessingthedatathatexists

23%+4YoY42%+3YoY34%-18YoY

Governancerelateddisjoints

20%+1YoY44%+0YoY34%+0YoY

KEYFINDING2

report.confluent.io21

ofITleadershaveencounteredthreeormore

challengeswhenscalingAIinitiatives,revealingthepressureAIisputtingondatasystems.

72%

ChiefamongthebarrierstoAIadoptionisinsufficientinfrastructureforreal-timedataprocessing(72%)—upfrom61%in2025—followedbyambiguityaboutdatalineage,timeliness,andquality(66%),fragmentedownershipofdata(65%),andlimitedabilitytoseamlesslyintegratenewdatasources(64%).

CompoundingtheseissuesisapersistentAIskills/expertisegap(71%),upfrom66%in2025,whichmakesitharderfororganizationstooperationalizeAIeffectively.Failuretoaddressthesechallengeswillresultinoperationalbottlenecksandincreasedcomplexity,underminingAI’spotentialbenefits.

CommonchallengeswhenacceleratingAI/MLadoption:

N/A(orunsure)

MajorissueFrequentchallengeGenerallynotaproblem

Insufficientinfrastructureforreal-timedataprocessing

29%+15YoY43%-4YoY27%-9YoY

Fragmentedownershipofdataacrossdisparatesystems

21%-1YoY44%-2YoY31%+4YoY

Limitedabilitytoseamlesslyintegratenewdatasources

23%-1YoY41%+0YoY32%+1YoY

Ambiguitysurroundingdatalineage,timeliness,andqualityassurance

23%+3YoY43%-2YoY29%-1YoY

InsufficientskillsandexpertiseinmanagingAIprojectsandworkflows

30%+8YoY41%-3YoY26%-5YoY

KEYFINDING2

report.confluent.io22

DataStreamingPlatformsRemovetheRoadblockstoAIMomentum

Thegoodnews?DSPsarehelpingorganizations

tacklebothfoundationaldatachallengesandthoseuniquetoAIhead-on.

DSPsmakeiteasierfororganizationstotrulyoperateasdata-drivenbusinessesby:

81%

improvingdatagovernance

93%

breakingdowndatasilos

87%

helpingdiscoverandaccessthedatathatexists

ThedegreetowhichDSPscanhelpmitigatethesekindsofissues:

29%52%17%

UnsureInmostsituationsInmanysituationsRarely

Discovering/accessingthedatathatexists

43%44%12%

Dataspreadacrossseparatesilos

42%51%7%

Fragmentedownershipofdata

36%46%16%

Inconsistencyofdatasources

33%44%21%

Uncertaindatalineage,timelinessorquality

32%46%20%

Dataisoftenout-of-date

30%41%27%

Governancerelateddisjoints

KEYFINDING2

report.confluent.io23

76%

ofITleaderssayDSPtechnologyenablestheuseofenterprisedatatodriveAI-basedsystems.

32%

Keyenabler

44%

Oneofanumberofimportantenablers

21%

Canmakethingseasier

4%

Notthatrelevant(orunsure)

DSPsalsoaddressmanyoftheroadblocksslowingAIadoption.Intheirresponses,90%ofITleadersreportthatDSPseasethepathtoAIadoptionbyaddressing

keychallenges,particularlywhenitcomestodataaccess,qualityassurance,andgovernance.

SimplifyingAIaccesstodifferentdatasourcesranksasthetopbenefit(95%),

followedbystrengtheninggovernance,compliance,anddatasecurity(91%),

providingnecessarycontextualizeddata(90%),andensuringquality,reliability,andtimelinessofdata(90%).Together,thesecapabilitiesalloworganizationstofullyleverageenterprisedatatodriveAI-basedsystems—with76%oftechnologyleaderssayingDSPsmakeitpossible.

CanDSPtechnologyeasethepathtoenterpriselevelAIadoption?:

YesPossiblyNoN/A(