Imagine standing at the entrance of a vast, ever-expanding labyrinth of data. Each day, the walls shift and new pathways emerge. How do you not only find your way through but also extract the treasures hidden within? This is the challenge facing organizations, especially data consumers, today as data volumes explode and complexity multiplies.
The compass you need might just be Data Intelligence—and it’s more crucial now than ever before. Our latest 2025 BARC Score on Data Intelligence Platforms reveals four key trends that are reshaping how organizations harness their data assets. These aren’t just technical shifts; they’re potential game-changers for your business outcomes.
The AI Revolution in Your Data Catalog
Remember when data catalogs were just basic repositories? Those days are rapidly disappearing in your rearview mirror. Today’s AI-powered catalogs are more like trusted advisors that work alongside you, anticipating needs and taking initiative.
Think of AI copilots as your data expedition partners—they’re not just answering questions but actively helping you navigate the terrain. They catalog new data territories as they appear, automate repetitive tasks, and engage users across your organization.
Context is everything in this partnership. Your AI copilot recognizes who you are, what you’re permitted to access, and what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s like having a colleague who knows exactly which report you need before you even ask for it.
Before the ChatGPT era transformed our expectations, Machine Learning was already quietly revolutionizing data discovery and classification. Now, generative AI is taking this further, e.g., by streamlining metadata creation. What does this mean for you? Implementation times that once took months can be compressed into weeks or even days, and you can save significant resources by automating the ingestion and curation of your less critical data assets—which typically represent 50-80% of your data landscape.
As you face mounting pressure to deliver value quickly from your Data Intelligence investments, these AI capabilities aren’t just nice-to-have features—they’re essential bridges connecting technical capabilities to business adoption.
Steering Through the AI Regulatory Storm
With regulations like the EU AI Act looming on the horizon, robust AI governance isn’t just good practice—it’s becoming a legal requirement. You need tools that provide comprehensive oversight of your AI systems, from cataloging the unstructured data feeding your models to assessing the risks associated with AI-driven decisions.
Integrating AI governance into your existing data governance platform creates a unified approach, allowing you to navigate regulatory requirements while maintaining control over your AI systems with minimal additional effort. This integration is like having a single dashboard for your entire data and AI ecosystem—comprehensive visibility with streamlined management.
Bridging the Implementation Gap
Here’s a sobering reality: despite growing investments in data catalogs, the success rate of Data Intelligence projects remains alarmingly low. You’ve likely experienced this tension—exciting technology that somehow fails to deliver on its promise.
This implementation gap has catalyzed a new approach from vendors: comprehensive business enablement programs designed to ensure your technology investments translate into actual business outcomes. These programs offer more than just technical support; they provide the scaffolding needed to build a data-driven culture:
- Hands-on training that builds real proficiency, not just theoretical knowledge
- Targeted proof-of-concept engagements that address your specific business challenges
- Community connections that let you learn from peers facing similar hurdles
- Strategic consulting that aligns your Data Intelligence initiatives with business objectives
Selecting the right enablement approach is like choosing the right vehicle for your journey. A financial institution navigating regulatory compliance needs a different support structure than a tech company building a data marketplace. Your Data Intelligence Use Case should be as unique as your business strategy—there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
From Data Discovery to Data Products: A Marketplace Evolution
Imagine transforming your data from raw materials into polished, ready-to-use products. This shift toward data products represents a fundamental evolution in how organizations deliver value from their information assets.
Modern data catalogs are evolving into vibrant marketplaces where your teams can easily discover, access, and collaborate on data products. User ratings, comments, and clear ownership create trust—similar to how you rely on reviews when shopping online. These social signals ensure continuous improvement, with products evolving to meet your consumers’ expectations.
The traditional boundary between metadata and the data itself is increasingly dissolving. Today’s catalogs offer features such as sample data previews and direct access within platforms, making the experience more seamless for users. Data contracts are emerging as a powerful mechanism to establish predefined roles and automate access requests, dramatically improving scalability.
As your organization embraces data products, catalogs become the central hub unifying discovery, access, and governance. The vision of “computational governance”—where access rules are automatically executed rather than manually processed—is becoming reality, reducing request backlogs and accelerating time-to-insight.
Your Data Intelligence Roadmap for 2025
The vendors in the Data Intelligence space clearly understand what you’re facing: the need to align technology investments with tangible business outcomes. This understanding is driving their 2025 roadmaps.
Whether through AI-driven copilots, robust governance frameworks, or enhanced data product support, Data Intelligence Platforms offer powerful tools to unlock value from your data assets. But the most significant challenges you’ll face aren’t technological—they’re organizational and strategic.
Taking Action: Your Next Steps
Ready to leverage these trends in your organization? Here are three concrete steps you can take today:
- Assess your AI readiness: Evaluate how AI copilots could automate your most time-consuming data governance tasks. Identify specific use cases where AI could deliver immediate value.
- Leverage enablement programs to achieve your goals: What is your most important use case and what is preventing wider adoption of your data catalog regarding this use case? Is it training, technical integration, or strategic alignment? Match your needs to the right enablement program.
- Assess whether and how your company could profit: Making key data products easily accessible across your enterprise can save a lot of work while increasing the usage of central data assets, ideally translating into business value.
Want to dive deeper into the Data Intelligence landscape? Check out BARC’s comprehensive Data Intelligence Platform Score, released on February 24, 2025. It will provide you with detailed insights into vendor capabilities to guide your strategy.
The data maze continues to grow more complex—but with the right approach to Data Intelligence, you can transform it from a challenge into your competitive advantage.
