At Infotopics, we see that more and more organizations are looking for direction. What are the most important developments? What do you need to anticipate today to be ready tomorrow? In our work with clients, seven themes keep recurring - trends that determine how you as an organization continue to be successful and data-driven.
1. Data governance: working with clear rules of the game
The growing dependence on data within organizations requires structure. Not only on a technical level, but also around responsibility and policy. Data Governance has a central place in data strategies: a coherent set of agreements, guidelines and controls that determine how data is collected, managed, shared and protected.
This revolves around five core principles: transparency, people-centricity, security, integrity and oversight. The goal: data must be reliable, accountable and manageable - both within the organization and towards external stakeholders.
2. Tableau AI agents: systems that make choices independently
AI agents are increasingly being used to perform tasks without intervention; they help analysts and end users ask questions, analyze data and explain results. Tools like Tableau Pulse allow you to talk to your data in natural language, get instant visualizations and explanations. Extending this functionality is an AI agent that proactively seeks explanations by combining internal and external data, such as by linking a sales drop to the weather. AI identifies trends and anomalies in real time, accelerating the building of dashboards and data models. Thus, data analysis is becoming more accessible and smarter.
3. AI literacy: grip starts with understanding
AI only makes a real impact when people know what it does and how to read the outcomes. We see AI literacy developing into an essential skill within more and more organizations. It is not about technical depth, but about understanding how AI applications work and their limitations. Professionals are learning how to interpret results, recognize risks and ask educated questions. Thus, confidence in the technology grows and AI becomes more widely applicable in daily practice.
4. Data talent: scarcity calls for smart choices
The scarcity of data professionals remains a challenge. Organizations are responding to this with external training and internal training programs such as those offered by the Infotopics Academy. We also see more collaboration in the form of multidisciplinary teams in which domain knowledge and data expertise come together. In this way, organizations are building their data maturity sustainably.
5. One integrated approach from data to action
Organizations are under pressure to respond faster and smarter to change. That means losing less time collecting and cleaning up data, and more focus on turning insights into concrete actions. So we see a clear trend toward more accessible data analytics, where speed, ease of use and scalability are key. Think of the rise of AI-driven tools, no-code and low-code interfaces and integrations with modern cloud environments.
Tableau Next aligns seamlessly with this development. Whereas a solid data platform - as we realize with Snowflake and Matillion, among others - provides a reliable foundation of current and controlled data, Tableau Next forms a smart layer on top of it. Thanks to powerful AI functionality and intuitive interfaces, Tableau Next enables end users to extract value from data faster, without depending on technical experts. As such, it is not a replacement for your data platform, but rather an accelerator that helps make the step from data to action shorter and more effective.
6. Real-time analytics: immediate insights, immediate action
Organizations want to be able to react faster to what's happening. Real-time analytics provides that capability by constantly monitoring processes and taking immediate action when needed. Whether it's customer interaction, inventory levels or risk signals - real-time insights increase agility. At the same time, reliability remains essential: speed should never come at the expense of data quality.
7. Data democratization: insight at your fingertips
Data is no longer just on the desk of specialists. Data democratization makes insights available to everyone in the organization, regardless of technical knowledge. Using self-service BI tools like Tableau, teams can perform their own analyses, answer questions and take action faster. This strengthens decision-making, encourages collaboration and fosters a culture where data-driven work becomes the norm.
Data-driven work requires direction
These developments show that data and AI should no longer be seen as separate themes, but part of the foundation of modern organizations. This requires choices: about governance, transparency, skills and technology.
At Infotopics, we see daily how organizations struggle with this and grow. By making data accessible, connecting insights to practice and making applications scalable, we create room for smart, future-oriented decision-making.
Want to know more about our vision on data-driven work? Visit infotopics.nl for insights, examples and inspiration.
