1、Decision Intelligence Benchmark|Q1 2026Data StrategyTechnology and VendorDecisions for 2026Making Smarter Investments with Peer Insights Enterprise data strategy leaders enter 2026 carrying the heaviest tech stacks in Assembles benchmark and every single one plans to reshape whats there.More than ha
2、lf of data strategy teams run 9to 14 tools,and 24%manage 25 or more heavier stacks than any other functional area in the benchmark.With that architecture comes a workload:71%of leaders spend 10 or more hours per weekmanaging the stack,and 24%spend 25 hours or more.Not one describes the experience as
3、 frictionless.No one is holding still on tech stack investments,either.Zero leaders report a stable with no changes posture for 2026,and 71%are pursuing selective replacements,with another 18%planning majorconsolidation.Leaders know what they want to swap.What theyre optimizing for sets the function
4、 apart.New capabilities,including AI leads tech stack objectives at 30%ahead of efficiency and time savings at 21%and cost reduction at 7%.Mostother functions in Assembles benchmark put efficiency at the top;data strategy puts capability there instead.That ambition meets a familiar wall:94%describe
5、tool approvals as anywhere from mixedbag to very difficult procurement processes calibrated to a slower pace of change than the data infrastructure world of today.Where investment is moving tracks the architecture:semantic and data modeling(87%),data catalogs(82%),data governance,MDM,and data lineag
6、e(76%each),and data quality(71%)all rank amongthe strongest growth signals.But peer recommendation scores in core categories MDM(6.6/10),ETL/ELT(6.3/10),and data quality(5.5/10)cluster at qualified satisfaction,not enthusiasm.Thestory for data strategy in 2026 is one of complexity.The stacks are the