Data Summit 2026 is rapidly approaching on May 6 - 7 in Boston, with pre-conference workshops on May 5, delivering a high-impact learning experience for data and AI professionals at every level.
Attendees will gain practical strategies and forward-looking perspectives from industry leaders who are addressing the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of data.
And new for 2026, the Data + AI Leadership Forum, an exclusive space for business and technical leaders to explore strategy, governance, responsible AI, and value realization—through interactive sessions, executive roundtables, and peer advisory discussions.
DBTA recently spoke to John O’Brien, program chair for the event and principal advisor, industry analyst at Radiant Advisors, about what to expect at this year’s event.
As a recognized thought leader in business intelligence, O’Brien has been publishing articles and presenting at conferences in North America and Europe for the past 10 years. Today, he provides research, strategic advisory services, and mentoring that guides companies in meeting the demands of next-generation information management, architecture, and emerging technologies.
What are you working on that you're most excited about these days and how will that apply to your keynote at the event?
I think I'm excited about the event, especially on its own, because we've worked on a really good program. I think the tracks are designed based on what we see in the industry, what the people are asking for, and there's a new leadership forum on data and AI dedicated to those questions. So, I'm really excited about the program design.
Aside from that, what we work on, and it's also related to my closing keynote on Thursday, is we just got the fresh results back from our AI readiness market survey. And we do this in partnership with DBTA and Unisphere Research. And with this, we have the latest findings on the market survey that we run once a year. So, this is our third or fourth year here. We've shifted from data architecture trends to AI readiness because there's no doubt that how exciting that is. It will be presented at the keynote at the conference for the first time. So, it’s very exciting to start diving in and seeing what people are saying about AI and data architecture and the relationships there, what's working, and what's not.
What can data teams do to stay on the leading edge of the AI movement as things are changing so fast?
Yes. It comes up every week, almost every day in conversations with companies and peers and industry folks. One tip is, there's no denying it, you must get hands-on today, start playing with AI, start thinking about how this can apply. Most of the conversations I have with companies are around shaping the mindset of AI. So, the thing that we do focus on is there's a lot of noise and the whole AI space we know is moving so incredibly fast. Don't try to keep up with it. The key here is going to be focus small, focus on what you can do, get your hands on with it, start playing, and you'll start to evolve into, “okay, now we know what we're doing. Now we know how we can add value into the use cases.” For those who are already in the pilot stages, they're looking at, how do we take this to the next level?
A lot of the companies we work with have been hands-on for a while, but how do you take this into production operation? So, it's data and AI together. And there is the key components to focus on, the semantic layers, which we have a dedicated track just to semantic layers at the Summit.
But yeah, if you're not already hands-on, get hands-on. If you're starting to and you feel overwhelmed, learn to filter out the noise, kind of stay focused on what you can deliver and value, and know that you must change your operational mindset if you're already on that journey.
Can you share a little bit about what the executives attending can expect to experience within the Data + AI Leadership Forum?
We picked certain sessions that are more case studies, more, risk balance, more strategy oriented, and then geared towards here's what not to do, or here's what happened on our journey. So, people can get a sense of understanding what they need to do to lead the AI and data initiatives at their company. At the leadership level, you need to have this strategy of “here's how we're going to go step by step.”
What are you most excited about at Data Summit this year?
The value of in-person events is unmatched. I've been at a couple of other industry or vendor conferences recently, and you get to talk to people, you get to hear what they're going through, and what they've learned. I always look forward to between the sessions, the hallway talks, the exhibition hall discussions, vendors, of course. You get all of that in a real-time blended approach that unfortunately webinars or virtual meetings can't deliver that kind of natural feel and discussion.
So yeah, for me, the excitement is really about getting to talk to people in person, getting to talk to vendors in person, getting to hear what's working for them, sharing, finding people in the same industry or at the same level of their careers and having those kind of shared conversations that don't happen in the virtual one-way world, if you will.
Register now to attend the 13th annual Data Summit, taking place in Boston on May 6–7, 2026, with pre-conference workshops on May 5.