Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2025 Sydney: Day 1 Highlights

We are bringing you news and highlights from the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2025, taking place this week in Sydney, Australia. Below is a collection of the key announcements and insights coming out of the conference.

On Day 1 from the conference, we are highlighting sessions on the top data and analytics predictions for 2025 and beyond; the leading analytics and AI challenges this year; and AI agents - whether organizations are ready to set their AI free. 

• Gartner Announces the Top Data & Analytics Predictions

Presented by Carlie Idoine, VP Analyst, Gartner 

Nearly everything today is directly or indirectly influenced by AI. To deliver value, AI needs to be tightly aligned with data, analytics and governance to enable intelligent, adaptive decisions and actions. In this session, Carlie Idoine, VP Analyst at Gartner, revealed Gartner’s top D&A predictions for 2025 and outlined how D&A leaders can plan for the impact of AI.

• “Organizations that emphasize AI literacy for executives will achieve 20% higher financial performance by 2027 compared with those that don’t. Educate them on the opportunities, risks and costs to make effective, future decisions on AI investments.”

• “By 2027, 50% of business decisions will be augmented or automated by AI agents for decision intelligence. Use them collectively with effective governance and risk management.”

• “10% of global boards will use AI guidance to challenge executive decisions material to their business by 2029. They must define the boundaries of AI involvement and establish clear policies around oversight, responsibility and regulatory compliance.” 

• “By 2028, 30% of GenAI pilots that move into large scale production will be built versus deployed using packaged applications. Adopt a clear framework that factors in cost, time to market, available skillsets, integration capabilities, compliance and risk.”

• “Organizations that prioritize semantics in AI-ready data by 2027 will increase GenAI model accuracy by up to 80% and reduce costs by up to 60%. This enables AI agents to operate more effectively and facilitates smarter, faster decision making.”

Journalists can read more in the press release: Gartner Announces the Top Data & Analytics Predictions.

Presented by Anirudh Ganeshan, Senior Principal Analyst, Gartner

D&A leaders face many challenges when it comes to analytics and AI. In this session, Anirudh Ganeshan, Senior Principal Analyst at Gartner, discussed the top fears, risks, objections and hurdles D&A leaders face when it comes to these topics and how to handle them.

• Challenge No. 1: Establish Trust: “Provide a heads-up of industry and technology trends to key stakeholders — focus on impact, not hype.”

• Challenge No. 2: Demonstrate Benefits: “Tie data pain points and opportunities to organizational goals by pinpointing what is inhibiting data-driven decision making and determining its downstream impact on business outcomes.”

• Challenge No. 3: Establish a solutions-first approach: “A solutions-first approach requires a deep understanding of the problem and what it's causing. Once the problem is understood, identify or create a solution to address it.”

• Challenge No. 4: Focus on more than just the technology: “Technology changes quickly, so stay open to new possibilities. Build agile governance principles that can adapt to changing circumstances. Trust employees to make decisions within defined parameters. Continuously monitor progress and adjust strategies as needed.”

• Challenge No. 5: Determine responsibilities between business and IT: “Set up a hybrid multi-tiered organizational model and determine where to position the global hub and CDAO. Balance traditional and emerging roles and actively engage with domain roles.”

Journalists can receive additional information and/or request an interview with the Gartner expert by contacting Emma Keen at emma.keen@gartner.com.

Erick Brethenoux, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner

AI agents are emerging as an important trend since they enable levels of business adaptability, flexibility and agility that traditional AI systems cannot achieve. In this session, Erick Brethenoux, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, discussed how autonomous behaviors are the answer to the increasing complexity in enterprise systems, despite significant societal, legal and ethical implications.

• “Beware of market pressures around AI agents leading to sterile AI investments.”

• “Identify the organization’s solutions where AI agents can really make a difference given their intrinsic capabilities.”

• “Where AI agents make sense, prepare software engineering, security and data & analytics teams for disruptive practices.”

• “Implement a comprehensive AI literacy program as the deployment of AI agents implies a deeper understanding of composite AI techniques.” 

• “Prepare for the next stage of AI agents by exploring software simulation environments.”

Journalists can receive additional information and/or request an interview with the Gartner expert by contacting Emma Keen at emma.keen@gartner.com.