"AI is only as reliable as the data behind it," said Emma McGrattan, chief technology officer of Actian. "Actian's research with BARC confirms that organizations with mature data management practices, treating data as a product with active metadata and data contracts to systematically build trust, are the ones successfully moving AI from pilot to production at scale."
Why Organizations Are Investing in Data Products
Data products enable consistent, reliable data for AI systems by establishing defined ownership, quality guarantees, and discoverability for data assets. The business case for investing in data products is compelling and the results are measurable.
- The top drivers for investing in data products are trustworthy inputs for AI use cases (60%) and for decision-making (59%).
- The top benefits include higher data quality (51%), improved data access (47%), increased confidence in decision-making (45%), and improved AI system performance and reliability (41%).
Data Products Drive AI at Scale
Companies using data products across their organizations significantly outperform companies not yet using or experimenting with data products.
- 85% of those with company-wide adoption report three or more AI projects in production, compared to just 25% of those not yet using data products.
- 77% have at least one agentic or autonomous AI system in limited or full production, versus 23% of those not using data products.
"Data products have evolved from an abstract framework into an operational necessity, and the market is clearly finding its footing," said Dr. Carsten Bange, founder and CEO of BARC. "Adoption has surged, yet implementation challenges have fallen significantly - the share struggling with governance and definition has halved since BARC's 2024 survey."
Data Contracts Operationalize Data Products
Data contracts formalize expectations between producers and consumers around structure, quality, and delivery. Adoption of data contracts closely follows data products, with 61% of organizations using them. Additional momentum is expected as 26% of respondents plan to enforce data contracts in the coming year.
Research Methodology
The research, commissioned by Actian and conducted by BARC, surveyed over 300 qualified data and analytics decision-makers, including CDOs, VPs of Data, Data Architects, and ML Engineers. Participants represent industries including financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, insurance, and technology across 20+ countries in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
To explore the full findings, download the Data Products and Data Contracts in 2026 report and read the "The Data Product Advantage: What New Global Research Reveals About AI Success" blog.
About Actian
Actian empowers enterprises to confidently manage and govern data at scale. Actian data management and data intelligence solutions help streamline complex data environments and accelerate the delivery of AI-ready data. Designed to be flexible, Actian solutions integrate seamlessly and perform reliably across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. Learn more about Actian, the data and AI division of HCLSoftware, at actian.com.
1 All statistics cited in this release are from "Data Products and Data Contracts in 2026: The Foundation for AI Success," commissioned by Actian and conducted by BARC, March 2026.
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