This year, more than 350 Chief Data & Analytics Officers (CDAOs) from leading organizations participated in our annual Leadership Perspective Survey, revealing their top priorities, challenges, and investment plans for the year ahead. In 2026, CDAO community members are sharpening their focus on data and AI governance, fostering a data-driven culture, and expanding AI use cases – all while placing greater emphasis on modernizing data architecture to accelerate AI initiatives.
For sponsors of Gartner C-level Communities, these exclusive insights provide a powerful resource to help solution providers tailor their products and messaging, enabling more impactful engagements and stronger relationships with C-level decision makers at community events. Below is a snapshot of the survey’s key findings:
CDAO Operating Budgets Show Upward Momentum
In 2026, CDAO operating budgets are trending upward compared to last year. Thirty-six percent of CDAOs report an increase in their operating budgets (up from 31% in 2025), while 44% indicate their budgets remain unchanged and 19% note a decrease in budget. This shift signals growing or steady investment in data and analytics, creating new opportunities for solution providers to support evolving CDAO priorities.
Planned Investments in Technology and Services Continue to Rise
CDAOs are demonstrating a strong commitment to expanding their technology and services investments in 2026. Forty percent of data and analytics leaders plan to increase their spending in these areas this year – up from 36% in 2025, while 44% expect their spending to remain the same. Only 16% anticipate a decrease in spending.
CDAOs Prioritize AI & Machine Learning Investments
For the second consecutive year, AI and data governance remain the top investment areas for CDAOs, with 55% and 40% of respondents planning to allocate budget to these initiatives, respectively. The remainder of the top five spending areas reflect shifting priorities, with new additions this year: 32% of leaders are investing in analytics and BI platforms, 29% in master data management and metadata management, and 28% in cloud data platforms and infrastructure.
Notably, databases, data warehouses, and data lakes and data quality have dropped out of the top five spending areas. In 2025, machine learning and AI were tracked separately, with machine learning ranked fifth. This year, they are combined as the leading investment category, underscoring CDAOs’ focus on advanced AI capabilities.
The #1 Priority for CDAOs is Strengthen Data & AI Governance
As data and AI environments grow more complex, "Strengthen Data & AI Governance” emerges as the clear number one focus area for CDAOs in 2026 – underscoring the need for robust policies, controls, and compliance frameworks as the foundation for any AI initiative.
“Drive Data-Driven Culture & Transformation” continues its upward climb over the past few years, landing in the second spot this year. In third place is “Prioritize D&A and AI Use Cases” with CDAOs sharpening their AI roadmap and zeroing in on the highest-impact use cases.
Rounding out the top five are two new additions to the list: “Maximize Business & Monetization Value” jumped 22 positions as executives demand measurable ROI from data initiatives, and “Modernize Data Architectures” climbed seven spots in support of scalable, AI-driven applications.
Sponsors can capitalize on these insights by reinforcing governance best practices, demonstrating clear business outcomes, and enabling modern, scalable architectures in their solutions and messaging – aligning directly with CDAOs’ most urgent priorities.
Topics of Interest for CDAOs
In addition to their investment priorities and strategic focus areas, CDAOs told us which topics they want to explore with C-level peers and solution providers at upcoming community events. These are the trending topics for CDAOs in 2026:
- Data as a Product/Service
- D&A Leadership & Influence
- Measuring Business Outcomes/Performance
- CDAO Role Evolution
- Innovating for the Future
To learn more about sponsoring Gartner C-level Communities and events and how our proprietary survey insights can help you engage with C-level decision makers, contact us.
Based on 350 CDAO responses from Gartner C-level Communities’ proprietary Leadership Perspective Survey, March 2026.
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