Gartner reveals ten data and analytics trends for 2021

The data and analytics space has, like so many other sectors, experienced huge acceleration in the past year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That’s a trend forecast to continue into the current year as the world tentatively opens up, as new research from Gartner suggests.

Themed trends for data analytics

The advisory firm identified three main themes for data and analytics in 2021. The first was accelerating change in data and analytics, meaning companies will leverage disruptive technologies such as AI as well as rely on more diverse data sources. 

The second was operationalising business value through more effective operations for the betterment of decision making. 

Finally, the company anticipated distributed data and analytics would be crucial to reaching a wider audience of people.

“These data and analytics trends can help organizations and society deal with disruptive change, radical uncertainty and the opportunities they bring over the next three years,” said Rita Sallam, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner. “Data and analytics leaders must proactively examine how to leverage these trends into mission-critical investments that accelerate their capabilities to anticipate, shift and respond.”.

Gartner’s ten trends

1. Smarter, more responsible, scalable AI
2. Composable data and analytics 
3. Data fabric as the foundation 
4. From big to small and wide data 
5. XOps
6. Engineered decision intelligence
7. Data and analytics as a core business function
8. Graph relates everything
9. The rise of the augmented consumer
10. Data and analytics at the edge