Data and Analytics Trends for 2025
The Rise of Ubiquity in Data and Analytics
Data is at the heart of most organizations, fueling everyday business functions. To help digital leaders better prepare their data and analytics (D&A) strategies, Gartner has identified the top D&A trends for 2025.
AI-Related Trends Take Center Stage
AI-related technologies make up more than half of the list, including the biggest AI trend of the time – agents. Agentic AI has begun permeating every business sector, with organizations finding ways to implement the autonomous assistance that AI agents offer.
- Use AI agents to access and share data across applications
- Use AI agents to automate closed-loop business outcomes
The Shift to Small Language Models
When generative AI first became mainstream, the focus was on developing and implementing large language models (LLMs). However, greater emphasis has since been placed on the value of small language models (SLMs). These small models are lightweight, tailored, cheaper, and faster to train, making them better suited for specific use cases.
- Consider SLMs for more accurate and contextually appropriate AI outputs
The Rise of Composite AI
Gartner also recommends composite AI, which is the process of leveraging multiple AI techniques to increase technological effectiveness. This approach means exploring technology beyond generative AI and LLMs to take a deeper look at related disciplines, such as machine learning and data science.
Indirectly Related Trends
Some trends identified by Gartner are indirectly related to AI. For example, the analyst encourages using synthetic data to supplement areas where insight is missing or incomplete. This approach is especially valuable when using data for AI initiatives, as these projects require organized, complete data foundations for training and deployment.
- Use synthetic data to supplement areas where insight is missing or incomplete
- Implement metadata management solutions to automate finding and analyzing metadata
Multimodal Data Fabric Trend
Gartner advises collecting and analyzing information at the metadata stage of the data pipeline, emphasizing the importance of metadata management solutions.
Other Key Trends
- Decision intelligence platforms: Help organizations shift from simply using data to making smarter, decision-focused strategies.
- Highly consumable data products: Emphasize the need for organizations to create useful, reusable data products that different teams can access to optimize and improve business-critical use cases over time.
Conclusion
Gartner’s top D&A trends for 2025 highlight the importance of AI-related technologies, synthetic data, and metadata management solutions in preparing organizations for the future. By adopting these trends, organizations can unlock the full potential of their data and analytics capabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the top D&A trends for 2025?
A: Gartner has identified the following top trends: AI-related technologies, synthetic data, metadata management solutions, decision intelligence platforms, and highly consumable data products.
Q: What is the biggest AI trend of the time?
A: Agentic AI is the biggest AI trend of the time, offering autonomous assistance and automation.
Q: Why are small language models (SLMs) valuable?
A: SLMs are valuable for their accuracy and contextually appropriate AI outputs, making them better suited for specific use cases.
Q: What is composite AI?
A: Composite AI is the process of leveraging multiple AI techniques to increase technological effectiveness, exploring beyond generative AI and LLMs to related disciplines like machine learning and data science.
