Source: Dresner Advisory Services, Wisdom of Crowds® Business Intelligence Market Study 2026 Edition.
The Business Intelligence market in 2026 remains one of the most critical areas for organizational development. The latest report Dresner Advisory Services “Wisdom of Crowds® Business Intelligence Market Study 2026” shows that companies continue to invest in data analytics, expand their BI programs, and increasingly integrate them with artificial intelligence.
AI is changing how companies use BI
One of the key findings of the report is the growing impact of artificial intelligence on Business Intelligence and data analytics roadmaps.
According to the study, 66.5% of respondents indicate that AI has accelerated or reshaped their BI and analytics plans. This demonstrates that artificial intelligence is no longer just an add-on to analytical tools, but is actively influencing how organizations plan the development of their reporting and decision-making systems.
Furthermore, over 90% of organizations report active involvement in AI development — ranging from companies in the early stages of implementation to those that define their maturity level as intermediate or advanced.
Data analytics and AI will increasingly be developed in tandem. Companies will expect BI tools not only to present data but also to interpret it, identify trends, recommend actions, and automate daily analytical processes.
Agentic AI: recommendations over full autonomy
The report also highlights the growing importance of so-called agentic AI, which refers to solutions capable of analyzing data and suggesting or initiating specific actions.
Organizations see the potential for AI to help:
- generate analytical summaries,
- prepare narratives for reports,
- trigger alerts and notifications,
- automatically update dashboards,
- identify anomalies and potential areas requiring attention.
At the same time, companies remain cautious about full AI autonomy. Respondents place more trust in solutions that recommend actionsthan in those that execute them independently without human involvement. This is an important signal for the market: AI is meant to support decision-making, but the responsibility for those decisions still rests with people.
BI budgets remain stable
The report also shows that organizations are not cutting back on Business Intelligence investments. On the contrary, over 52% of companies plan to increase their BI budgets compared to 2025, and another 41% intend to maintain them at current levels. Only 7% of respondents anticipate a decrease in spending.
This confirms that BI is viewed as a strategic area rather than a peripheral cost. Companies are investing in data because they need better business visibility, faster access to information, and tools that help them operate in volatile conditions.
Who is driving the development of Business Intelligence?
The study shows that the development of BI in organizations is primarily driven by operations, IT, executive management, finance, and sales departments. This demonstrates that data analytics is no longer the exclusive domain of technical teams.
BI is increasingly supporting the daily work of many areas of the company:
Executive management uses data to monitor strategic goals and make decisions.
Finance analyzes results, profitability, costs, and forecasts.
Sales uses data to evaluate the pipeline, performance, and customer behavior.
Operations monitor processes, performance, and areas requiring optimization.
IT is responsible for security, integrations, data quality, and solution scalability.
This distribution shows that Business Intelligence is becoming a tool for the entire organization, rather than just select teams.
BI as a tool for better decision-making
One of the most important goals of implementing BI remains better decision-making. Organizations want access to current, reliable, and transparent data that helps them respond to changes faster.
The report indicates that companies' achievements in the BI area are generally positive and gradually increasing over time. The impact of BI on the quality of business decisions is rated particularly highly.
This means that companies are increasingly realizing that the mere presence of data is not enough. The key is to properly organize, analyze, and present it in a way that supports specific actions.
Many tools, a need for consolidation
The report also confirms that many organizations use several BI tools simultaneously. More than half of the respondents indicate that they use three or more solutions.
On one hand, this shows organizational maturity and widespread use of analytics. On the other, it creates challenges related to costs, data consistency, system integration, and access management.
Therefore, nearly one-third of respondents declare plans to consolidate their BI tools. The most common reasons are:
- cost savings,
- the need for better functionality,
- ease of use,
- strategic streamlining of the analytical environment.
In practice, this means that companies will increasingly look for platforms that combine reporting, dashboards, data integration, AI, and automation into one cohesive ecosystem.
Key technologies supporting BI
As AI develops, organizations' technological priorities are also changing. The report indicates that privacy and regulatory compliance, embedded BI, and data integration are gaining importance.
This is a natural direction. The more companies use data and AI, the more important security, access control, data quality, and the ability to embed analytics directly into business processes become.
BI no longer functions as a separate system that users log into occasionally. Analytics is increasingly being embedded directly into everyday work tools—CRMs, ERPs, financial systems, operational applications, and customer service platforms.
What does this mean for companies?
The report's findings are clear: organizations that want to compete effectively must develop analytical competencies and build a data-driven work culture.
Companies will derive the greatest value from BI if they:
- integrate data from various sources into a cohesive ecosystem,
- ensure the quality and security of information,
- make analytics accessible not just to management, but also to operational teams,
- leverage AI to automate analyses and recommendations,
- treat BI as a strategic element rather than just a reporting tool.
Business Intelligence in 2026 is no longer just about dashboards and tables. It is a system that supports decision-making, processes, and the development of the entire organization.
Summary
The Dresner Advisory Services report shows that Business Intelligence continues to evolve dynamically, with its importance growing alongside the rise of AI. Companies are investing in analytics, expecting greater automation, and seeking tools that help them turn data into decisions faster.
The coming years will belong to organizations that can not only collect data but, above all, use it effectively—in strategy, operations, sales, finance, and customer service.
Want to see how your company can better leverage data, BI, and AI in daily management?
Contact us—we will show you how to organize your data sources, build clear reports, and implement analytical solutions that truly support business decisions.
