This multigroup session will focus on questions like: How should data and analytics teams be structured to maximize business value, align with strategy, and support governance, AI and data quality across distributed environments? Join this session to learn more.

A uniform and configurable operating model ensures speed, agility, and consistency in how data and analytics teams stand up their individual implementations. D&A leaders can use Gartner’s D&A operating model framework to configure and design their own models for successful reuse across all D&A initiatives.

State of D&A 2026 (modified version of CDAO Circle session)

CDAOs are often under time pressure to develop an effective data and analytics strategy that aligns with business value. Use these time-saving shortcuts to accelerate the strategy development process while also gaining business relevance and confidence in the process.

Join an interactive executive discussion on emerging trends from the 2026 CDAO Agenda Survey, highlighting cost optimization for D&A, scalable design patterns and the use of AI to improve D&A operations. Discover how these insights can drive efficiency and innovation across your organization.

This workshop will guide participants through the process of defining their governing environment, architectures, and delivery models essential for executing strategy. This workshop discusses various models for CDAOs to consider, helping them plan potential shifts in their approach for the future.

CDAOs are making investments daily. Perhaps you're looking to grow your team, or maybe making a technology investment to support GenAI, or another investment where you need to build buy-in and gain funding. This workshop will help you develop personal influence skills while also building a strong story for investment.

To position their teams as a must-have discipline that can fulfill cross-functional use cases, D&A leaders must optimize their organizational model. The optimal organizational model is one that balances enterprisewide capabilities focused on enablement with decentralized needs focused on outcomes. In this session you will learn the design principles behind the right D&A organizational model and how to balance a centralized team (focused on enablement) and decentralized needs (focused on outcomes).

To position their teams as a must-have discipline that can fulfill cross-functional use cases, D&A leaders must optimize their organizational model. The optimal organizational model is one that balances enterprisewide capabilities focused on enablement with decentralized needs focused on outcomes. In this session you will learn the design principles behind the right D&A organizational model and how to balance a centralized team (focused on enablement) and decentralized needs (focused on outcomes).

Cloud has exposed the cost of individual workloads at a highly granular level. It is, in essence, a complex cost optimization problem. This session provides the tools for D&A leaders to understand how to manage and evolve cloud-operating models. We provide the foundations in the three rings of financial governance, and explore the state and future of FinOps.

D&A leaders and teams are at an AI-driven inflection point. They are crucial to enable business value through AI-readiness but must evolve their strategy and operating model to meet their organization’s AI ambitions. Reporting from the Gartner 2025 CDAO Agenda Survey, this session reveals actions successful D&A leaders have taken to deliver business outcomes from AI, data, and analytics, and what they need to do next year.