SAP’s acquisition of Dremio is more than an M&A event. It exposes a fundamental mismatch between lakehouse-only query engines and the dynamic, parallel demands of agentic AI. ECI Research analyzes what the deal reveals about data platform architecture and what enterprises should evaluate before their next deployment.
Why Agentic AI Is Breaking Lakehouse-Only Data Platforms Read More »
As AI agents move from stateless tools to systems with persistent memory, enterprises are accumulating context and action histories with no governance infrastructure to manage them. The Modern Data Company calls this “memory debt,” and ECI Research argues it’s a more urgent risk than most IT leaders have priced in. Here’s what auditable AI memory would actually require, and who’s most exposed.
AI Agent Memory Governance: The Debt Enterprises Are Ignoring Read More »
An estimated 60–80% of enterprise AI initiatives never reach production. The bottleneck isn’t the model or the GPU. It’s fragmented, ungoverned data scattered across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. ECI Research analyzes what this means for ITDMs, developers, and vendors competing in the AI data platform market.
Enterprise AI Data Readiness: Why Data, Not Models, Blocks ROI Read More »
Every event has a theme that becomes obvious after a few days of keynotes, briefings, hallway conversations, and customer discussions.
Pure Accelerate 2026 Wrap-Up: From Storage to Data Intelligence Read More »
Pure Storage used Pure Accelerate 2026 to reframe itself as an enterprise data fabric company, announcing Universal Data Intelligence, Azure-native storage GA, and agentic workflow automation. The central argument: model quality is commoditizing, and data governance is where enterprise AI is won or lost. ITDMs and architects should pay close attention to the shift from RBAC to ABAC for agentic environments and the emerging case for federated compute.
Pure Accelerate 2026: Enterprise AI Data Governance Takes Center Stage Read More »
Airbyte released version 2.1 of its data movement platform alongside a Forrester TEI study showing 239% ROI. ECI Research analysts examine the business case, competitive positioning, and what the Airbyte Agents initiative signals about where enterprise AI data infrastructure is headed.
Airbyte 2.1: Building the AI Data Movement Layer Enterprises Need Read More »
Databricks has announced OpenSharing, a Linux Foundation-hosted open protocol that extends Delta Sharing to cover agent skills, AI models, and unstructured data. The standard adds Apache Iceberg API support and on-premises connectivity through major storage partners. ECI Research breaks down what this means for enterprise IT buyers and the developers building on top of it.
Databricks OpenSharing: The Open AI Data Protocol Explained Read More »
Starburst has appointed Paras Malhotra as Chief Information Security Officer, bringing deep security leadership from AWS and Datadog to its federated data and AI platform. The hire signals that Starburst is treating security and governance as competitive differentiators in the enterprise AI market. ECI Research analyzes what this means for ITDMs and developers evaluating federated data infrastructure.
Starburst Names Paras Malhotra CISO: Security Meets AI Data Strategy Read More »
Starburst’s 2026 AI & Data Visionary Awards spotlight production-grade deployments at GEICO, Citizens Financial Group, Vizient, and others. The patterns across winners reveal that enterprise AI success depends less on model selection and more on federated data architecture, open standards, and governance discipline. ECI Research data on hybrid deployment prevalence and AI/ML skills gaps add broader market context.
Starburst 2026 AI & Data Visionary Awards: What the Winners Reveal Read More »
Starburst announced its Enterprise Intelligence Platform at AI+Datanova 2026, combining federated data access, AI-powered AIDA, and managed Iceberg lakehouse operations. ECI Research examines the architectural bet against consolidation, the competitive implications for Databricks and Snowflake, and what enterprises should evaluate now. The announcement reflects a broader market shift toward running AI on governed data in place, without replatforming.
Starburst Enterprise Intelligence Platform Read More »