The analyst who defined big data tells Katie Baker which trend he thinks won't last 12 months, and why he expects billion-dollar companies run by a handful of people.
At Big Data LDN 2026, we caught up with Doug Laney for a quick-fire round of questions. In just over three minutes, he covers what data leaders keep asking him about, the trend he thinks is overhyped, and where he sees the enterprise heading next.
His answer on context is the one to watch. Doug argues that AI models are advancing fast enough to handle context automatically and intelligently.
That leaves vendors selling context management with a problem. Then he looks further ahead. Doug expects organisations to become self-driving, much like cars, and some call this the agentic business.
Most companies today are automating individual processes, but not joining them up across core operations. His prediction is that we'll see billion-dollar companies run by only a handful of people.
