What’s Next for the Data Community? Your Data & AI Diary for the Months Ahead
Data, analytics and AI are moving quickly.
But behind many of the biggest conversations happening right now are some familiar challenges.
Can we trust our data? How should we govern AI as it becomes embedded in more business processes? How do we turn Data & AI investment into genuine business value? And what can we learn from the people already tackling these challenges?
Those questions won’t be answered by technology alone.
They need people to come together, share what’s working, challenge what isn’t and develop the skills needed to move forward.
Over the next few months, there are plenty of opportunities to do exactly that.
From a free online analytics event and five days of Data & AI in London, to practical training, industry awards and the chance to help shape the conversation in 2027, here’s what’s coming up.
22 October 2026: State of Analytics in the Age of AI
AI can produce a report in seconds. Making sure you can trust that report is another matter.
On 22 October, State of Analytics in the Age of AI brings together CDOs, BI leaders and analytics practitioners for a free online afternoon exploring what analytics needs to look like as AI becomes a permanent part of how organisations work with data.
The conversation goes beyond the technology.
What does it actually take to produce AI-generated insight you would be comfortable putting in front of a board?
Which parts of today’s analytics environment should we carry forward?
What needs to change?
And what happens to BI and analytics when AI becomes embedded in everyday decision-making?
Hear perspectives from Simone Steel, Shamoly Mukherjee and Dr Herbert Prickarz, before they come together for a panel discussion and audience Q&A chaired by Ben Clinch, giving you the opportunity to bring your own analytics questions into the conversation.
📅 22 October 2026 ⏰ 14:00 to 18:00 BST 💻 Online and free to attend
Produced by Accton in partnership with Clinch Data, DAMA UK and IRM UK
2 to 6 November 2026: The Data & AI Conference Europe 2026
Then we head to London.
From 2 to 6 November, the Data & AI Conference Europe 2026 in partnership with DAMA UK brings the data community together for five days of learning, discussion and practical workshops.
And the agenda isn’t built around predictions about what might happen next.
It’s built around the decisions organisations are making now.
How do you move AI beyond experimentation and make it work in practice?
How do you turn Data & AI strategy into measurable value?
Are your platforms, architecture and data foundations ready for what comes next?
And how do you govern increasingly powerful technology without bringing innovation to a halt?
Across the conference, four dedicated tracks tackle those questions from different perspectives:
🤖 AI in Practice & Applied AI
📈 Data & AI Strategy and Value
🏗️ Modern Data Platforms, Architecture & Semantics
🛡️ Governance, Risk, Privacy & Responsible AI
And this isn’t simply about sitting in a room and hearing what organisations should be doing.
The programme gets into the realities of doing it.
You’ll hear from practitioners and leaders at organisations including Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, the Bank of England, British Airways, London Stock Exchange, Meta, the Ministry of Defence, the Met Office and many more.
The programme explores everything from AI agents and organisational readiness to data literacy, strategy execution, metadata, modern architecture, data quality, privacy, governance and responsible AI.
Whether you work in Data Management, Governance, Architecture, Analytics, AI or Strategy, it’s an opportunity to step outside the day-to-day, challenge your thinking and spend time with people facing many of the same questions.
Come with the challenges you’re working on now.
Leave with new ideas about what to do next.
📅 2 to 6 November 2026 📍 London
Explore the Data & AI Conference Europe 2026
3 November 2026: Celebrating the DAMA UK Awards 2026 Finalists
There’s another reason we’re particularly looking forward to 3 November.
The DAMA UK Awards 2026 will recognise individuals and teams making an outstanding contribution to the Data Management community.
And we’re delighted to introduce this year’s finalists.
Individual Finalists
🏆 Francesca Eggleton, Senior Data Analyst, Met Office
🏆 Mojisola Olawepo ITIL®. CAITL®., AI & Automation Lead, Lloyds Banking Group
🏆 Wayne Coxon, Data Governance Senior Manager, bp plc
Team Finalists
🏆 Dan Green, Senior Data Engineer, tombola
🏆 Prabhu Pandian, Lead Data Engineer, tombola
🏆 Holly Donnell, Data Quality Lead, Ministry of Justice UK
🏆 Joey Flynn, Head of Data Excellence, Boots UK & ROI
The finalists showcase some of the people, teams and initiatives helping to move Data Management forward.
The winners will be announced at the Data & AI Conference Europe 2026 on 3 November, where we’ll celebrate their achievements alongside the wider data community.
A huge congratulations to everyone shortlisted. We look forward to welcoming you to London.
Build Your Data Quality Skills
Of course, none of this works particularly well without quality data underneath it.
AI can be sophisticated. Analytics can be powerful. Your strategy can be ambitious.
But poor-quality data can undermine all three.
Our Ten Steps to Quality Data course takes a practical approach to creating, improving and managing the quality of the data your organisation relies on.
Led by Danette McGilvray, this three-day online course takes participants through the Ten Steps™ methodology, from identifying business needs and assessing data quality to finding root causes, developing improvement plans and demonstrating business impact.
The aim isn’t simply to understand Data Quality.
It’s to give you a structured approach you can use to do something about it.
If poor-quality data is creating additional work, undermining confidence or limiting what your organisation can achieve with analytics and AI, this is an opportunity to tackle the problem at its foundations.
Explore Ten Steps to Quality Data
Looking Ahead to March 2027
While we’re preparing for November, we’re already building the next chapter.
The Call for Speakers is now open for the Data Governance, AI Governance & Master Data Management Conference Europe 2027, taking place in London in March.
And we want the programme to be shaped by the people doing the work.
We’re looking for practitioners who can share real experiences across Data Governance, AI Governance and Master Data Management.
That could be:
A success story.
A difficult implementation.
Something that didn’t work the first time.
A practical framework your organisation has developed.
A lesson others could benefit from.
Or a new challenge you think the data community needs to start talking about.
We’re particularly interested in practical case studies, how-to sessions and honest lessons learned, as well as ideas that connect Data Governance, AI Governance and MDM rather than treating them as completely separate disciplines.
If you have an experience worth sharing, we’d love to hear from you.
🎤 Call for Speakers open until 19 October 2026 📅 Conference: 15 to 16 March 2027 📅 Workshops: 17 to 19 March 2027 📍 London
Put Your Organisation at the Heart of the Conversation
There’s more than one way to be part of the IRM UK conference community.
If your organisation wants to connect with professionals working across Data, AI, Governance, Architecture, Business Analysis, Transformation and more, sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are available across our conference portfolio.
It’s an opportunity to go beyond simply putting your logo in front of an audience.
Meet the people your organisation wants to reach. Start conversations around the challenges they’re working on. Share your expertise. Build your profile within specialist professional communities.
Depending on the opportunity, IRM UK offers options including exhibition, enhanced branding opportunities and speaking or presentation slots.
Whether you’re looking to increase brand awareness, showcase your expertise or build relationships with potential customers and partners, talk to us about how your organisation could get involved.
Interested in sponsoring an upcoming IRM UK conference?
Explore sponsorship opportunities
One Community, Plenty to Talk About
From the foundations of Data Quality to the future of Analytics, AI, Governance and MDM, these conversations are becoming increasingly connected.
And over the next few months, there are plenty of ways to be part of them.
Come along online.
Join us in London.
Celebrate the people doing brilliant work across the profession.
Develop your own skills.
Or take the stage and share what you’ve learned.
However you choose to get involved, we hope you’ll be part of what the Data & AI community does next.
