Trend-Setting Products in Data and Information Management for 2026

After a banner year for the "promise of progress" on AI ambitions, deepening CX fatigue, and ongoing economic volatility, Forrester is predicting 2026 will bring a year of reckoning. According to Sharyn Leaver, chief research officer at Forrester, "Navigating the coming year will take some mindset shifts: from lofty ambition to pragmatism, from experimentation to accountability, from surface-level engagement to meaningful connection." To help make the process of identifying useful products and services easier, each year, DBTA presents a list of Trend-Setting Products, highlighting a commitment to innovation and efforts to provide organizations with tools to address changing market requirements. Read More

Data Centers Face Calls for Environmental Regulations in 2026? 7 Predictions for the Data Center Space

One of the largest power grid operators in the U.S. is asking Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to only allow large data centers to connect to the grid if there's enough capacity available to serve them reliably, according to Utility Dive. The infrastructure underlying big data processing, typically large-scale data centers, is starting to receive pushback as more residents in the U.S. see climbing energy costs. Read More

Leveraging Unstructured Metadata to Lower Compliance Risks

Enterprise IT compliance needs are constantly evolving. New regulations pass every year, and internal policies change. Disruptive new technology trends, such as generative AI, create additional concerns and requirements. The risk of fines, legal exposure, or breaches from unmanaged unstructured data is massive and growing, and all hands across IT and the business need to help reduce the risks. Read More

Experts Give 8 Big Data Predictions for 2026

As AI continues to dominate the technology landscape, the data underlying the information these artificial intelligence solutions train on is under more scrutiny than ever. Here, data professionals share their big data and database/infrastructure predictions for 2026. Read More

Webinars

More Webinars

Columnists

Database Elaborations

Todd Schraml

Remember What the Dormouse Said Fourth and fifth normal forms send us down a pretty, yellow brick road leaving behind functional dependencies to gather up join dependencies and their special child, multi-valued dependencies. Explanations for these extra dependencies can be conflicting, which makes them perfectly at home in Wonderland with Alice. We'll try and explain them a little here, but be prepared, because others will claim this is wrong.

DBA Corner

Craig S. Mullins

The Hidden Cost of Technical Debt in Databases Technical debt is a concept most IT professionals are familiar with, but too often it is discussed primarily in terms of application code. Yet, databases are equally susceptible to technical debt, and for DBAs, ignoring it can be costly. Over time, shortcuts in design, hasty implementations, and deferred maintenance accumulate. The result is a database environment that becomes increasingly fragile, expensive to manage, and resistant to change.

SQL Server Drill Down

Kevin Kline

Tools, Teams, and Workflows: The Right Way to Build Operational Resilience In the AI era, we're constantly talking about how important data is—storing data, disseminating data, and protecting data. As data specialists, we understand bad data management leads to bad use of AI which leads, quite frankly, to bad business outcomes.

Emerging Technologies

Schema Shift: From Vegas Lights to San Diego Bytes With fall in full swing, the conference season is reaching its peak as professionals gather across the country for major industry events. While cities such as Las Vegas and Orlando have long been mainstays for large-scale conventions, a new venue on the West Coast is beginning to draw attention.

Next-Gen Data Management

Will AI Become Our Friend or Foe? Technology Professionals Weigh In. Picture this: there's a new face in the IT department, ready to step in to help tackle the increasingly complex challenges caused by modern hybrid on-prem and multi-cloud environments. Overstretched technology teams always appreciate an extra set of helping hands, but what happens when this new team member isn't human—but artificial intelligence (AI)?