It has never been a more consequential time to be in tech.
Generative AI has moved past the hype phase and become operational infrastructure. Agentic AI, meaning systems that act autonomously on an organization’s behalf, is now entering production environments at pace. The biggest shift is not happening in the technology itself. It is happening in what users, customers, and the C-suite now expect from it.
Adoption has never been higher. Maturity has not kept up. According to McKinsey’s 2025 State of AI report, 88 percent of organizations now use AI in at least one business function, yet only 1 percent consider their AI strategy truly mature. That gap sits at the center of this year’s paper.
Three questions define where an organization actually stands:
- Is your data foundation ready to support AI at scale, not just pilot it?
- Can you trust the data feeding your models and agents?
- Does your governance approach hold up under the EU AI Act and similar frameworks now in force?
This white paper walks through what separates organizations that generate real value from AI and those still stuck at the pilot stage. You will learn about:
- Value Generation Journey — Why data value in 2026 depends on driving trusted, real-time business outcomes, not simply being stored or processed.
- Data Maturity Model — An updated view of the three stages of data maturity: Getting Started, Scaling with Data, and Leading with Data, reflecting how Generative and Agentic AI have raised the bar at each level.
- Data and AI Readiness Model — HTEC’s refreshed assessment, now spanning four dimensions (People, Technology, Governance & Compliance, and Business-Product Alignment) across three readiness levels: Foundational, Operational, and Transformational.
- Governance & Regulatory Compliance — A new, non-negotiable pillar of readiness, covering what the EU AI Act’s full enforcement in August 2026 means for how organizations manage and document their data.
Download this paper to see where your organization sits on the maturity curve and what closing the gap actually requires.
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