Emma McGrattan

In the 11th year of Big Data LDN, in its flagship keynote debate, conference chair and leading industry analyst Mike Ferguson welcomes executives from leading software vendors to discuss key topics in data management and analytics. Panellists will debate the challenges and success factors in building an agentic enterprise, implementing and sharing AI context, creating AI ready data, the rising importance of unified data and AI governance, data architecture changes needed for AI, how best to deal with real-world customer challenges, and issues on-the-horizon that companies should be planning for today. Attendees will learn best practices for data and AI implementation in a modern data and AI -driven enterprise from seasoned executives and an experienced industry analyst in a packed, unscripted, candid discussion.

One of the biggest myths about data and AI sovereignty is that it’s about location. Actually, it’s about who remains in control. Storage location is one architectural decision among several. Organizations across Europe and North America consider data and AI sovereignty to be a strategic imperative, but until they approach it with a focus on control, many organizations risk failure. In this session, Actian shares results from its 2026 global sovereignty survey, dismantles the myths keeping enterprises stuck, and hands you a practical checklist to separate real control from compliance theater.

Only 1 in 20 AI deployments deliver measurable ROI. Why? What can enterprise leaders do about it? New research from Actian reveals a clear connection between data products, data contracts and AI success. In this session, Actian will share the biggest findings from our global survey of enterprise data leaders, along with practical data governance and operational guidance to successfully scale AI deployments and avoid dead-end experimentation.

Only 1 in 20 AI deployments deliver measurable ROI. Why? What can enterprise leaders do about it? New research from Actian reveals a clear connection between data products, data contracts and AI success. In this session, Actian will share the biggest findings from our global survey of enterprise data leaders, along with practical data governance and operational guidance to successfully scale AI deployments and avoid dead-end experimentation.

Only 1 in 20 AI deployments deliver measurable ROI. Why? What can enterprise leaders do about it? New research from Actian reveals a clear connection between data products, data contracts and AI success. In this session, Actian will share the biggest findings from our global survey of enterprise data leaders, along with practical data governance and operational guidance to successfully scale AI deployments and avoid dead-end experimentation.

Up to 95% of all AI deployments fail to deliver measurable ROI. Why? And what can enterprise leaders do about it? New global quantitative research from Actian shows a clear pattern: organizations lacking data products and enforceable data contracts are far more likely to fail. Based on survey data from enterprise data leaders, this session reveals what separates scalable AI from perpetual pilots and failed experiments. Attendees will leave with concrete design, governance, and operating practices they can apply immediately to their next AI initiative.

Three out of four companies are betting big on AI – but most are digging on shifting ground. In this $100 billion gold rush, none of these investments will pay off without data quality and strong governance – and that remains a challenge for many organizations. Not every enterprise has a solid data governance practice and maturity models vary widely. As a result, investments in innovation initiatives are at risk of failure. What are the most important data management issues to prioritize? See how your organization measures up and get ahead of the curve with Actian.

As organizations scale AI initiatives on platforms like Databricks, one challenge remains: bridging the gap between the data in the lakehouse and the vast, distributed data that lives elsewhere. Turning massive volumes of technical metadata into trusted, business-ready insight requires more than cataloging what's inside the lakehouse—it demands true enterprise-wide intelligence. Actian CTO Emma McGrattan will explore how combining Databricks Unity Catalog with the Actian Data Platform extends visibility, governance, and trust beyond the lakehouse. Learn how leading enterprises are: - Integrating metadata across all enterprise data assets for complete visibility - Enriching Unity Catalog metadata with business context for broader usability - Empowering non-technical users to discover, trust, and act on AI-ready data - Building a foundation for scalable data productization with governance by design