Digital business leaders continue to heavily invest in data and analytics to drive their digital business. Yet, many still struggle to turn insights into action. In our report, The State Of Digital Intelligence, 2026, we highlight how organizations collect, analyze, and operationalize customer and digital insights — and why progress continues to stall.

Based on Forrester’s Digital Business and Strategy Survey, 2025, the report highlights a persistent gap between ambition and execution. Leaders clearly understand the importance of data-driven decision-making; however, structural, organizational, and capability challenges still limit the impact of digital intelligence on business and customer outcomes.

Four Realities Shape The State Of Digital Intelligence In 2026

Our research highlights recurring patterns in how organizations are approaching data and insights today to drive their digital business. While commitment to digital intelligence is strong, execution gaps remain. This is driven by how teams define objectives, structure capabilities, and move from analysis to action. The following realities capture where digital intelligence delivers value today — and where it still falls short:

  • Data and insights are a top priority — in theory. Data and insights sit high on the digital agenda: 40% of digital business strategy decision-makers cite them as a top initiative to drive their digital business. Leaders recognize analytics as an effective way to drive results and most teams already use digital analytics technologies. But while understanding digital behavior is widely seen as essential, prioritization alone doesn’t always translate into measurable outcomes.
  • Organizational design holds digital intelligence back. Despite executive support for insights, organizational structures limit their impact. Fewer than 10% of digital team members are dedicated to digital intelligence, and many teams remain organized by platform rather than outcomes. This makes it harder to share insights broadly and embed them into decision-making to drive digital business — leaving value unrealized.
  • Experience optimization lags digital analysis. Digital analysis is widely adopted, with organizations relying on interaction, satisfaction, and value-based analyses to guide decisions that drive digital business. Experience optimization, however, remains less mature. As customer behaviors continue to evolve rapidly, organizations must move beyond understanding performance to continuously test and adapt digital experiences.

What Digital Leaders Should Do Next

The findings in The State Of Digital Intelligence, 2026 point to a clear mandate for digital strategy and CX leaders to drive their digital business:

  • Invest in digital intelligence roles and skills — not just technology.
  • Break down platform-based silos to enable shared understanding and action.
  • Advance from analysis to optimization, embedding experimentation into everyday decision-making.

Organizations that treat digital intelligence as a core business capability — rather than a support function — will be better positioned to translate data into sustained digital business performance. To learn more, schedule a guidance session with me and read the full report, The State Of Digital Intelligence, 2026.