Making the financial case for a data streaming platform in 2026

For years, businesses have chased faster, cleaner, more reliable data. That’s not new. What is new is the speed at which AI has reshaped expectations. In barely a year, organizations have shifted from building systems that keep pace with people to building systems that must keep pace with machines.

This is where a data streaming platform (DSP) comes in. It’s the unseen real-time data infrastructure that lets modern businesses think and act at machine speed. The real challenge is helping financial stakeholders understand why this isn’t an upgrade to park on a future roadmap, but a decision with a narrowing window. In a world moving this quickly, ‘not now’ is beginning to look a lot like ‘too late’.

From consumer AI to boardroom expectations

The reality is that the shift to real time didn’t begin in the enterprise, it started in everyday life. Let me explain ...