Data streaming engineers are critical to faster AI adoption, say UK business leaders
London, UK, 28th July 2026 – New research from data streaming pioneer, Confluent, shows that more than four in five (83%) UK business leaders believe their organisations could adopt AI faster if they had dedicated data streaming engineers.
Based on a survey of 200 UK CEOs, MDs and C-level executives, the report highlights how, as AI becomes increasingly embedded in business operations, data streaming engineers have become the foundation of real-time insights. By managing the continuous movement and processing of data, they turn raw information into the insights that power AI, guide leadership and shape strategy in real time.
The findings indicate that more than half (56%) of participants strongly agree that all data-driven organisations should have at least one data streaming engineer.
Business leaders also see data streaming engineers as key to better decision-making and AI success. More than four in five (83%) say they could make more informed decisions faster with dedicated data engineers, while 88% believe organisations that hire them will be better placed to adopt, use and manage AI.
Reflecting on the research, Richard Jones, VP Northern Europe at Confluent, stated: "While traditional data engineers focus on storing, cleaning and preparing historical data, data streaming engineers operate in the present tense, ensuring data is continuously available, trusted and actionable the moment it's created."
He adds, "The risk is when that reliance turns into blind trust. AI can only work with the data it's given, and when that data is incomplete or out of date, the consequences can be serious. That's why it's so encouraging to see businesses investing heavily in data. If leaders want AI to make informed decisions, it needs an accurate, real-time view of what's really happening across the business. Without that, AI can sound knowledgeable, but it won't be truly intelligent."
Looking ahead, demand for data streaming engineers is set to grow, with 94% of business leaders agreeing that every data-driven organisation should employ them and 85% intending to hire more in the future.
To find out more about data-streaming engineers and business decision making, download Confluent's QuickThinking 2.0 report here.
About Confluent
Confluent, an IBM company, is the data streaming platform that is pioneering a fundamentally new category of data infrastructure that sets data in motion. Confluent's cloud-native offering is the foundational platform for data in motion—designed to be the intelligent connective tissue enabling real-time data from multiple sources to constantly stream across an organization. With Confluent, organizations can meet the new business imperative of delivering rich, digital frontend customer experiences and transitioning to sophisticated, real-time, software-driven backend operations. To learn more, visit www.confluent.io.
Methodology
Research cited was commissioned by Confluent and run by independent market research agency 3Gem in H2 2025. The research surveyed 200 UK business leaders (owners, founders, CEOs, MDs, and C-suite level individuals) working in private sector enterprises.