AWS re:Invent 2025 - A leader's guide to data strategy in the era of agentic AI (SNR202)

Transforming Data Strategy in the Era of Agentic AI

Reimagining Data Strategy

• Shift focus from data volume to strategic curation and customer value
• Ruthlessly prioritize data capture and usage based on business impact
• Eliminate "volume vanity metrics" and instead target measurable business value
• Emulate Formula 1 teams' laser-focused approach to only collecting essential data

Rewiring Organizational Structure

• Decentralize data teams by default, with a small centralized governance team
• Establish a "data product" model with clear ownership and accountability for value delivery
• Implement "minimum viable governance" that enables rather than restricts
• Leverage HR/finance models for balancing centralized standards and distributed execution
• Shift culture from data hoarding to default data sharing

Realizing Tangible Results

• Adopt a "race day" mentality with dynamic, real-time data and continuous adaptation
• Eliminate batch processing and prioritize speed from data to decision
• Treat data strategy as a daily practice, not just an annual planning exercise
• Leverage agentic AI's need for contextual, connected data to drive value

Case Study: CarGurus' Data Transformation

• Addressed issues with data ingestion, quality, visualization, and analytics silos
• Implemented data governance, stewardship, and democratization initiatives
• Enabled rapid innovation and new data-driven product development
• Saw business impact through features like conversational car search and dynamic pricing

Building the Foundation at AWS

• Providing scalable data infrastructure, purpose-built databases, and processing engines
• Enabling a complete "reimagine, rewire, realize" playbook for customers
• Treating data as a strategic asset, not just a byproduct of operations
• Helping organizations move from batch processing to real-time, dynamic data

Key Takeaways

• Data is the lifeblood of modern business, requiring a strategic, customer-centric approach
• Organizational culture and people are as critical as technology in data transformation
• Real-time, contextual data and continuous adaptation are keys to unlocking agentic AI
• Successful data strategies emulate Formula 1's laser-focused, iterative approach