Global – October 27, 2026 -- 76% of data analysts still rely on manual, spreadsheet-based work for data preparation, despite near-universal adoption of AI tools, according to the 2025 State of Data Analysts survey published by Alteryx.
Buyers and daily users apply different criteria to integration platforms
IT teams judge integration platforms on throughput, scalability and fit with existing architecture. Analysts ask whether they can connect the systems they already use, blend the data and trust the result without waiting in a ticket queue. Gartner describes analytics as moving from "the domain of the few, to ubiquity."
McKinsey finds 88% use AI, but nearly two-thirds have not scaled it
McKinsey's 2025 State of AI survey reports that 88% of organizations use AI regularly in at least one business function. Nearly two-thirds have not scaled it enterprise-wide. The gap sits in data foundations and workflow design, not model capability.
Alteryx lists four selection criteria for its Alteryx One platform
- Code-free entry, with SQL or Python available when needed
- Governed connections IT can approve without a lengthy security review
- Workflows that teammates can open, understand and maintain
- A first working integration in hours or days rather than months
Alteryx One connects to enterprise SaaS applications, relational databases, file storage and existing ETL tools. It works with Snowflake, Databricks and BigQuery through query-in-place and pushdown processing, so data is not copied before use.
Unit mismatch in a warehouse feed shows the cost of IT-owned fixes
In Alteryx's example, a third-party warehouse feed reported units in cases some weeks and in eaches in others, distorting multiple fulfillment reports this year. Under a traditional IT-owned pipeline, correcting the logic requires a change request and a wait for the next engineering sprint. Under a governed low-code approach, the analyst adjusts the unit-conversion step and reruns the workflow the same day.
IT approval hinges on access controls, audit logging and certifications
IT teams will look for role-based access controls, single sign-on via SAML or OAuth, audit logging and data lineage tracking. Alteryx publishes ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II status through its Trust Center.
Teams with a mature data engineering function running custom dbt pipelines, or with transformation logic too specialized for a visual canvas, are better served by keeping their current approach, Alteryx says.