The analyst revolution: Unlocking tomorrow’s AI initiatives

Introduction

Analysts sit at the forefront of AI-driven decision-making. They’re responsible for transforming raw data into insights that shape strategies, direct investment, and accelerate growth. Yet despite their critical role, analysts remain trapped in outdated workflows, restricted access regimes, and fragmented tooling that prevent them from operating at their full potential.

Luckily, we’re in the beginning stages of an analyst revolution. Research reveals how deeply organizations are losing productivity, talent, and competitive advantage by underinvesting in analysts’ workflows. At the same time, a path forward has emerged, with self-service environments that have built-in guardrails to enable analysts to move quickly without breaking governance.

This report, produced by dbt Labs in partnership with The Harris Poll, draws on a survey of 510 analysts across industries. It explores the current state of analyst work, the systemic risks of inaction, and the transformational opportunities available when organizations empower analysts with AI-ready, governed platforms.

The findings show how these types of self-service environments can unlock a new era of analyst impact, which makes a compelling case for C-suite leaders—empowering analysts with structure and trust is a strategic imperative.

Methodology

dbt Labs partnered with The Harris Poll to conduct a 15-minute online survey from May 28 – June 3, 2025. The survey included 510 respondents in analyst roles, including data analysts, business analysts, quantitative analysts, data specialists, and data scientists. All respondents work with organizational data at companies with 500+ employees across Finance, Healthcare/Pharma, Technology, CPG/Retail, Power & Utilities, and Industrial Manufacturing.

Executive summary

Our research revealed a workforce caught between rising expectations and outdated systems. Key highlights include:

• 78% of analysts’ time is consumed by busywork such as data prep, validation, and tool navigation, leaving only 22% for actual insight generation
• Analyst burnout is accelerating: 65% report burnout due to fragmented workflows and inefficient tools.
• The hidden cost is staggering: organizations lose 9.1 hours per analyst per week, equating to $21,613 per analyst per year in wasted productivity.
• Governance gaps are expanding: 54% admit to using unapproved AI tools, 40% use personal API keys, and 32% bypass governance entirely.
• Analysts are ready for change: 97% want governed self-service platforms, and 93% believe an all-in-one platform would significantly boost productivity.
• Retention is at stake: 96% are more likely to stay with employers who invest in workflow optimization, while 85% would consider leaving if forced to use outdated tools.

The evidence is decisive. Organizations that empower analysts with governed, AI-ready platforms accelerate insight velocity, reduce compliance risks, and become magnets for top talent...