8 Oct 2026
Milan, Italy
AI & Data Summit
Unlocking the Power of Data and AI
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Building Intelligence that Creates Real Value
The IDC AI and Data Summit is the premier event for senior technology and business executives shaping artificial intelligence and data strategies across Italy. Designed for CDOs, Heads of Data, and AI and innovation leaders, this full-day event delivers strategic insights and practical frameworks aligned with Italy’s national priorities: AI-driven industrial modernization, digital sovereignty, ethical and human-centric innovation, and data governance excellence.
Italy is fast becoming a key player in Europe’s responsible AI landscape, guided by the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, and a growing commitment to sustainable, transparent, and sovereign digital innovation. As organizations expand AI adoption in 2026, they face complex challenges: ensuring compliance with the EU AI Act, addressing data quality and governance issues, and modernizing fragmented infrastructures to support scalable, trusted AI.
Agenda
IDC research shows that 29% of European enterprises cite data quality and availability as their top barrier to realizing AI’s value, while over 90% share data externally but only 30% do so strategically. In Italy, these findings highlight the urgency of developing trusted data ecosystems, interoperable platforms, and robust governance frameworks that foster innovation while safeguarding privacy, accountability, and ethical standards.
Through keynotes, executive panels, and peer discussions, participants will gain the insights and tools needed to transform AI and data into pillars of Italy’s next wave of innovation, resilience, and digital competitiveness.
2026 Prediction
By 2027, organizations that adopt tools and processes for AI evaluation and monitoring will have the confidence to deploy AI applications twice as fast as those that don’t.
Main Themes
Data Value Reinvention in the Age of AI
Organizations are shifting from thinking about “using AI” to “leveraging data for AI value,” integrating data maturity practices like cataloging, lineage, and observability to fuel model performance and business impact.
Business Value and ROI from AI & Data
Translating AI and data experiments into measurable business outcomes demands clear KPI frameworks, strong business cases, and scalable use cases tied to financial value.
Trust, Transparency and Responsible AI
Embedding fairness, bias mitigation, auditability, and explainability across the AI lifecycle helps build user confidence, regulatory alignment, and long-term trust in intelligent systems.
Data Sovereignty, Governance and Interoperability
Balancing data residency, regulatory constraints, and cross-border flow requires hybrid cloud strategies, shared governance models, and interoperable architectures that meet business needs.
Generative and Agentic AI: The Next Frontier
As generative and agentic models go beyond assistance, leaders focus on guardrails, cost/risk trade-offs, hybrid model design, and alignment with existing AI systems.
Infrastructure Evolution: Edge, Cloud and AI Platforms
Deploying AI at scale depends on modern, flexible infrastructure spanning edge and cloud, optimized for latency, throughput, cost, sovereignty, and workload distribution.
2026 Prediction
In 2026, a renewed focus on traditional AI for explainability and reliability will drive 70% of organizations to adopt composite AI, blending generative, prescriptive, predictive, and agentic technology.
How to join
The event, which will take place on October 8, 2026 starting at 9:00 am is free of charge (upon filling the registration form), for professionals in the following sectors: Manufacturing, Automotive, Fashion, Finance, Banking and Insurance, Retail, Energy and Utilities, Media, Government, Health, Education, Transports, Logistics, Telecommunications, Personal and Professional Services.
Access to the event is not allowed for non-sponsoring ICT companies (vendor, distributors, reseller, VAR, system integrator), ICT consultancy and services companies, private individuals and freelancers.
The official language of the event is Italian.
Speakers
Giovanni Cervellati
Research Manager, Data & AI
IDC Europe
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Giovanni Cervellati
Giovanni Cervellati is a research manager in IDC Europe’s software group, supporting the European Intelligent Analytics and Data Strategies practice across both research and consulting projects. His core research coverage includes user practices and the cultural aspects of analytics software usage, as well as demand and supply trends in advanced analytics and business intelligence.
A native Italian, he is based in IDC’s Frankfurt office. He has a technical background and worked as an SPSS (IBM) employee as a data mining consultant, performing analysis and training for the Italian market using SPSS products and software. He then became a data scientist working as an independent consultant for some of the biggest corporates in Italy, with a strong focus on predictive analytics and machine learning.
He studied in Bologna, Italy, and has a bachelor’s degree in statistics.
Roberta Bigliani
Group Vice President, Global Lead for Energy & Retail Insights and Industry Hub
IDC
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Roberta Bigliani
Roberta Bigliani is a Group Vice President at IDC, and Global Lead for Energy Insights, Retail Insights, and the IDC Industry Hub.
She leads IDC’s global research, data, and custom delivery agendas for energy, utilities, and retail, and oversees the Industry Hub, which drives cross-industry initiatives and collaboration.
A recognized expert in industry and business transformation, with longstanding experience in energy and utilities, Roberta’s work centers on how AI and digital technologies are reshaping the industry – enabling new business and operating models, enhancing operations and customer experiences, and effectively integrating IT and operational technology.
Her work combines deep sector expertise with a cross-industry lens, helping organizations understand how disruption and innovation propagate across sectors and markets.
Roberta regularly advises senior managers and executives at both technology suppliers and end-user organizations, speaks at international conferences, and moderates executive-level discussions.
She is based in Milan, Italy.
Knowledge Hub
5 Key Highlights on the European Observability Market in 2025
Observability is rapidly evolving as organizations across Europe embrace digital transformation, cloud adoption, and AI. As IT environments become more complex, traditional monitoring approaches are no longer sufficient.
The Agentic Business Future: Driving Resilience, Sovereignty, and Innovation in EMEA
As organizations navigate an era defined by economic uncertainty, geopolitical shifts, and relentless technological change, one truth stands out: the future belongs to those who can harness AI, automation, and sovereignty to build resilience, drive innovation, and unlock growth.
Shadow AI: How stealth productivity is strangling enterprise AI adoption. And creating a security nightmare…
Remember the good old days when “Shadow IT” was just about rogue Excel spreadsheets and unauthorized Dropbox accounts? But the times they are a-changing! Now we’re dealing with something far more insidious: Shadow AI.
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