At Hakkoda & IBM’s annual Data Innovation Awards Reception during Snowflake Summit, one theme stood out above all others: Enterprise AI has moved beyond isolated experiments to complex, industry-sensitive solutions that reframe enterprise decisioning from end to end.
Across industries, organizations are no longer simply exploring what AI could do. They are actively building intelligent applications, automating complex workflows, modernizing critical platforms, and creating entirely new operating models powered by trusted data and the Snowflake AI Data Cloud.
This year’s Data Innovation Award winners represent companies spearheading exactly that kind of transformative work. From genomics and logistics to retail, utilities, and financial services, these organizations are using Snowflake to solve complex challenges, modernize legacy environments, and unlock new forms of intelligence across the enterprise.
The 2026 honorees include:
- Data Disruptor — Syngenta
As genomic data volumes accelerated, Syngenta saw an opportunity to rethink how scientific data could be processed, scaled, and activated. By modernizing a legacy processing environment into a scalable Snowflake-powered platform, the company dramatically improved performance while building a stronger foundation for future analytics and scientific innovation. Their work demonstrates how modern data architectures can accelerate discovery in industries where scale, speed, and precision matter deeply. - Modernization Champion — TECO Peoples Gas
Modernization is no longer about simply migrating workloads to the cloud. It is about building architectures capable of supporting continuous innovation. TECO Peoples Gas modernized its data architecture and cloud strategy on Snowflake to accelerate analytics, improve governance, and reduce time-to-insight across the organization. The result is a future-ready platform designed not just for today’s reporting needs, but for tomorrow’s AI and analytics opportunities as well.
- Customer Excellence — Truist Financial
Truist recognized that delivering better customer experiences starts with building a stronger data foundation. By modernizing its data ecosystem and creating a scalable platform for analytics, collaboration, and AI, the organization is positioning itself to move faster, innovate more effectively, and create more responsive experiences for customers. Their work highlights how modern data strategies increasingly sit at the center of customer transformation. - AI Visionary
The next wave of enterprise AI is about execution, not just assistance. One global sportswear enterprise exemplified that shift by using large language models and Snowflake Intelligence capabilities to transform manual business processes into intelligent, automated workflows. By making insights accessible through natural language and embedding AI directly into business operations, the organization is helping define what the future of enterprise work looks like. - Master of App Dev
One global logistics leader is building the foundation for the next generation of operational intelligence. By unifying data from dozens of systems onto a scalable Snowflake platform, the organization created a foundation for advanced analytics, AI-driven insights, and intelligent operational applications. Their work reflects a broader enterprise shift: data platforms are evolving from systems of record into systems of action that enable real-time decision-making at scale.
“Agentic AI is changing the expectations organizations have for their data,” said Erik Duffield, Americas Data Leader for IBM and co-founder of Hakkoda, an IBM company. “The companies we’re recognizing tonight are leading that shift by building the modern data foundations, intelligent applications, and interoperable architectures needed to move AI from experimentation into execution. They’ve made a point of not just adopting new technology, but redefining how decisions are made and how businesses operate in the AI era.”
The Hakkoda team is honored to partner with organizations pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with Snowflake, AI, and modern data architectures. We’re proud to celebrate the teams behind this year’s achievements and excited to see where their innovation journeys lead next. We are also deeply honored to be part of the journey.
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.
About Hakkōda, an IBM Company
Hakkoda, an IBM Company, is a modern data consultancy helping organizations harness cloud platforms, hybrid architectures, and AI capabilities. We combine deep industry expertise, a focus on data innovation, and our own IP to drive results in complex companies. To learn more, visit hakkoda.io.
