The promise of neurosymbolic AI — which mixes neural community sample recognition with rule-based reasoning — will solely be attainable when underpinned by trusted, ruled enterprise context. Context has develop into a buzzword, with phrases like semantics, ontology, semantic layer, information graph, and context layer getting used interchangeably. Enterprises want a clearer definition of what they’re making an attempt to construct. After months of vendor and enterprise practitioner interviews, Forrester has shaped this proposed definition:
A context layer is the following evolution of semantic layers and information graphs, offering the inspiration for neurosymbolic AI context engineering and agentic AI functions. It combines enterprise semantics and governance of semantic layers with the ontological modeling of information graphs. The context layer represents all enterprise information throughout information, metadata, enterprise ideas, insurance policies, and processes via graph-based ontologies and linked context. As well as, it repeatedly incorporates runtime context reminiscent of occasions, selections, actions, and outcomes, making a dwelling mannequin of the enterprise that permits AI reasoning, automation, and determination intelligence.
Protection Of Context Layer Platforms
Forrester has a well-developed view of how you can consider semantic layer platforms. We lately initiated protection of this market with a Forrester panorama report, deliberate for publication on the finish of This autumn 2026, which is able to then be adopted by a Forrester Wave™ analysis.
Context layer platforms will likely be tougher to match as a result of the market doesn’t but map to a single architectural sample. The distributors Forrester lately interviewed deal with very related use circumstances however come from completely different expertise heritages and base their platforms on completely different assumptions about information, metadata, semantics, governance, and AI runtime context. We at the moment see the market forming round two subcategories:
- Platform- and business-application-focused context layer capabilities from enterprise software suppliers and hyperscalers
- Common-purpose context layer capabilities inside platforms coming from graph database, information catalog, metadata, semantic layer, and information lakehouse platform distributors
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