AI infra boom to push global IT spend by 14.2% to $6.4 trn in 2026: Gartner

Worldwide IT spending is expected to climb 14.2% to $6.37 trillion in 2026 as enterprises and hyperscalers invest heavily in AI infrastructure, cloud platforms and next-generation data centres

Global spending on information technology is expected to rise 14.2 per cent in 2026 to reach $6.37 trillion, as companies and cloud providers pour unprecedented amounts of money into building artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to a report by research firm Gartner.

 

The report highlights that the AI boom is changing where technology money is flowing. According to the research firm, the biggest gains are no longer expected in consumer devices or traditional IT services. Companies are spending heavily on the infrastructure needed to power AI, making data centre systems, infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and enterprise software the fastest-growing parts of the market.

 

 

Gartner highlighted that spending on data centre systems is set to jump 62.5 per cent in 2026 to $822 billion, making it the fastest-growing technology segment. Spending on infrastructure as a service (IaaS), which includes cloud infrastructure offered by hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, is expected to rise 29.3 per cent to $287 billion. Software spending is forecast to grow 15.5 per cent to $1.47 trillion.

 

Table:  AI infrastructure dominates global IT spending growth

Segment	2026 spending	Growth
Data centre systems	$822 bn	62.5%
IaaS	$287 bn	29.3%
Software	$1.47 tn	15.5%
Devices	$868 bn	9.8%
IT Services	$1.57 tn	5.3%
Communications	$1.35 tn	4.4%

Source: Gartner  

John-David Lovelock, research vice-president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, said in a statement that the scale of investment is unlike anything the technology industry has seen before.

 

"Building the compute capacity required for AI is the largest infrastructure project ever attempted by humanity," Lovelock said, noting that hyperscale cloud providers and enterprises are rapidly expanding next-generation data centres to handle rising AI workloads.

 

The report indicates that AI spending has moved well beyond the experimental stage. Businesses are now investing at scale in AI-ready servers, cloud platforms and software capable of supporting increasingly sophisticated AI models and enterprise applications.

 

However, Gartner warned that the benefits of this spending boom will not be shared equally. "Despite the strong growth in spending, this is not a rising tide lifts all boats market trend," Lovelock said. He noted that technology budgets remain under pressure from inflation, supply shortages, rising hardware and memory costs, dedicated AI funding initiatives and shifting business priorities.

 

The latest forecast also reflects stronger confidence in overall market growth compared with Gartner's earlier projections. Much of that upward revision is linked directly to AI spending, while traditional technology segments are expected to see relatively modest improvements.

 

According to Gartner, organisations are increasingly directing budgets towards AI-optimised servers, cloud infrastructure and AI-enabled software as they scale enterprise AI deployments. At the same time, hardware markets continue to face constraints from semiconductor availability and higher memory prices, influencing investment priorities.

 

Among the major technology categories, devices are expected to grow 9.8 per cent to $868 billion, IT services by 5.3 per cent to $1.57 trillion, and communications services by 4.4 per cent to $1.35 trillion.

 

Gartner's forecast is based on sales data from more than a thousand technology vendors worldwide, supplemented by primary research and secondary market analysis covering hardware, software, IT services and telecommunications.

 

For technology companies, the report reinforces that the biggest commercial opportunity over the next few years lies in supplying the infrastructure that powers AI rather than the applications alone. For enterprise buyers, it signals that AI investment is increasingly becoming a core technology priority, even as organisations face tighter budgets and higher infrastructure costs.