AI investments set to propel global IT spending to $6.37 trillion

Worldwide information technology (IT) spending is projected to reach $6.37 trillion in 2026, a 14.2 per cent increase from 2025, as investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, cloud platforms and intelligent applications continue to accelerate, according to a report released on Monday.

Spending on data centre systems and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) will record the fastest growth, reflecting rising demand for AI infrastructure and high-performance computing, as per analysis of Gartner, Inc.

According to the forecast, spending on data centre systems is expected to surge 62.5 per cent to $822 billion in 2026 from $506 billion in 2025.

IaaS spending is projected to grow 29.3 per cent to $287 billion, while software spending is expected to rise 15.5 per cent to $1.47 trillion.

While device spending is forecast to increase nearly 10 per cent to $868 billion, services spending is expected to grow about 5 per cent to $1.57 trillion and communications services spending is projected to rise 4.4 per cent to $1.35 trillion.

"Building the compute capacity required for AI is the largest infrastructure project ever attempted by humanity. Driven by the expansion of AI workloads and demand for high-performance computing, hyperscalers and enterprises are rapidly scaling next-generation data centre capacity," said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner.

Despite the strong outlook, the report cautioned that technology budgets remain under pressure from inflation, semiconductor and memory supply constraints, rising hardware costs and shifting enterprise priorities.

It further noted that its latest forecast reflects increased confidence in AI-led market expansion, with incremental IT spending increasingly concentrated in AI-related infrastructure, cloud services and software, while traditional technology segments are expected to witness comparatively modest growth.

Moreover, organisations are accelerating investments in AI-optimised servers, cloud platforms and AI-ready software as they scale enterprise AI deployments, making AI infrastructure and software the fastest-growing areas of global IT spending the report said.