Worldwide IT spending is expected to reach $6.37 trillion in 2026, up 14.2% from 2025, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.

“Data center systems and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) are the top growth segments, reflecting accelerating investment in AI infrastructure, cloud platforms, and intelligent applications,” said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner.

“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 center capacity.”

These trends underscore that AI infrastructure, AI-enabled cloud platforms and advanced software ecosystems will remain the most attractive segments for capitalising on the strong expansion in global IT spending.

“Despite the strong growth in spending, this is not a rising tide lifts all boats market trend,” said Lovelock.

“Technology budgets are being strained by inflation, supply shortages, rising hardware and memory costs, AI funding initiatives and shifting priorities.”

Revised Growth Projections Reflect AI-Driven Market Expansion

In this latest forecast update, total IT spending has been revised upward with stronger growth projections, reflecting increased confidence in overall market expansion.

The revision places greater emphasis on AI-related spending, with incremental growth increasingly concentrated in segments directly benefiting from AI adoption, while traditional segments show comparatively modest changes.

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“IT spending growth is being fueled by rising investments in AI infrastructure and software. Organisations are spending more on AI optimised servers, cloud services, and AI-ready software as they expand their AI efforts, while hardware markets continue to adjust to semiconductor and memory supply constraints,” said Lovelock.

“The fastest growth is expected in AI-related infrastructure, cloud services, and software, reflecting the strong focus on building and scaling AI capabilities across the enterprise.”