New Delhi–Worldwide information technology spending is expected to rise 14.2% to $6.37 trillion in 2026 as companies increase investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, cloud computing and intelligent software, according to a Gartner forecast.
Data center systems and Infrastructure as a Service are expected to record the fastest growth as demand increases for AI computing capacity and high-performance systems.
Spending on data center systems is projected to surge 62.5% to $822 billion in 2026 from $506 billion in 2025.
Infrastructure as a Service spending is forecast to increase 29.3% to $287 billion, while software spending is expected to grow 15.5% to $1.47 trillion.
Device spending is projected to rise nearly 10% to $868 billion. IT services spending is expected to grow about 5% to $1.57 trillion, while communications services spending is forecast to increase 4.4% 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 Vice President Analyst at Gartner.
Despite the strong growth outlook, technology budgets continue to face pressure from inflation, semiconductor and memory supply constraints, higher hardware costs and changing corporate priorities.
The forecast reflects growing confidence in AI-led expansion, with a larger share of new technology spending expected to flow into AI infrastructure, cloud services and software. Traditional technology categories are likely to experience more modest growth.
Organizations are also accelerating investments in AI-optimized servers, cloud platforms and AI-ready software as they expand enterprise AI deployments, making infrastructure and software the fastest-growing areas of global IT spending. (Source: IANS)
