Software spending is expected to grow 15.5 per cent to $1.47 trillion, while infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) is projected to increase 29.3 per cent to $287 billion | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Worldwide IT spending is expected to rise by 14.2 per cent to $6.37 trillion in 2026 from $5.58 trillion in 2025, according to Gartner.

In the 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.

Data centre systems are expected to remain the fastest-growing segment. Spending on data centre systems is forecast to jump 62.5 per cent to $822 billion in 2026, following a 51.6 per cent increase in 2025, underscoring sustained demand for AI servers and supporting infrastructure.

“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.

Infra Spending

“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.”

Beyond infrastructure, software spending is expected to grow 15.5 per cent to $1.47 trillion, while infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) is projected to increase 29.3 per cent to $287 billion as enterprises expand cloud deployments. Devices spending is forecast to rise 9.8 per cent to $868 billion, services spending 5.3 per cent to $1.57 trillion, and communications services 4.4 per cent to $1.35 trillion.

AI Scaling

Gartner added that AI infrastructure, AI-enabled cloud platforms and advanced software ecosystems will remain the most attractive segments for capitalizing on the strong expansion in global IT spending.

“IT spending growth is being fueled by rising investments in AI infrastructure and software. Organizations are spending more on AI-optimized 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.”

Published on July 27, 2026