Global IT spending to hit $6.37 trillion in 2026, AI drives 14.2% surge: Gartner
Synopsis
Gartner's latest forecast puts global IT spending at $6.37 trillion in 2026 — a 14.2% leap — with data centre systems alone projected to surge 62.5%. The driving force is AI: hyperscalers and enterprises are building what one Gartner analyst calls 'the largest infrastructure project ever attempted by humanity.' Traditional IT segments are being left behind as the spending map is redrawn around AI.
Key Takeaways
Global IT spending is projected to reach $6.37 trillion in 2026 , up 14.2% from 2025, according to Gartner, Inc.
Data centre systems spending is forecast to surge 62.5% to $822 billion , the fastest-growing segment.
IaaS spending is projected to grow 29.3% to $287 billion ; software spending to rise 15.5% to $1.47 trillion .
John-David Lovelock of Gartner described AI compute build-out as 'the largest infrastructure project ever attempted by humanity.' Risks include inflation , semiconductor supply constraints , and rising hardware costs , which could pressure tech budgets.
Traditional IT segments — services and communications — are expected to grow at a comparatively modest 5% and 4.4% respectively.
Worldwide information technology (IT) spending is projected to reach $6.37 trillion in 2026, a 14.2% jump from 2025, as enterprises and hyperscalers pour capital into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, cloud platforms, and intelligent applications, according to a forecast released on Monday, 27 July by research firm Gartner, Inc. The report marks one of the most aggressive upward revisions in global IT spending projections in recent years.
Data Centres and Cloud Lead the Charge
Spending on data centre systems is set to surge 62.5% to $822 billion in 2026, up from $506 billion in 2025 — the fastest-growing segment in Gartner's forecast. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) spending is projected to grow 29.3% to $287 billion, reflecting the accelerating migration of AI workloads to cloud environments.
Software spending is expected to rise 15.5% to $1.47 trillion, driven by demand for AI-ready enterprise applications. By contrast, services spending is forecast to grow a comparatively modest 5% to $1.57 trillion, and communications services are projected to expand 4.4% to $1.35 trillion. Device spending is expected to increase nearly 10% to $868 billion.
What Gartner's Analysts Said
John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, framed the shift in historic terms. '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,' he said.
The report notes that incremental IT spending is increasingly concentrated in AI-related infrastructure, cloud services, and software, while traditional technology segments are expected to see comparatively modest growth.
Headwinds the Market Cannot Ignore
Despite the bullish headline, Gartner cautioned that technology budgets remain under pressure. The report flagged inflation, semiconductor and memory supply constraints, rising hardware costs, and shifting enterprise priorities as risks that could temper the pace of expansion. This comes amid a broader global environment where central banks in major economies are still navigating post-pandemic cost pressures.
Notably, the concentration of growth in AI infrastructure means that enterprises not yet investing in AI-optimised servers or cloud platforms risk falling behind peers who are already scaling deployments.
Why This Matters for India and Global Tech
India's IT sector — which services a significant share of global enterprise technology budgets — stands to benefit from the software and cloud services growth projected by Gartner. However, the data centre and IaaS surge is largely driven by hyperscalers headquartered in the US and China, meaning Indian IT services firms may need to accelerate their own AI capability-building to capture a proportionate share of the new spending wave.
With organisations worldwide accelerating investments in AI-optimised servers and AI-ready software, the structural shift in where IT dollars flow appears durable rather than cyclical. The next major signal will be enterprise IT budget announcements for fiscal year 2026.
Point of View
And that gap will be very difficult to close later. For India's IT services industry, the risk is real — if the new spending concentrates in hyperscaler-owned infrastructure rather than outsourced services, the traditional volume-led growth model faces a quiet but serious challenge.
NationPress
27 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is global IT spending expected to reach in 2026?
Global IT spending is projected to reach $6.37 trillion in 2026, a 14.2% increase from 2025, according to a Gartner forecast released on 27 July. The growth is primarily driven by AI infrastructure, cloud platforms, and intelligent software investments.
Which IT segment is growing the fastest in 2026?
Data centre systems is the fastest-growing segment, with spending forecast to surge 62.5% to $822 billion in 2026, up from $506 billion in 2025. IaaS is the second-fastest, projected to grow 29.3% to $287 billion.
What is driving the surge in global IT spending?
Investments in AI infrastructure, high-performance computing, cloud platforms, and AI-ready software are the primary drivers. Hyperscalers and enterprises are rapidly scaling next-generation data centre capacity to handle expanding AI workloads.
What risks could slow down IT spending growth?
Gartner cautioned that technology budgets face pressure from inflation, semiconductor and memory supply constraints, rising hardware costs, and shifting enterprise priorities. These headwinds could temper the pace of expansion despite the strong overall outlook.
How does this Gartner forecast affect India's IT sector?
India's IT sector could benefit from projected growth in software and cloud services spending, but the dominant surge in data centre and IaaS spending is concentrated among global hyperscalers. Indian IT firms may need to accelerate AI capability-building to capture a proportionate share of the new spending wave.
