Global IT spending is set to keep growing at a rapid pace, reaching over $6 trillion by 2026. According to Gartner, this represents a 10.8% increase from current levels. The biggest driver of this boom is investments in AI infrastructure, which is fueling a surge in hardware and software spending across industries.

AI Infrastructure Leads the Way

Despite concerns about an AI bubble, companies and cloud providers are continuing to pour money into AI-related hardware and software. Data center systems are seeing especially strong growth, with enterprises racing to build the infrastructure needed for advanced AI models. This includes high-end servers, GPUs, and custom silicon designed specifically for AI workloads.

The report highlights that hyperscale cloud providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud are competing fiercely to expand their AI infrastructure. They are investing heavily in servers optimized for AI training and inference, which are often very expensive due to their specialized components. This intense focus on AI hardware is a major factor pushing overall IT spending higher.

Data Centers and Hardware Spending Surge

Spending on data center systems is projected to jump nearly 32% in 2026, reaching over $650 billion. This is a huge increase from about $500 billion in 2025. Server spending alone is expected to rise by nearly 37%, mostly driven by AI-optimized hardware. This indicates a major shift toward building AI-ready data centers that can handle large-scale models and intensive processing tasks.

The trend shows that companies are prioritizing hardware investments to support AI growth. The focus isn’t just on adding more servers but on deploying specialized machines with powerful GPUs and custom chips. These investments are crucial for training complex AI models and running them efficiently at scale.

Software Growth and the Rise of Generative AI

While hardware spending is booming, software budgets are still growing, though at a slightly slower pace. Gartner now estimates software spending will increase by about 14.7% in 2026, reaching over $1.4 trillion. This includes both applications and infrastructure software used across organizations.

The real story in software is generative AI. Spending on these models is expected to grow by over 80%, making them a key part of enterprise tech strategies. Many vendors are rapidly embedding AI features into their products, from customer support tools to development platforms. This integration is driving a new wave of AI-powered services and solutions, which companies are eager to adopt and pay for.

Overall, the AI boom is shaping the future of enterprise IT. Companies are investing heavily in hardware and software to stay competitive in this fast-moving landscape. As these technologies become more embedded in daily operations, the growth in IT spending is likely to continue well into the next few years, fueling innovation and efficiency across industries.

Inspired by

• https://www.computerworld.com/article/4128002/global-it-spending-to-hit-6-15tn-in-2026-driven-by-ai-infrastructure-boom.html

Sources

• gartner.com