Gartner Forecasts Global IT Spending to Reach $6.15 Trillion by 2026, Fueled by AI and Software

The global business and technology analysis firm, Gartner, has predicted that worldwide IT spending will hit an impressive $6.15 trillion in 2026. This marks a significant 10.8% growth compared to 2025, largely driven by increased investments in AI infrastructure, software, and servers. John-David Lovelock, a VP Analyst at Gartner, explained, "The growth of AI infrastructure continues to accelerate, with spending expanding noticeably across related hardware and software. Demand from hyperscale cloud service providers is also fueling investments in servers specifically designed for AI workloads." Gartner expects spending on servers to jump by 36.9%, while overall data center spending will rise by 31.7%, reaching over $650 billion, up from about $500 billion in 2025. For software, the spending growth rate for 2026 has been slightly adjusted to 14.7% (down from 15.2%) for both application and infrastructure software, keeping total software spending above $1.4 trillion. Meanwhile, generative AI models continue to show strong growth at 80.8% and are expected to increase their share of the software market by 1.8% next year. On the flip side, the hardware market is expected to see a relative slowdown, with a 6.1% growth bringing total spending on mobile phones, PCs, and tablets to $836 billion. This slowdown is mainly due to rising memory prices, which push up average selling prices and limit device replacements. Additionally, a shortage of supply in the economy segment is holding back shipment growth. Gartner bases these forecasts on a deep analysis of sales from over a thousand vendors across various IT product and service categories. This is supported by primary and secondary research methods to build a comprehensive database of market sizes. The company's quarterly report offers a unique analytical perspective, helping clients understand market trends, accurately identify opportunities and challenges, and ultimately make data-driven investment and strategic decisions.