Gartner has significantly hoisted its global IT growth forecast in the face of runaway datacentre spending.
The analyst now expects worldwide IT spending to swell 13.5% to $6.31tn this year, up from its previous growth prediction of 10.8% and the 10.3% growth racked up in 2025.
This will be led by spending on datacentre systems, which it now predicts will rocket 55.8% to $788bn (compared with its previous 31.7% forecast and up on the 51.6% increase recorded last year).
“This latest forecast underscores the accelerating momentum in AI infrastructure and advanced memory,” stated Gartner Distinguished VP Analyst John-David Lovelock.
“As AI workloads scale, datacentre investment is ramping rapidly, which in turn is driving increased demand for high‑performance compute.”
Large cloud-based datacentre build outs are benefiting at least some channel partners, with Computacenter’s shares last week hitting new highs on the back of its hyperscaler success.
But Gartner warned that hyperscaler purchases and AI-centric software segments are significantly outperforming traditional categories, reinforcing a “multi-speed IT market”.
Device spending is set to rise 8.2% to $856bn as higher memory costs constrain replacement cycles in lower-margin segments, Gartner said.
“Together, these dynamics highlight a widening divergence across IT markets, as AI infrastructure and GenAI software see substantial upward revisions while device growth reflects ongoing cost and pricing pressures,” Lovelock stated.
Software spending will advance 15.1% to $1.44tn in 2026, IT services by 9% to $1.87tn and communications services by 4.8% to $1.39tn, Gartner predicted.
