Gartner Forecasts Worldwide IT Spending to Grow 15% in 2027, Totaling $7.35 Trillion
With AI Investment Accelerating Across the Technology Stack, IT Spending Will Cross the $7 Trillion Mark for the First Time
ORLANDO, Fla., October 21, 2026--Worldwide IT spending is expected to reach $7.35 trillion in 2027, up 15% from 2026, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company.
Gartner analysts are discussing the trends that are impacting the IT market during Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, taking place here through Thursday.
"Collectively, the market forces are reinforcing spend around AI infrastructure, AI-enabled cloud platforms and advanced software ecosystems, as these are the most attractive opportunities in global IT spending," said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. "Increasingly, the growth of the digital economy is being determined not only by software adoption, but also by the ability to finance, build and monetize AI infrastructure at an unprecedented scale."
The next $1 trillion dollars in IT spending growth is being shaped by two interconnected AI domains: AI infrastructure and AI software. Spending on AI-optimized servers, AI-optimized infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and AI software platforms continues to strengthen as organizations seek to industrialize AI deployment. At the same time, hardware markets are experiencing growing pressure from memory-related inflation (see Table 1).
Table 1. Worldwide IT Spending Forecast (Billions of U.S. Dollars)
| 2026 Spending | 2026 Growth (%) | 2027 Spending | 2027 Growth (%) | |
| Data Center Systems | 879 | 73.8 | 1,366 | 55.5 |
| Devices | 847 | 7.2 | 916 | 8.1 |
| Software | 1,464 | 15.2 | 1,679 | 14.6 |
| Services | 1,557 | 4,4 | 1,633 | 4.9 |
| Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) | 292 | 31.3 | 367 | 25.7 |
| Communications Services | 1,352 | 4.1 | 1,391 | 2.9 |
| Overall IT | 6,391 | 14.5 | 7,352 | 15.0 |
| Source: Gartner (October 2026) |
Over the past 12 months, demand from data center systems has driven memory prices to more than double, with cost increases cascading throughout storage, server, networking, PC and device supply chains.
"This 'memflation' effect is expected to persist through 2027 before hardware pricing begins to stabilize," said Lovelock. "While higher average selling prices continue to support spending growth, the resulting pressure on affordability is expected to suppress end-user demand throughout the forecast horizon."
Longer term, the forecast reflects a further upward revision in growth expectations for data center systems, reinforcing the view that AI infrastructure has become the foundational layer of the AI economy. Unlike previous technology cycles where infrastructure supported software growth, infrastructure itself is increasingly being treated as a strategic investment asset.