{"id":890130,"date":"2026-02-04T18:12:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T00:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/04\/gartner-ai-and-datacentre-spending-ramps-up\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T18:12:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T00:12:39","slug":"gartner-ai-and-datacentre-spending-ramps-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/04\/gartner-ai-and-datacentre-spending-ramps-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Gartner: AI and datacentre spending ramps up"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/cloud-computing-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" data-credit=\"vectorfusionart - stock.adobe.co\"  width=\"520\" height=\"173\" alt><\/p>\n<p>vectorfusionart &#8211; stock.adobe.co<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"content-header\">\n<h2>Hyperscalers are increasing AI capacity but IT buyers are now looking at their return on investment for this much-hyped technology<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content-center\">\n<ul>\n<li><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i data-icon=\"2\"><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"contributors-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Cliff-Saran-Sep-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"Cliff Saran\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/contributor\/Cliff-Saran\">Cliff Saran,<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Managing Editor<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tPublished: <span>03 Feb 2026 16:54<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"content-body\">\n<p>IT spending is to grow almost 11% (10.8%), hitting $6.2tn in 2026, according to the latest forecast from analyst Gartner.<\/p>\n<p>Gartner\u2019s most recent IT spending forecast shows that spending on datacentre equipment is set to rise by 32% in 2026, while spending on software has been forecast to grow by nearly 15%.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Much of this is linked to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366638174\/Microsoft-has-already-contracted-GPUs-to-balance-costs\">hyperscalers growing<\/a> their artificial intelligence (AI) compute capacity. John-David Lovelock, distinguished vice-president analyst at Gartner, said: \u201cDemand from hyperscale cloud providers continues to drive investment in servers optimised for AI workloads.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Along with its global outlook for IT spending, Gartner has forecast that worldwide spending on AI will total $2.52tn in 2026, a 44% increase year over year (YoY). After 20 years of flat-to-declining server spending, AI has created an explosive growth in infrastructure investment, according to Lovelock.<\/p>\n<p>He said that organisations are spending three-to-four times more money on AI-optimised servers than traditional servers. \u201cThree times more money is spent on servers to do AI than everything we currently do with computers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Gartner\u2019s forecast shows that building AI foundations alone will drive a 49% increase in spending on AI-optimised servers, representing 17% of total AI spending for 2026. It predicted that AI infrastructure will also add $401 bn in spending in 2026 as a result of technology providers building out AI foundations<\/p>\n<p>According to Gartner\u2019s forecast, datacentre power consumption is projected to double in four years due to AI demands.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lovelock noted that technology providers are currently investing heavily in AI infrastructure, however he pointed out that enterprise IT buyers are in Gartner\u2019s \u201ctrough of disillusionment\u201d phase, which, from an AI adoption perspective, means they tend to adopt AI-enabled products from existing software providers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause AI is in the trough of disillusionment throughout 2026, it will most often be sold to companies by their incumbent software provider rather than bought as part of a new moonshot project,\u201d said Lovelock. \u201cThe improved predictability of ROI must occur before AI can truly be scaled up by the business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Gartner\u2019s forecast suggests that for IT and business leaders, AI is a transformational technology.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGetting away from AI is going to be impossible, so the transformation is there. We\u2019re seeing all the money being spent, we\u2019re seeing the compute capacity required to do all of that transformation, and the money is the leading indicator of how important it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Gartner expects the market for AI data to more than double by 2027 from $3.1bn to $6.4bn. Lovelock said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/searchbusinessanalytics\/tip\/Synthetic-data-vs-real-data-for-predictive-analytics\">synthetic data<\/a> is driving this growth. For Lovelock, synthetic data overcomes data scarcity issues, addresses privacy concerns and reduces bias in AI training. In addition he notes that synthetic data enables the creation of comprehensive training scenarios that are impossible with real data.<\/p>\n<p>Not all areas of IT are experiencing growth or benefiting from the drive to adopt AI. Gartner\u2019s IT spending forecast shows that market-demand constraints will slow growth to 6.1% in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis slowdown is largely due to rising memory prices, which are increasing average selling prices and discouraging device replacements,\u201d said Lovelock. \u201cAdditionally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366635013\/Chip-makers-warn-of-a-looming-shortage-in-DRAM-and-SSD\">higher memory costs<\/a> are causing shortages in the lower end of the market, where profit margins are thinner. These factors are contributing to more muted growth in device shipments.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"DigDeeperSplash\">\n<h4>\n\t\t\t<i data-icon=\"m\"><\/i>Read more on Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366630422\/AI-boom-to-push-Australian-IT-spending-past-A172bn\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/Australia-Sydney-Adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Australia-Sydney-Adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Australia-Sydney-Adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>AI boom to push Australian IT spending past A$172bn<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Aaron-Tan-Computer-Weekly-2025-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"AaronTan\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Aaron\u00a0Tan<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366628165\/Global-cyber-spend-will-top-200bn-this-year-says-Gartner\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/Hero-hand-holding-pen-Adobe-Intelligent Horizons-967219887_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/Hero-hand-holding-pen-Adobe-Intelligent%20Horizons-967219887_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/Hero-hand-holding-pen-Adobe-Intelligent%20Horizons-967219887.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Global cyber spend will top $200bn this year, says Gartner<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Alex-Scroxton-CW-Contributor-2022.jpg\" alt=\"AlexScroxton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Alex\u00a0Scroxton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366618160\/Hyperscalers-to-spend-a-trillion-dollars-on-AI-optimised-hardware\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/IT-budget-2-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/IT-budget-2-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/IT-budget-2-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Hyperscalers to spend a trillion dollars on AI optimised hardware<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Cliff-Saran-Sep-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"CliffSaran\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Cliff\u00a0Saran<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366593857\/Massive-hyperscaler-GenAI-spend-raises-questions-on-costs\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/Robot-bot-chatbot-AI_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Robot-bot-chatbot-AI_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Robot-bot-chatbot-AI.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Massive hyperscaler GenAI spend raises questions on costs<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Cliff-Saran-Sep-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"CliffSaran\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Cliff\u00a0Saran<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366638605\/Gartner-AI-and-datacentre-spending-ramps\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Tama Schroeder<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>vectorfusionart &#8211; stock.adobe.co Hyperscalers are increasing AI capacity but IT buyers are now looking at their return on investment for this much-hyped technology By Cliff Saran, Managing Editor Published: 03 Feb 2026 16:54 IT spending is to grow almost 11% (10.8%), hitting $6.2tn in 2026, according to the latest forecast from analyst Gartner. Gartner\u2019s most<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":890131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73627,38639,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-890130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-datacentre","category-gartner","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/890131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}