IT Spending: AI Boom Drives Market to Record Highs

Worldwide spending on information technology will increase by fourteen percent in 2025. This is the conclusion reached by market analysts at IDC after reviewing the latest compiled data on the IT market in their monthly updated Black Book. Specifically, according to IDC's forecast, worldwide spending on hardware, software, and IT services will stabilize at a volume of 4.25 trillion US dollars by the end of the year. Including telecommunications and business-related services, the total market is estimated to be worth almost seven trillion dollars.

According to the figures available, the projected growth would be at its highest level since 1996. The introduction of Windows 95 the previous year, the increasing prevalence of PCs, and the expanding internet drove spending to a new record level. Today, almost 30 years later, the massive wave of investment in AI infrastructure is creating a new supercycle in technology spending worldwide.

High Spending on Data Centers

External indicator: Service providers' spending on data center infrastructure – servers, storage, and network equipment – is expected to increase by 86 percent in 2025, reaching almost half a trillion dollars. The PC segment also contributed to the overall market's high growth rate during the year. The sixteen percent increase recorded by market researchers for the first quarter was partly due to accelerated PC shipments. The trigger was simply the feared tariff surcharges by the US Trump administration for the second quarter, which were to be circumvented. IT spending by user companies increased by a solid eleven and ten percent, respectively, in the first two quarters of 2025.

Although there is much speculation about how and when the current growth cycle in general and the AI-driven data center investment boom might weaken again, IDC analysts see no signs of an economic slowdown. Relevant surveys continue to show that most companies intend to further increase their IT budgets in the new year, despite ongoing economic uncertainty. The market research firm forecasts a general increase in IT spending of around ten percent for the new year (IT service providers: 20 percent). This would still make 2026 one of the strongest growth years for the industry since the 1990s, even if 2026 sees a slight slowdown in growth compared to 2025.

There will also be some market risks next year. IDC specifically points to the emerging shortage of storage components, which could drive up PC prices in 2026. However, 2025 has shown that despite uncertainty regarding tariffs and a sluggish global economy, demand for technology has remained robust. In their base forecast, analysts assume stable economic development – supported, among other things, by ongoing investments in artificial intelligence. Even in the event of a moderate recession, most IT spending would continue. Market researchers consider the probability of a "perfect storm" similar to the IT market crash of 2001 following the dot-com and New Economy crisis to be low.

More details on current market figures can be found at IDC.

(mho)