Gartner has recognized generative AI as a critical component in technology investments for the upcoming year, with the firm’s latest projections forecasting global IT expenditures to reach $5.74 trillion by 2025.
The Gartner report emphasizes a notable surge in server sales, expected to witness a threefold increase in the years ahead, driven by genAI which is projected to elevate data center systems spending by 15.5% in 2025. According to Gartner, server sales could rise from over $134 billion in 2023 to $332 billion by 2028, including an anticipated amount of more than $257 billion in 2025. Echoing its forecast from July, Gartner again highlights genAI as a key catalyst for high-tech investments moving forward.
“GenAI will far surpass the impact that cloud and outsourcing vendors had on prior years concerning data center systems,” remarked John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, in a statement. “It took two decades for cloud and outsourcing vendors to elevate spending to $67 billion annually on servers. The appetite for genAI will nearly triple server sales from 2023 to 2028.”
According to Gartner, spending on software is set to rise by 14% to reach $1.23 trillion in 2025, while IT services are expected to grow by 9.4% to approximately $1.73 trillion in the same year. The influence of artificial intelligence and genAI is anticipated to impact expenditures in these sectors as well.
“Investments in these areas are projected to focus on AI-related initiatives, such as email and content generation. Although this market is mature and largely dominated by a few players, it is anticipated to contribute an additional $6.6 billion to global expenditure in 2024 and $7.4 billion in 2025, partly driven by generative AI products and services,” Lovelock noted.
Gartner’s global IT spending outlook features the following growth expectations:
“The data center systems segment experienced substantial growth since the last quarter, largely because hyperscalers are actively enhancing these AI-optimized data center solutions,” Lovelock commented during a Gartner webinar about the spending forecast.
Gartner predicts that IT expenditure will rise by $500 billion annually, ultimately reaching the $7 trillion milestone by 2028.
