Organizations keep putting more money into cloud services and AI, and the 2026 forecasts point up again. Gartner expects worldwide IT spending to reach $6.15 trillion in 2026, up 10.8% from 2025, according to its February 3, 2026 forecast as reported by CIO.
What the forecasts say
Much of the growth is in the data centers that power cloud and AI services. CIO reported that Gartner expects data center systems spending to rise 31.7%, from roughly $496 billion in 2025 to $653 billion in 2026, driven mainly by AI infrastructure purchases by hyperscale cloud providers. "AI infrastructure growth remains rapid despite concerns about an AI bubble," said Gartner analyst John-David Lovelock.
Public cloud services were already growing fast. In November 2024, Gartner forecast worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services of $723.4 billion in 2025, up 21.5% from $595.7 billion in 2024, with every cloud segment expected to grow by double digits, Telecompaper reported. Gartner also projected that 90% of organizations will adopt hybrid cloud by 2027.
These are totals for organizations of all sizes, not small business figures.
Small businesses are part of the shift
A 2025 U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey found that 99% of small businesses use some kind of technology platform, that AI use among small businesses has more than doubled since 2023, and that 96% of owners plan to adopt at least one emerging technology in the coming years.
Flexera's 2025 State of the Cloud report found that 72% of organizations use generative AI services from public cloud providers, up from 47% a year earlier. For many small businesses, AI is arriving as one more cloud subscription.
Cost control is the top concern
Flexera surveyed more than 750 technology professionals and executives. Its findings:
- 84% say managing cloud spend is their top cloud challenge.
- Cloud budgets are running over by 17%.
- Respondents expect cloud spending to rise 28% in the coming year.
- 60% are turning to managed service providers for help.
What to do
- List every cloud subscription and service you pay for, who owns it and what it costs each month.
- Remove unused licenses and right-size plans at each renewal.
- Set spending alerts in any cloud platform you use so surprises show up early.
- Back up cloud data and test a restore. Ready.gov advises that data "should be backed up frequently" and that businesses test their recovery plans periodically.
- Decide which company data AI tools may access before you turn them on.
WITTCO helps businesses plan and run workloads on AWS and Google Cloud and keep the monthly bill in check along the way.
Sources
- CIO, "Gartner: IT spending will exceed $6 trillion in 2026" (February 3, 2026): https://www.cio.com/article/4126847/gartner-it-spending-to-exceed-6-trillion-by-2026.html
- Telecompaper, "Global public cloud end-user spending to reach USD 723 bln in 2025: Gartner" (November 19, 2024): https://www.telecompaper.com/news/global-public-cloud-end-user-spending-to-reach-usd-723-bln-in-2025-gartner--1519501
- Flexera, "New Flexera Report Finds that 84% of Organizations Struggle to Manage Cloud Spend" (March 19, 2025): https://www.flexera.com/about-us/press-center/new-flexera-report-finds-84-percent-of-organizations-struggle-to-manage-cloud-spend
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "AI, Payments, and Policy: How Technology is Shaping the Future of Small Business in 2025" (August 20, 2025): https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/technology/impact-of-technology-small-business
- Ready.gov, "IT Disaster Recovery Plan": https://www.ready.gov/business/emergency-plans/recovery-plan
