IT Budget For 2026, What “Good” Looks Like

Global IT spend is projected to reach $6.15T in 2026, up 10.8% year over year. The sharpest increases are in data center systems (up 31.7% to $653B) and software (up 14.7% to $1.43T), fueled by AI‑ready infrastructure and AI features embedded across the application stack. More than half of companies expect to increase IT budgets next year, but the scrutiny on ROI is tightening.

Across company sizes, the definition of a healthy budget is becoming more consistent. Organizations under $50M in revenue typically invest 3–6% of revenue in IT, leaning on managed services, SaaS consolidation, and security that outperforms their scale. 

Mid‑market firms between $50M and $250M trend toward 3–7%, shifting from AI pilots to production use cases, strengthening data governance, and formalizing FinOps. 

Enterprises above $250M often land between 4–8%, especially digital‑first companies now funding AI platforms, integration layers, and MLOps at scale while rationalizing tool sprawl.

Sector norms continue to act as practical guardrails. Financial services typically allocate 7–10% of revenue, driven by risk, identity, and data. Healthcare and life sciences sit closer to 5–7%, shaped by compliance and interoperability. Technology companies hover around 7–8% with a focus on platforms and developer productivity. Professional services firms land between 4–6% as AI copilots reshape utilization and client experience. Retail and CPG remain lean at 2–4%, prioritizing POS modernization, inventory visibility, and AI for demand and supply. Manufacturing stays at 1–3%, with OT security, IoT, and ERP/PLM modernization leading the agenda.

First, modernize the core. Infrastructure refresh is the top driver of 2026 budget increases, and leaders are pairing upgrades with measurable uptime and cost targets. 

Second, quantify security as business continuity. With cyber and risk spend projected around $240B, the strongest cases tie investment to reduced incident likelihood and impact, plus tool rationalization. 

Third, treat AI as an operating capability rather than a pilot. The real ROI bottlenecks live in data quality, integration, and governance. 

Fourth, plan for AI‑inflation in software. Vendors are pricing AI features into per‑seat costs, and negotiating value not just rate, is becoming essential. 

Finally, adopt FinOps with discipline. Cloud and AI infrastructure are surging, and governance can free 10–20% in waste to fund innovation.

Bottom line: 2026 is a scale‑up year. Anchor your budget to resilience, security plus modernization and to production‑grade AI built on solid data foundations. 

Reach out if you wish to discuss us assessing your spend and how you might create efficiencies and come online with your peers while not sacrificing your Cyber Security