Gartner Forecasts IT Spending in Europe to Grow 11% in 2026

• GenAI Model Spending in Europe to Grow 78%
• By 2027, 35% of Countries Will Be Locked Into Region-Specific AI Platforms

IT spending in Europe is projected to total $1.4 trillion in 2026, an increase of 11.1% from 2025, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc, a business and technology insights company. IT spending in Europe is on pace to reach $1.3 trillion by the end of 2025.

“AI, cloud and cybersecurity are driving the rise in IT spending for European organizations in 2026,” said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. “Despite IT budget constraints and minimal headcount growth, CIOs in Europe will be spending heavily on software to access new AI features from their current providers. Gartner projects end-user spending on GenAI models in Europe to grow 78.2% in 2026.”

“Cloud investments in Europe will be more turbulent in 2026 as CIOs focus on digital sovereignty and move their cloud services closer to home,” said Lovelock. Gartner projects end-user public cloud services spending to grow 24% in 2026.

Gartner analysts are exploring IT spending priorities for IT leaders and CIOs during Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, taking place here through today.

In 2026, software spending will remain a high spending priority for European organizations as they aim for more intelligent, efficient and personalized applications (see Table 1). In addition, price increases across all software categories are raising software spending.

Table 1. Europe IT Spending Forecast (Millions of U.S. Dollars)

Source: Gartner (November 2025)

The devices market will experience a similar boost, with manufacturers adding AI features to devices and raising prices to offset the cost of additional hardware.

Building IT Infrastructure Remains Paramount in 2026

The push to develop AI infrastructure will continue to raise demand and growth expectations for servers, particularly AI-optimized servers. In Europe, end-user spending on AI-optimized servers is forecast to reach $46.8 billion in 2026, up from $39.3 billion in 2025, a distant third place to North America’s $170 billion and China’s $67 billion projected spending.

“Europe is facing regulatory pressure, competition between countries, geopolitical tensions, and national security concerns-all focused on making sure Europe can develop and manage AI systems on its own, without depending on foreign platforms or providers,” said Lovelock.

Lovelock added that while existing software providers add GenAI features to their products to encourage GenAI adoption, AI platforms made for Europe are becoming part of important national infrastructure.

Gartner predicts that by 2027, 35% of countries will be locked into region-specific AI platforms using proprietary contextual data. Gartner says platform lock-in will rise from 5% to 35% by 2027 as governments will urge major cloud providers to work with local companies to make their platforms more regional, to meet regulatory requirements and support national interests.

Gartner’s IT spending forecast methodology relies heavily on rigorous analysis of the sales by over a thousand vendors across the entire range of IT products and services. Gartner uses primary research techniques, complemented by secondary research sources, to build a comprehensive database of market size data on which to base its forecast.

The Gartner quarterly IT spending forecast delivers a unique perspective on IT spending across the hardware, software, IT services and telecommunications segments. These reports help Gartner clients understand market opportunities and challenges. The most recent IT spending forecast research is available to Gartner clients in Gartner Market Databook, 3Q25 Update.

More information on the forecast can be found in the complimentary Gartner webinar IT Spending Forecast, 3Q25 Update: How The Intelligence Supercycle Will Transform IT Buying.

About Gartner AI Use Case Insights

Gartner AI Use Case Insights is an interactive tool that helps technology and business leaders efficiently discover, evaluate, and prioritize AI use cases to potentially pursue. Clients can search over 500 use cases (applications of AI in specific industries) and over 380 case studies (real world examples) based on industry, business function, and Gartner’s assessment of potential business value. Clients can access the interactive tool at https://tools.gartner.com/use-case-insights.

About Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo

Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo is the world's most important gathering for CIOs and other IT executives. IT executives rely on these conferences to learn how to amplify the impact of the technology, insights and trends shaping the future of IT and business. Follow news and updates from the conferences on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerSYM, and on the Gartner Newsroom.

Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo include:

November 17-19, 2025 | Kochi, India