Top Five Largest Tech Markets In 2025: Gartner’s $5.6 Trillion Forecast
Worldwide IT spending will hit $5.61 trillion in 2025 with the top five biggest markets being data center systems, devices, software, communications and IT services. Here’s a breakdown on each market and growth comparisons, according to new data from Gartner.
Businesses are pouring trillions of dollars into the five hottest tech markets in the world this year, fueled by organizations and hyperscalers’ thirst for artificial intelligence and generative AI hardware upgrades.
Spending on AI-optimized servers easily doubles spending on traditional servers in 2025, reaching $202 billion, Gartner said.
“GenAI is sliding toward the trough of disillusionment, which reflects CIOs’ declining expectations for GenAI but not their spending on this technology,” said John Daivd Lovelock, distinguished vice president and analyst at Gartner, in a statement.
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For example, Lovelock said new AI-ready PCs do not yet include "must-have” applications that utilize the hardware. “While both consumers and enterprises will purchase AI-enabled PC, tablets and mobile phones, those purchases will not be overly influenced by the GenAI functionality,” he said.
IT Services And Hyperscalers Account For Over 70 Percent Of $5.61 Trillion Spending
Gartner expects that IT services companies and hyperscalers will account for over 70 percent of spending in 2025. Hyperscalers include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft.
“By 2028, hyperscalers will operate $1 trillion worth of AI-optimized servers, but not within their traditional business model or IaaS market,” Gartner’s Lovelock said. “Hyperscalers are pivoting to be part of the oligopoly AI model market.”
Gartner’s 2025 IT spending forecast methodology relies heavily on rigorous analysis of the sales by over 1,000 vendors across the entire range of IT products and services.
The five largest tech markets in 2025 are data center systems, devices, software, communications and IT services, which will total approximately $5.61 trillion
CRN breaks down Gartner’s worldwide spending IT forecast for five largest tech markets in 2025 with data comparison versus 2024.
2025 Spending: $405 Billion
2024 Spending: $329 Billion
2025 Growth Rate: 23 Percent
Data center systems are at the heart of the IT industry, housing the infrastructure that powers organizations’ servers, storage, data protection and networking environments.
In 2025, worldwide spending on data center systems will reach $405.5 billion, up from $329.1 billion in 2024.
This represents a 23 percent spending growth rate year over year, which is the largest growth rate in Gartner’s spending forecast report in 2025.
In 2024, global data center systems spending grew 39 percent year over year compared with 2023.
No. 4: Devices
2025 Spending: $810 Billion
2024 Spending: $734 Billion
2025 Growth Rate: 10 Percent
Devices rank No. 4 on Gartner’s list of the top spending markets in 2025 as companies continue to invest in devices such as PCs and Internet of Things offerings.
Worldwide spending on devices will reach $810 billion in 2025, up 10 percent year over year compared with $734 billion in 2024.
The device segment’s10 percent growth rate is on par with Gartner’s entire tech industry spending forecast increase of roughly 10 percent—from $5.11 trillion in 2024 to $5.61 trillion this year.
In 2024, spending on devices increased by 6 percent globally compared with 2023.
2025 Spending: $1.25 Trillion
2024 Spending: $1.09 Trillion
2025 Growth Compared With 2024: 14 Percent
Software spending will surpass the $1 trillion mark once again in 2025 as worldwide spending on software will jump more than 14 percent year over year.
Global spending on software is expected to reach $1.25 trillion this year compared with $1.09 trillion spent in 2024. This 14 percent increase is the second-highest growth rate in Gartner’s 2025 forecast report.
In 2024, software spending increased 12 percent year over year compared with 2023.
No. 2: Communications Services
2025 Spending: $1.42 Trillion
2024 Spending: $1.37 Trillion
2025 Growth Compared To 2024: 4 Percent
Ranking No. 2 on Gartner’s top five largest IT spending markets is communications services. Communications services include collaboration and productivity offerings such as videoconferencing and messaging as well as call center technology.
Worldwide spending on communications services will reach $1.42 trillion in 2025, up 4 percent year over year compared with $1.37 trillion.
The 4 percent spending increase on communications represents the lowest growth rate out of the top five markets in Gartner’s report.
In 2024, spending on communications services increased just 2 percent compared with 2023.
2025 Spending: $1.73 Trillion
2024 Spending: $1.59 Trillion
2025 Growth Compared With 2024: 9 Percent
For the past several years, the largest spending market in the tech world has been IT services, with 2025 being no different.
Worldwide spending on IT services will reach $1.73 trillion this year, up from $1.59 trillion in 2024.
This represents a 9 percent spending increase year over year, which is roughly on par with Gartner’s forecast of the entire tech market growing at 10 percent in 2025.
In 2024, global spending on IT services increased 5.6 percent compared with 2023.
Looking at the global market overall in 2025, Gartner’s Lovelock said that while budgets for CIOs are increasing, a significant portion will merely offset price increases.
“This means that in 2025 nominal spending versus real IT spending will be skewed, with price hikes absorbing some or all of budget growth. All major categories are reflecting higher-than-expected prices, prompting CIOs to defer and scale back their true budget expectations,” he said.