Global IT spending is accelerating. Gartner predicts the market will reach $5.7 trillion by the end of 2025. The real story lies not in the number, but in the shift it represents. Organizations are no longer just spending more. They’re spending smarter.
What global IT spending looks like?
According to Gartner’s forecast, worldwide IT spending will grow by over 9% year-over-year in 2025. But this isn’t a uniform rise. It’s a strategic reallocation. Spending on data center systems is set to grow by 23.2%, while software spending will climb 14.2%. By contrast, communication services will only see a modest 3.8% increase.
This asymmetry is significant. Capital is shifting away from maintenance-heavy legacy infrastructure and towards future-proof technologies, particularly AI-ready systems, cloud platforms, and scalable software ecosystems. Enterprises are deprioritizing the status quo and focusing on transformation.
For companies still running on tightly coupled, outdated architectures, this creates immense pressure, but also a clear roadmap: modernize or be left behind.
Why AI is driving infrastructure overhauls?
The main force behind this surge in global IT spending? Generative AI. From automating internal processes to enabling advanced personalization and analytics, AI is no longer an experiment. It’s becoming the backbone of digital business.
But AI doesn’t run in a vacuum. It requires vast computing power, robust infrastructure, and flexible, well-documented backend architectures. That’s why AI-optimized server investments are expected to double those for traditional servers in 2025, reaching $202 billion globally.
This alone justifies the urgency for legacy stack modernization. AI can’t deliver value when buried under layers of obsolete code and undocumented logic. Companies that modernize their architecture are positioning themselves to not just adopt AI, but to scale it sustainably.
Legacy stack modernization – a growing necessity for digital transformation
Legacy systems are often seen as necessary evils: complex and risky to touch. Yet, as global IT spending patterns shift, these legacy stacks are increasingly seen as strategic assets awaiting transformation. Modernization becomes a prerequisite for:
- integrating AI and automation tools,
- ensuring cybersecurity and compliance,
- increasing agility and product development speed,
- enhancing user experience via modern interfaces.
At People More, we see legacy stack modernization as the cornerstone of digital transformation. The companies we work with often start by re-evaluating their existing architecture, separating what should be rebuilt from what should be preserved, and exposing clean APIs or platform interfaces that enable gradual evolution.
This approach is very important in environments where business logic is valuable but trapped in outdated systems.
Global IT spending: what sectors are spending and why?
While virtually all industries are increasing IT spending, some sectors are moving faster and more aggressively:
- Finance – driven by the need for real-time data processing, regulatory compliance, and fraud detection
- Manufacturing & Logistics – focused on automation, predictive maintenance or smart supply chains.
- Healthcare – investing in secure digital systems to manage patient data and AI for diagnostics and scheduling.
- Retail – personalization engines and e-commerce infrastructure are at the center of modern strategies.
In all of these sectors, cloud migration, cybersecurity, and legacy modernization are the common denominators. According to Polcom, over 70% of companies will increase cybersecurity budgets in the coming year. And over 60% of Polish firms plan to invest in cloud by 2026.
But globally, the numbers are even more aggressive according to Gartner forecast. Enterprises are embracing hybrid models, cloud-first strategies, and managed services not just for cost reasons, but because agility is becoming a survival skill.
From “build your own AI” to platform integration
Another emerging trend is the shift from building custom AI models to integrating mature AI capabilities via software platforms. Early-stage AI experimentation often failed to deliver ROI due to complexity, costs, and skill gaps.
The new direction? Buy, don’t build. Enterprises now prefer platforms that embed AI directly into business-critical applications, allowing them to benefit from cutting-edge tech without overhauling everything at once.
This is why legacy stack modernization and API-based integrations are so vital. A clean, modular architecture allows companies to plug into modern platforms without costly rewrites or risky migrations.
The new role of IT in business strategy
As businesses evolve into software-powered organizations, the role of IT changes. No longer just a cost center, IT becomes a creator of value. CIOs and CTOs are now shaping product strategy, customer experience, and even revenue models.
This shift is also visible in workforce trends: the most in-demand professionals in 2025 are expected to be AI specialists, cybersecurity analysts, and cloud engineers. As well as leaders with strategic thinking and change management skills.
Legacy stack modernization is not just about code. It’s about preparing the entire organization for a future where technology is not the support function, but the product itself.
Worldwide IT spending: what it all means for you?
The wave of IT spending we’re witnessing isn’t just about bigger budgets. It’s about strategic focus. Companies that treat legacy systems as dead weight will be outrun by those who unlock their value. We believe that modernization is mainly about unlocking potential through smart refactoring, platform integration, and a relentless focus on business value.
Are you in need of expert support with modernizing your legacy stack? Our experts at People More specialize in legacy system audits, architecture planning, and end-to-end modernization strategies.
Whether you’re looking to start small or scale big, we’re here to help. Contact us today
Tomasz Michalik
