AI Adoption reshapes IT Spending priorities in MENA
IT spending in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is projected to total US$169bn in 2026, an increase of 8.9% from 2025, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.
“The MENA region is rapidly emerging as a global tech powerhouse, with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leveraging its stability, infrastructure and forward-looking policies to attract global partners and build digital skills that empower innovation and support resilient AI-driven economies,” affirmed Mim Burt, Practice VP at Gartner.
“Even amid global economic and geopolitical uncertainty, chief information officers (CIOs) in MENA are making strategic investments in AI, intelligent automation and multi-cloud strategies, while strengthening cyber defenses and advancing talent upskilling,” she added.
Growth in data centre systems spending in MENA is expected to remain strong in 2026, though the pace will ease compared to 2025. Spending is projected to increase 37.3% in 2026, making it the highest-growing IT segment, but at a slower rate than this year as the market shifts from rapid build-out to incremental and sustained investment.
Data Centre system
“Data centre system spending is expected to accelerate as MENA CIOs and technology leaders invest in AI-enabled software and AI-optimized infrastructure,” stated Eyad Tachwali, VP, Advisory, Gartner.
“This surge is largely fueled by pent-up demand for generative AI (GenAI) and advanced machine learning, which depend on robust computing power for large-scale data processing,” he continued.
Software spending in MENA is expected to grow 13.9% to UD$ 20.4bn in 2026, as organizations accelerate adoption of GenAI capabilities. Gartner predicts that by 2028, 75% of global software spend will be on solutions with GenAI functionality.
