Industry Statistics

Business IT Procurement Statistics for 2026

Sourced business IT procurement statistics for 2026 covering IT budgets, software buying, SaaS portfolios, cloud spend, and cybersecurity risk.

Last updated September 9, 202615 sourced statistics

Quick stats

$6.31TProjected worldwide IT spending in 2026 69%Organizations expecting IT budget increases 13 + 9Typical internal and external buying participants 53%Buying cycles where procurement is a decision-maker $55.7MAverage annual SaaS spend in Zylo's 2026 dataset 108%Year-over-year growth in AI-native app spend

Gartner · April 2026

$6.31T

Worldwide IT spending is projected to reach $6.31 trillion in 2026.

Gartner forecasts worldwide IT spending will grow 9.8% in 2026, with artificial intelligence infrastructure and software contributing to the total.

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Foundry State of the CIO · 2026

69%

Sixty-nine percent of organizations expect IT budgets to increase in 2026.

Foundry's 2026 State of the CIO survey found rising technology budgets, with the share expecting increases up from 65% in 2025.

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Forrester · January 2026

13 + 9

A typical business buying decision now includes 13 internal stakeholders and nine external influencers.

Forrester reports that B2B buying networks have expanded as leaders seek more validation and risk reduction before approving business purchases.

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Forrester · January 2026

53%

Procurement professionals are decision-makers in 53% of business buying cycles.

Forrester notes that procurement is becoming influential earlier in buying cycles, looking beyond price to scrutinize features, functions, efficiency, and productivity.

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Zylo SaaS Management Index · 2026

$55.7M

Organizations in Zylo's 2026 dataset average $55.7 million in annual SaaS spend.

Zylo's 2026 SaaS Management Index reports this average across the organizations represented in its data, illustrating the financial weight of large software portfolios.

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Zylo SaaS Management Index · 2026

108%

Spend on AI-native applications grew 108% year over year in Zylo's 2026 analysis.

Zylo reports that new AI-native tools are changing software portfolios and making active oversight of contracts, usage, and renewal terms more important.

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Capterra · June 2026

34%

Only 34% of software buyers report successful technology adoption.

Capterra found that most software buyers face adoption problems after purchase, making implementation planning, ownership, and user readiness part of the buying decision.

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Forrester · February 2026

73%

Seventy-three percent of B2B purchases involve input from three or more departments.

Forrester reports that buying groups have become more cross-functional, increasing the need for a clear process that aligns technical, financial, operational, and procurement stakeholders.

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Flexera State of the Cloud · 2026

85%

Eighty-five percent of cloud respondents rank cost as a leading challenge.

Flexera's 2026 State of the Cloud Report found cost ahead of security as the top cloud challenge, with security at 82% and software licenses at 78%.

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Flexera State of the Cloud · 2026

29%

Estimated wasted cloud spend on IaaS and PaaS increased to 29%.

Flexera reports that wasted cloud spend ticked up after five years of decline, reflecting growing cost complexity from AI and new cloud services.

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Zylo SaaS Management Index · 2026

305

The average organization manages 305 SaaS applications.

Zylo's 2026 SaaS Management Index reports that app counts have flattened, but the typical software portfolio remains large and complex to manage.

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Zylo SaaS Management Index · 2026

78%

Seventy-eight percent of IT leaders reported unexpected charges tied to AI features or consumption-based pricing.

Zylo found that changing pricing models are creating unplanned costs after software contracts are already in place.

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Zylo SaaS Management Index · 2026

61%

Sixty-one percent of unexpected SaaS charges force business units to cut another project.

Zylo found that surprise charges linked to AI features and consumption pricing can force businesses to reallocate money away from planned work.

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Verizon DBIR · 2026

31%

Thirty-one percent of breaches now start with software vulnerabilities.

Verizon's 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report lists software vulnerabilities as the leading breach entry point, ahead of stolen passwords.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce · August 2025

58%

Fifty-eight percent of small businesses say they use generative AI.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that small-business generative AI adoption rose from 40% in 2024 and more than doubled from 2023.

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Methodology and sources

This page pulls from public research reports and survey summaries published by recognized technology, business, cybersecurity, cloud, and software-buying organizations. Each statistic is linked to the source used for that number and includes the source date where available.

Gartner worldwide IT spending forecastGlobal IT spending forecast by segment for 2026.Foundry State of the CIOSurvey findings on CIO influence, technology budgets, and organizational priorities.Forrester State of Business BuyingResearch summary on buying groups, procurement influence, and business purchase risk.Capterra Software Adoption ReportResearch on software adoption outcomes and the implementation risks buyers face after purchase.Flexera State of the CloudCloud cost, security, software licensing, and waste benchmarks from cloud leaders and practitioners.Zylo SaaS Management IndexSaaS portfolio size, annual spend, pricing complexity, and unexpected software charges.Verizon Data Breach Investigations ReportCybersecurity breach patterns and top threat takeaways.U.S. Chamber Empowering Small Business reportSmall-business technology and generative AI adoption findings.

Cite this page

Suggested citation: The Tech Ref, "Business IT Procurement Statistics for 2026," last updated September 9, 2026, https://thetechref.com/business-it-procurement-statistics/.

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