The Budget Is There. You Just Need To Grab It.
Gartner released its third 2026 IT spending forecast in six months, and the headline every B2B sales professional needs to see: software spend is now projected to grow 15.1% to $1.44 trillion.
That is revised up from the 14.7% forecast in February. The deceleration never showed up. Software spending kept running.
Here is how the forecasts moved:
- October 2025: 15.2% growth
- February 2026: 14.7% growth (revised down)
- April 2026: 15.1% growth (revised back up)
The market round-tripped. We are back to where October had it. $1.44 trillion. Growing 15.1%. Still the second-fastest growing category in all of IT.
What $190 Billion In Net New Spend Means For Your Number
15.1% growth on a $1.44 trillion base means roughly $190 billion in net new software spend in 2026. That is the entire size of the global SaaS market from a decade ago, showing up as incremental dollars this year.
If your company is growing slower than 15.1%, you are losing share by definition. The market itself is expanding at 15.1%. Anything below that is someone else eating your lunch.
Total worldwide IT spending is now projected at $6.31 trillion, up 13.5%. Three upward revisions in six months. Forecasts are supposed to drift down as reality gets closer. Gartner's is accelerating.
The Price Increase Tax Still Applies
Roughly 9% of every IT budget is being consumed by price increases on existing software. That has not changed. So even with software growing 15.1% on the headline, real net-new discretionary spend is closer to 6%. Almost all of that 6% is flowing to AI features and AI-native products.
GenAI model spend is now more than doubling year-over-year. Enterprises are not kicking tires. They are writing checks.
Which means the competitive dynamic stays brutal. You are either the software getting funded, or the software getting cut. There is no middle lane.
What This Means For Your Pipeline
Stop worrying about whether the budget is there. It is. $190 billion in net new software spend. You do not have a demand problem. You have a positioning problem or a product problem.
Benchmark yourself against 15.1% growth, minimum. If your 2026 plan has you growing 12%, you are planning to lose share. Re-check that plan.
Ship AI features that can be monetized. Every renewal conversation in 2026 turns on what AI value you added. If you do not have a clear answer, you are getting cut or renegotiated. If you do, you are getting an expansion.
Gartner has now revised up three times in six months. The pattern is clear: they are behind the actual demand curve, not ahead of it. The October 2026 forecast will very likely revise these numbers up again.
Plan accordingly. The budget is there. Go grab it.