Forrester Forecasts AI to Take One-Fifth of Business Tech Spending in 2027

Forrester projects artificial intelligence will account for one-fifth of business technology spending in 2027, putting pressure on CIOs and chief information security officers to show returns on AI investments.

The firm separately forecasts global technology spending will reach $6.1 trillion that year. The $6.1 trillion estimate covers global technology spending overall, while the 20% share concerns business technology spending.

Forrester expects technology and security leaders to face scrutiny over AI investments in infrastructure, security, digital sovereignty and emerging technologies. “AI will command an unprecedented share of technology budgets,” said Sharyn Leaver, Forrester’s chief research officer.

SnapLogic Chief Technology Officer Jeremiah Stone said companies should assess how AI affects an entire business process, since speeding up one task may leave the overall workflow slow if reviews or approvals remain bottlenecks. The idea draws on Amdahl’s Law, associated with Gene M. Amdahl’s 1967 computing work on the limits of improving only part of a system.

“Time saved doesn’t automatically become revenue or margin,” Stone said. He urged companies to connect AI projects to measurable business outcomes.