Global spending on datacenter infrastructure has surged, driven by the demand for AI technologies. According to IDC’s latest report, organizations spent 74.9% more on compute and storage for shared cloud services in the second quarter of 2024, pushing the total to $35.3 billion.
This spike comes from the growing deployment of GPU-powered servers, crucial for AI training and inference. Overall, cloud infrastructure spending rose by 61.5%, hitting $42.9 billion.
IDC’s data shows a significant shift in enterprise investments as businesses prioritize AI infrastructure. The report also highlights a 5% increase in spending on dedicated cloud systems, now at $6.7 billion.
Non-cloud infrastructure grew by 41.4%, reaching $19.4 billion, largely due to private AI clusters and back-office systems. Companies are upgrading their hardware to handle AI-heavy workloads, which is driving this growth.
Although unit shipments for servers and storage fell by 17.7%, revenue continues to climb. Organizations are consolidating their general-purpose infrastructure by deploying high-powered AI servers. Many are reducing the number of units while boosting performance to accommodate AI’s resource demands.
Looking ahead, IDC predicts shared cloud infrastructure spending will reach $131.9 billion by the end of 2024, a 48.8% increase from 2023. AI will continue to shape the future of cloud computing, solidifying its role in driving global investment in datacenter infrastructure.
