IT buyers widen AI supplier lists and trim the rest, BCG survey finds
IT buyers expect 2026 budgets to grow faster than they planned in mid-2025. Outside AI, they intend to spend it with the same or fewer vendors, including in cloud, analytics and security
- Published: 17 September 2026
- Fieldwork: May 2026; 423 respondents, 138 of them in Europe
- Over the past three years, 44% of respondents outsourced more, against 4% who brought meaningfully more work in-house
- The average number of AI use cases per respondent fell in every maturity tier
For vendors outside AI, the survey suggests growth will come from winning share inside existing accounts rather than new logos, so the pitch should be consolidation: replace two suppliers, not add a third. AI vendors have a window while buyers are still adding names, but falling use-case counts hint that shortlists will tighten. Leaders planning next year’s sales motion should test the findings against their own renewal data before re-aiming their teams.
A net 34% of IT buyers plan to expand their roster of AI and machine learning (ML) suppliers, according to the latest IT Spending Pulse from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), published on 17 September. It is the only category in the technology stack where more buyers plan to add providers than cut them.
The survey was run in May 2026 among 423 IT buyers at director level or above in mid-size and large companies: 285 in North America and 138 in Europe. BCG does not break out UK results. It is BCG’s own research, and BCG sells AI consulting.
Buyers now expect IT budgets to rise 5.8% in 2026, up from the 3.6% they planned in BCG’s mid-2025 survey. Two-thirds (66%) expect to spend more on AI and ML, up 21 percentage points. Cloud services and security infrastructure also gained, by 11 and 3 points, but through a stable or shrinking set of vendors. Customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) turned negative again, and IT services swung down 19 points, though BCG says outsourcing has held steady or grown for most buyers.
BCG puts weighted-average measured return on investment (ROI) from generative AI and agent deployments at 13.8%, up from 11.2%, with high-maturity firms at about 19% and the least mature at 8–9%. BCG says much of the rise reflects more high-maturity firms in the sample.
Sources
- Boston Consulting Group, “IT Spending Pulse: AI Takes Priority as Confidence Returns”, 17 September 2026. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/it-budgets-ai-spending-priority
