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Significant Increase in IT Infrastructure Spending Forecasts

The Open Compute Project (OCP) Foundation has unveiled a notable upgrade to the projected global spending on IT infrastructure, originally reported by IDC. According to IDC's market impact study commissioned by OCP, global spending for IT equipment recognized by OCP is expected to skyrocket to approximately $800 billion by 2029, marking a staggering 2.7-fold increase from the previously anticipated $295 billion in the same year. This shift underscores the rapidly evolving needs of the industry, spurred by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and the increasing adoption of OCP Designs.

Future Projections

Looking ahead, IDC projects that annual IT spending will reach $892 billion by 2030, with OCP-recognized equipment accounting for about 51% of all expenses in infrastructure categories evaluated in the study. This trend illustrates the escalating significance of open hardware designs in meeting the rising demand for infrastructure driven by AI technologies.

Cliff Grossner, Ph.D., director of innovation at OCP, remarked on these findings, stating, "AI is changing the industry’s infrastructure requirements, and these results highlight the growing role of open designs in meeting that demand. Our community connects companies to tackle challenges across the data center landscape, from chips and servers to cooling, power, and distribution frameworks. This collaboration aids organizations in scaling new technologies into practical applications."

Exciting Growth in AI Investment

IDC attributes this remarkable growth trajectory primarily to investments in AI infrastructure. The spending on OCP-recognized IT devices is projected to escalate from $154 billion in 2025 to $892 billion in 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of approximately 42%. Among the categories, servers emerge as the largest sector, driven predominantly by GPU-accelerated systems. Expectations of continued growth are also evident in switch devices, rack infrastructure, power, and cooling, as organizations construct the necessary systems to accommodate increasingly complex workloads.

Key Findings Include:

• - Projected 2029 annual spending of $800 billion, representing a 2.7-fold increase over previous forecasts.
• - Projected 2030 annual spending of $892 billion, including around $814 billion specifically for servers.
• - Approximately 51% of infrastructure expenditures will be allocated to OCP-recognized infrastructure by 2030.
• - AI-related infrastructure spending recognized by OCP is anticipated to reach about $628 billion in 2030, constituting roughly 70% of the expected total.

Emergence of Open Infrastructure Solutions

The findings bolster OCP’s vision for an expansive ecosystem of open data centers that address interlinked AI infrastructure demands from chips to networks. Over the past year, the OCP community has made strides in higher performance rack systems, liquid cooling solutions, AI-driven Ethernet networks, and open chip specifications. Their devices integrate DC distribution, energy storage, and coordination between data centers and energy grids.

The OCP's strategic initiative, Open Data Center for AI, streamlines efforts in power, cooling, and equipment management into a cohesive approach. Projects like OCP Energy amplify collaboration into energy manufacturing and storage, while the AI Computing Continuum supports implementation not only in hyperscale data centers but also extends to enterprise, regional, and edge environments.

As the AI infrastructure continues to evolve, OCP is focusing on promoting specialized AI chips, coordinating designs within data centers, and developing open building blocks that organizations can deploy on broader scales.

About the Study

The 2026 Market Impact Study performed by IDC for the OCP Foundation explores global expenditures on IT devices recognized by OCP. The projections encompass servers, external storage, switches, power supplies, cooling, and peripheral equipment. The data encapsulates annual expenses, while percentages are rounded for clarity.

About Open Compute Project Foundation

The Open Compute Project Foundation convenes a global community of data centers and IT infrastructure to develop open hardware designs, specifications, and best practices. OCP aids organizations in leveraging innovations proven at hyperscale for broader market adoption through open collaboration. For more details, visit opencompute.org.