Technology companies are directing a growing share of their spending toward IT services as investments in artificial intelligence reshape procurement priorities, according to new research from Coupa.
The company’s Q3 2026 Business Spend Index (BSI), released October 8, found that IT services accounted for 14.1% of high-tech spending in 2026, up from 8.8% in 2023. Meanwhile, software’s share declined from 12.5% to 8.6%, suggesting technology buyers are increasingly prioritizing implementation expertise and services over traditional software licensing.
The findings point to a potential opportunity for managed service providers (MSPs), systems integrators, and other IT channel partners as enterprises shift from purchasing AI technology to deploying and operationalizing it.
IT services gain share of high-tech spending as software grows
Coupa’s research draws on a dataset of $10.5 trillion in historical business transactions across a network of more than 11.5 million buyers and suppliers. Its quarterly index tracks procurement commitments, including approved purchase orders, signed contracts, and renewals, across five U.S. industries.
The High Technology sector demonstrated particular resilience despite broader market volatility.
While the Nasdaq declined 13.2% between its October 2025 close and a March 2026 low, Coupa reported that the High Technology BSI reached new highs in five of those six months. The sector finished June with its index up 6.5%.
Within that spending, however, purchasing priorities shifted significantly.
IT services recorded the largest increase in spending share among the categories tracked between 2023 and 2026. Software’s declining share did not translate into lower absolute software spending; in fact, it increased.
The value of software commitments rose 36% between July through December 2023 and December 2025 through May 2026. Software lost market share as IT services grew faster and captured a larger share of the sector’s spending mix.
Similarly, Gartner’s September AI spending update puts AI services at $576.5 billion for 2026, compared with $461.6 billion for AI software, with its analysts pointing to enterprises hiring service providers to get more out of software they already own.
Manufacturing and business services spending remain resilient
The report also identified sustained spending commitments in manufacturing and business services, two sectors that represent potential customer markets for IT solution providers.
Manufacturing purchasing commitments remained elevated throughout the first half of 2026 despite tariff uncertainty.
Even February’s index reading of 156.5 exceeded the sector’s previous historical high of 152.5, according to Coupa.
Business Services spending also remained relatively stable, with index readings between 129.3 and 131.7 from January through April before exceeding the sector’s entire 2025 range in May and June.
Coupa attributed that resilience in part to ongoing transformation programs, in which terminating existing contracts could require businesses to unwind projects already underway.
The findings suggest continued opportunities for technology partners supporting multiyear modernization initiatives, although procurement commitments do not necessarily indicate new IT project spending.
What Coupa’s spending data means for MSPs and integrators
The broader index revealed differences across industries. Financial Services spending declined by 5.3% from April to July, while Healthcare & Life Sciences spending fell by 2.8% from February to June.
Those trends could influence where channel partners focus sales efforts, particularly as customers evaluate discretionary projects against operational requirements.
For MSPs and systems integrators, the findings suggest that the opportunity in enterprise AI extends beyond software sales to the services required to put those investments to work.
As businesses seek returns on AI and broader technology investments, partners with expertise in implementation, systems integration, infrastructure modernization, and ongoing management could be positioned to capture a greater share of IT spending.
While Coupa’s data does not isolate AI services or MSP contracts, the growing allocation toward IT services suggests that technical expertise and service delivery could become increasingly important sources of channel revenue heading into 2027.
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