March 3, 2026 - Wasabi Technologies released its fourth annual Global Cloud Storage Index report. The study is based on a global survey of 1,700 IT decision-makers across countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. The report found that enterprise spending patterns on artificial intelligence infrastructure are shifting, with 66% of AI budgets allocated to data, storage, and compute, rather than software and SaaS services.
Andrew Smith, Director of Strategy and Market Intelligence at Wasabi Technologies, stated: "When we look at the public cloud services market, revenue has traditionally come primarily from software/SaaS, not infrastructure services. But AI workloads are changing that trend. This year's survey shows that the majority of AI budgets are flowing to infrastructure, highlighting the crucial role of cloud storage and cloud infrastructure in building AI solutions." This finding underscores the importance of cloud storage in supporting large-scale AI deployments, particularly regarding data storage and compute resources.
The report also noted that many AI projects are currently still operating at a loss, but the time to achieve a positive return on investment (ROI) is shortening. Dave Friend, Founder and CEO of Wasabi Technologies, added: "As organizations scale their AI initiatives, data storage and quality challenges can erode ROI. Cost-effective storage is essential to ensure high-quality data is available for AI models, which requires affordable, secure cloud storage solutions." Cloud storage costs and budget overruns persist, while data protection and security remain key market concerns. Cloud storage service providers play a vital role in helping users keep their data secure and accessible.
The Cloud Storage Index was developed in collaboration with Vanson Bourne. The survey was conducted in November and December 2025 and involved organizations with over 100 employees in both the public and private sectors. The research explores the complexities of AI data storage, data quality issues, and cloud security concerns, emphasizing the increasingly critical role of cloud object storage in enabling cost-effective AI solutions. Wasabi Technologies is committed to supporting enterprise data utilization through predictable cloud storage services, helping global customers unlock the potential of their data.
