Monday Morning Impact – March 3

Published On: March 2, 2025Categories: Buzz

IDC: Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Spending to Surpass $200 Billion in Five Years

The global Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure market is on track to surpass $200 billion USD 2028, according to IDC. Organizations increased spending on compute and storage hardware infrastructure for AI deployments by 97% year-over-year in the first half of 2024, reaching $47.4 billion.

The Massachusetts-based market researcher says the AI infrastructure market has sustained double-digit since 2019, driven primarily by investment in servers for AI deployments. In 1H24, servers accounted for 95% of the total spending, growing 105% compared to the same period last year. AI Infrastructure deployed in cloud and shared environments accounts for 72% of the total server spending in AI in 1H24, as hyperscalers, cloud service providers and digital service providers expand their infrastructure capabilities. Traditional enterprises, by contrast, have largely lagged behind in adopting on-premises AI infrastructure.

Servers with an embedded accelerator are the preferred infrastructure for AI platforms, accounting for 70% of the total server AI infrastructure spending — growing 178% in the first half of the year 2024. IDC projects that accelerated servers will exceed 75% of the server AI infrastructure spending by 2028, growing at a 42% 5-year CAGR.

Storage spending in AI infrastructure has been driven by the need to manage large datasets required for training AI models, as well as storage of training, checkpoints and repositories of data for inference phases. This category reported an 18% year-over-year growth rate in 1H24 with 40% of the spending coming from cloud deployments.

“IDC expects AI adoption to continue growing at a remarkable pace as hyperscalers, CSPs, private companies, and governments around the world are increasingly prioritizing AI,” said Lidice Fernandez, Group Vice President of IDC’s Worldwide Enterprise Infrastructure Trackers. “Growing concerns around energy consumption for AI infrastructure will become a factor in datacenters looking for alternatives to optimize their architectures and minimize energy use.”

The United States leads the global AI infrastructure market, accounting for 59% of the total spending in 1H24, followed by PRC (20%), APJ (13%), and EMEA (7%). Over the next five years, IDC expects the PRC region to grow at the fastest CAGR (35%) followed by the USA (34%), APJ (21.3%) and EMEA (20.9%).

Further details can be found in IDC’s Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Tracker Taxonomy, 2024.

Channel Impact^®
The artificial intelligence space is frequently considered to be among the most notable opportunities for channel partners, moving forward.

LastPass Updates Partner Program, Adds New MSP Admin Console

LastPass, a Boston-based identity and password management company, has announced new enhancements to its partner program.

Highlights include enhanced reporting capabilities to help streamline invoices, support prorated billing, and enable MSPs to generate executive summary reports, showcasing product adoption, security scores, and return on investment (ROI) to client stakeholders. The company has also added a centralized partner portal for training, support, marketing resources, case management, benefit tracking, and attainment.

“We understand that partners need straightforward and affordable solutions to help their customers enhance security and efficiency in password management,” said Jessica Couto, Vice President of Global Channel & Alliances at LastPass. “Our enhanced Partner Program is designed to remove complexities, making it simple for partners to deliver impactful solutions that address real points.”

According to a January 2025 study conducted by analyst firm Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), 77% of small businesses plan to increase their use of managed service providers over the next 12-24 months, with 59% specifically seeking third-party providers for cloud security.

Channel Impact^®
The updates are intended to simplify processes and provide more robust tools, enabling Managed Service Providers, resellers, distributors, technology alliance partners, and cloud marketplaces to achieve sustainable growth.

Pure Storage Revamps Partner Program

Pure Storage has rolled out an updated reseller partner program designed to help the Santa Clara, California-based company’s partners to address solution-specific use cases – including AI and cyber resilience. It also incentivizes partners who successfully replace aging disk-based storage with Pure Storage’s all-flash offering.

Partners can take advantage of solution-oriented, on-demand courses and in-person technical boot camps to enhance proficiencies. Additionally, the program outlines new incentives and rebates with a focus on accelerating customer transition to the Pure Storage Platform.

New and updated partner-facing tools include real-time insights and analytics, use-case proposals, a master services agreement process, and a redesigned partner portal.

“Pure Storage is deeply committed to driving shared success with its partners, and we are excited to deliver a reimagined program experience that positions partners for exponential growth,” said Amy Fowler, General Manager of Commercial Products at Pure Storage. “Partners recognize the unrivaled value in leading with the Pure Storage Platform to solve customers’ most challenging data storage use cases and guiding their imperative to build and operate responsibly for a sustainable future.”

Channel Impact^®
The IT landscape is undergoing seismic shifts driven by consumption-based models and the rise of AI. Pure’s updated program is intended to enhance growth opportunities for partners, enabling them to accelerate customer transitions.

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