Forrester’s 2027 Budget Planning Guides: After A Year Of Caution, Business And Tech Leaders Are Ready To Invest Again
While leaders are betting on growth, in the age of AI, spending more is no longer enough
According to Forrester’s (Nasdaq: FORR) 2027 Budget Planning Guides, business and technology leaders are approaching 2027 with renewed confidence as they increasingly accept volatility as a permanent feature of the business environment. After a year of more cautious spending, more than 80% of leaders expect their budgets to increase over the next 12 months, with as many as one-quarter anticipating growth of 10% or more. But planning in the age of AI demands more than bigger budgets: Increasing investment without modernizing operating models, strengthening data foundations, and improving AI readiness will only accelerate fragmented data, duplicated work, and technical debt. To realize AI’s full potential, leaders must rethink their strategies and prioritize investments in operational foundations, governance, and experimentation that drive tangible outcomes.
This year, optimism is widespread across functions: 82% of technology decision-makers and 91% of marketers expect budget increases in 2027, while more than half (55%) of customer experience (CX) leaders anticipate spending growth of 5% or more, up from 39% a year ago. Forrester’s Budget Planning Guides, based on a global survey of more than 2,600 business and technology decision-makers across industries and functions, provide data-driven spending benchmarks and practical recommendations for technology and security, B2B and B2C marketing, customer experience, digital strategy, and revenue operations leaders. The guides are designed to help organizations prioritize investments, identify opportunities to reduce spending, and evaluate where AI can create competitive advantage.
