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Cloud & Infrastructure
Market Narratives
The Power & Compute Crunch – Infrastructure Under Pressure
Sep 16, 2025
Infrastructure leaders pivot from expansion to optimisation, prioritising cloud cost, automation, and AI amid funding and skills gaps.
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Infrastructure leaders are bracing for exponential growth in compute and energy needs, driven by AI, modernisation, and technical debt reduction. Compute demand is set to rise 23–26% annually, with power consumption up 24% over two years. Larger enterprises expect 27% growth, while SMEs may see even steeper increases. To cope, 62% plan to outsource or hybridise cloud operations and FinOps—highlighting a growing need for vendor collaboration and operational agility.
Core Insights:
- Compute and power demands are surging, with compute expected to grow 23–26% annually and power consumption rising 24% over two years; posing risks to sustainability and resilience.
- Smaller organisations face steeper growth, with mid-market and SMEs projecting 25–35% increases in power demand, outpacing larger enterprises.
- Operating models are shifting, as 62% of leaders plan to outsource or hybridise cloud operations and FinOps to manage rising costs and…