AI Infrastructure Plans Align Around Stability, Control

Enterprises prioritize resilient architectures with predictable governance, costs and scalability as AI use expands, ISG Provider Lens^® report says

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enterprises worldwide are redesigning AI infrastructure strategies to support long-term operational performance as AI workloads become integral to core business functions, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.

The 2026 ISG Provider Lens^® global AI-Ready Infrastructure Solutions report finds that organizations are placing increasing emphasis on infrastructure supporting sustained AI operations while balancing performance, financial accountability and resilience. As demand for AI training, fine-tuning and inference expands, enterprises are reevaluating infrastructure architectures to address regional differences in compute availability, power capacity, networking and regulation while preparing for long-term operational needs.

“Enterprises are taking a more disciplined approach to AI infrastructure as deployments become part of everyday business operations,” said Steve Hall, chief AI officer, ISG. “They increasingly seek environments that combine stability, financial transparency and the flexibility to meet changing AI requirements over time.”

Enterprises are adopting infrastructure strategies that align capacity with each stage of the AI lifecycle rather than focusing only on access to computing resources. Many organizations now combine centralized AI platforms with localized deployments to accommodate regional data, energy and operating requirements. This approach allows enterprises to maintain consistent operations across multiple locations while adapting infrastructure to local conditions and resource availability.

Cost management has become a defining consideration in AI infrastructure decisions. Organizations are seeking infrastructure models that provide predictable pricing, clear visibility into resource consumption and mechanisms for allocating costs across development and production environments. These capabilities help reduce idle capacity, strengthen financial oversight and prevent friction between teams as AI workloads expand across business functions.

Reliability and embedded security and governance controls are becoming standard enterprise expectations for AI infrastructure. Buyers increasingly evaluate resilience, recovery procedures and monitoring capabilities alongside performance when selecting infrastructure platforms. Organizations are also placing greater emphasis on consistent operating models and auditability across regions, and they often incorporate proof-of-capability exercises and production-like evaluations before making long-term investments, ISG says.

“Successful AI infrastructure depends on consistent operations as much as technical performance,” said Sonam Chawla, ISG senior lead analyst and lead author of the report. “Providers that help enterprises build resilient operating models with predictable economics will be well positioned to support AI as a core business capability.”

The report also explores other trends affecting AI-ready infrastructure, including increasing attention to energy availability and sustainability requirements as well as the growing importance of standardized architectures and lifecycle management.

For more insights into the AI infrastructure challenges faced by enterprises, along with ISG’s advice for addressing them, see the ISG Provider Lens Focal Points briefing here.

The report evaluates the capabilities of 41 providers across two quadrants: Integrated AI Infrastructure Systems and GPU as a Service (GPUaaS).

The report names Asus, AWS, Cisco, CoreWeave, Crusoe Cloud, Dell Technologies, Google Cloud, HPE, IBM, Lambda, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nebius, Oracle, Supermicro and T-Systems as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Gcore and OVHcloud are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.

Customized versions of the report are available from Lenovo and T-Systems.

The 2026 ISG Provider Lens global AI-Ready Infrastructure Solutions report is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG

ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data and research, in-depth knowledge and governance of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,500 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.