AI adoption is growing across businesses, but it is also creating a bigger need for data storage. As organizations use AI for more tasks, they need to store and manage more data. Seagate’s new 2026 Data Infrastructure Readiness Report shows that 99% of organizations expect AI to increase their storage needs over the next three years. However, only 38% say they are fully prepared to handle this demand.
AI Is Creating a Bigger Storage Challenge
AI adoption is increasing the amount of data businesses need to store and manage. As more companies use AI, their storage requirements are also growing. Seagate says 99% of organizations expect their storage needs to rise over the next three years. Moreover, 32% expect their storage requirements to grow by more than 50%. However, only 38% say they are fully prepared for this increase. This gap shows why businesses need to plan their storage infrastructure alongside their AI investments.
Deploying AI at scale requires not only high-performance computing systems but also reliable data and strong storage infrastructure. According to a Seagate report, data readiness is the biggest barrier, cited by 53% of firms. Storage infrastructure ranks next at 43%, while compute availability ranks third at 27%. Energy availability is another constraint, accounting for 24%. These constraints may hamper firms’ efforts to deploy and use AI.
Meanwhile, 98% of firms believe AI is creating strategic importance for storage infrastructure. The main barriers include AI strategy maturity (16%), followed by budget and resources (14%). Data management and governance also account for 14%.
AI Investments Are Increasing the Value of Data
Businesses are experiencing actual results from investing in artificial intelligence and increasing the value of data in the process. “Seagate found that 86% of companies have achieved at least moderate to significant returns on AI investment.” 33% of them achieved significant returns on investment in AI. These ROI results prompt enterprises to treat data as an asset for a long time. At the same time, enterprises need infrastructure that enables data storage, management, and access. 76% consider data center investment one of their top three infrastructure priorities. For 20%, it is their highest infrastructure investment priority.
Sustainability Is Becoming Part of AI Infrastructure Planning
As AI workloads grow, businesses are also paying closer attention to their energy use and environmental impact. Seagate says 77% of organizations have delayed or restructured AI infrastructure expansion due to sustainability or energy concerns. This includes 36% that have significantly restructured their plans. Meanwhile, 97% believe extending infrastructure lifecycles can improve sustainability. 94% also expect their storage operations to become more sustainable over the next five years. AI-driven energy consumption leads the environmental concerns at 52%, while carbon emissions from energy consumption follow at 51%. Seagate’s Sustainable Scaling approach aims to address these issues by growing AI capacity while improving efficiency, sustainability, and long-term data value.