CIOs forecast a 3.8% rise in software budgets for 2026, with Microsoft leading the market. The previous year's expectation was 3.7%. Microsoft maintains high growth prospects, with 92% of CIOs planning to adopt its AI products. Microsoft Azure is the preferred cloud platform, hosting 53% of application workloads. Despite a decline in expected use of Azure's OpenAI services, Microsoft dominates enterprise AI spending, followed by Amazon and others. Morgan Stanley rates Microsoft as a “top pick” with a $650 price target.