# AI boom strains storage as firms scramble to prepare

> Seagate finds 99% of businesses expect AI to explode their storage needs within three years, but only 38% say they are ready.
- Title: AI boom strains storage as firms scramble to prepare
- Summary: Seagate finds 99% of businesses expect AI to explode their storage needs within three years, but only 38% say they are ready. Seagate research shows AI is…
- Keywords: seagate, artificial intelligence, data storage, enterprise infrastructure, ai adoption, storage capacity, sustainability, technology, boom, strains, storage, firms
- Source: TechRadar — https://techradar.com/pro/seagate-finds-ai-is-increasing-the-value-of-data-but-warns-that-43-of-businesses-lack-proper-data-storage-infrastructure-99-expect-ai-storage-and-storage-costs-to-explode
- Published: 2026-09-18T18:05:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: seagate, artificial intelligence, data storage, enterprise infrastructure, ai adoption, storage capacity, sustainability, technology
## Nearly all firms expect storage to explode
Seagate surveyed more than two thousand seven hundred technology decision-makers and found ninety-nine percent expect AI workloads to increase their storage requirements in the next three years.
## But most lack the infrastructure to handle it
Only thirty-eight percent of organizations describe themselves as completely prepared for future demands. Forty-three percent identify storage infrastructure as a leading obstacle to wider AI deployment.
## AI investments are already paying off
Eighty-six percent of respondents reported moderate or significant returns from AI investments. Among those, thirty-three percent said their organizations were already seeing substantial measurable financial or operational benefits.
## Storage growth will be substantial
Nearly seven in ten respondents expect storage requirements to increase by at least twenty-six percent. Thirty-two percent anticipate growth exceeding fifty percent over the next three years.
## Data quality is another major hurdle
Ninety-eight percent regard storage as strategic infrastructure. Yet fifty-three percent cite data quality and readiness as a major deployment difficulty, ranking ahead of compute availability at twenty-seven percent.
## Sustainability concerns are slowing expansion
Seventy-seven percent of respondents report delays or changes to planned growth due to sustainability concerns. Thirty-six percent experienced major changes, while forty-one percent faced smaller postponements linked to environmental considerations.
## Budget determines sustainability outlook
Thirty-nine percent describe their storage operations as highly sustainable now. That rises to sixty-one percent when assessing expectations five years ahead. Seventy percent with sustainability budgets above one hundred million dollars expect highly sustainable operations within five years.
## Key takeaway

Seagate research shows AI is driving massive storage demand growth, yet most organizations lack the infrastructure and preparedness to handle it.