Gartner sees $656 billion in global AI software spending in 2027
UAE businesses planning their 2027 budgets are weighing a global AI software market that Gartner expects to reach approximately $656 billion, against a simpler constraint at home: cash often arrives after the bills do. Armin Moradi, founder and chief executive of Qashio, argues that the returns on AI tools, specialist hires and expansion depend less on the headline price than on how well a company can see its commitments before it signs them.
AI earns its place in a budget through the capacity it creates, Moradi writes. Automated invoice processing and receipt matching can help a finance team handle more transactions without expanding headcount at the same pace, and faster reconciliation brings spending information together sooner. But those gains depend on preparing records and connecting accounting systems, with cybersecurity protecting the financial information moving between them. Training, output checks and usage charges that can grow with transaction volumes all sit on the cost side of the ledger.
Hiring carries similar hidden costs. Recruitment takes management time, and new employees need support before they become productive, so developing existing staff can sometimes meet the same need while retaining knowledge already within the business. Moradi notes that savings on training or benefits can be outweighed by the cost of replacing experienced employees.
The cash-flow gap is sharpest where growth is fastest. Dubai's construction sector grew 5.1% year on year in the first half of 2026, and a stronger pipeline for developers and contractors can mean paying suppliers and staff before customer instalments arrive, with financing charges accumulating during the wait. Retailers importing stock face a similar gap as freight costs and delivery reliability influence how much inventory they hold and how long it needs funding. Hotels and airlines face the same judgement when stronger bookings justify extra staff or better service, while permanent expansion creates costs that outlast a busy period. Smaller businesses with limited reserves have less room to absorb these commitments before revenue arrives.
Moradi traces much of the leakage to small, legitimate purchases that outlive their purpose: subscriptions that keep renewing after a team stops using them, duplicate services paid for by different departments, and travel costs recorded separately from the flight so that booking changes and currency charges may pass without scrutiny. His prescription is to set clear spending limits, restrict payments to relevant suppliers, link receipts to payments and turn on timely transaction alerts. An unexpected opportunity, he argues, makes the same demands on cash as an unexpected bill, so keeping part of the budget uncommitted is itself part of the growth strategy.
