Press Release
Nearly Half of Education Organizations Will Increase AI Budgets This Year, Despite Just One Third Achieving Positive ROI According to 2026 Wasabi Global Cloud Storage Index
May 20, 2026
Educational establishments investing in AI are allocating two-thirds of infrastructure budgets toward data, storage and compute to power AI applications
BOSTON, MA – May 20, 2026 – The fourth annual 2026 Wasabi Global Cloud Storage Index explores how organizations are managing rising infrastructure costs, scaling AI projects, and strengthening data security, highlighting a growing disconnect between AI investment and efficiency in the industry.
The Wasabi Cloud Storage Index, developed in collaboration with Vanson Bourne, is a leading source of industry trends and IT decision-maker insights on cloud infrastructure and storage services. Based on global survey data from 1,700 business and IT respondents, including 241 respondents within the education sector, the study has uncovered key findings over the past three years on buying behavior, user satisfaction, and the impact of hyperscaler fee structures on storage costs.
AI ambitions are high, but infrastructure cost and efficiency are major roadblocks
No hesitation in AI investments: Nearly all (98%) education organizations expect their AI infrastructure budgets to either increase or remain unchanged over the next year, with 46% planning to increase spending. A large share of that infrastructure spend (67%) will go to data, storage and compute to run AI applications.
Costs associated with AI are not just high, they’re unpredictable: 50% cited data storage challenges, like the cost of storage and data access, as the number one challenge associated with AI project and solution implementation.
The reality of AI ROI: Just 37% of AI projects currently in place are achieving positive returns. However, education IT decision makers’ expectations for future results show this rate increasing to 47% over the just the next 12 months – an indication of sector demand to achieve positive ROI soon.
“Education institutions are eager to dive head-first into AI, but the survey data illustrates a concerning trend regarding expectations vs. fiscal realities,” said Andrew Smith, director of strategy and market intelligence at Wasabi Technologies and a former IDC analyst. “To ensure long-term success of AI initiatives, IT buyers in education must consider both the technical challenges associated with their data (i.e., storage, migration, quality); as well as the long-term cost-efficiency of accessing, retaining, and securing this data. Avoiding costly, budget-breaking fees from hyperscaler infrastructure services should be a priority.”
Cloud storage fees increasing in prevalence
Cloud storage fees consume a growing share of budgets and spending: The proportion of spending on fee-related charges such as data egress, API operations, and access—compared to actual storage capacity—has risen year over year in the education sector. In 2026, these fees accounted for 54% of cloud storage spending among education respondents, up four percentage points (50%) from 2025.
Cloud storage costs are unpredictable: As organizations in education access, analyze, and utilize their data more frequently, it is increasingly difficult to predict fees. This surge in data activity drives higher storage retrieval, API, and egress fees—making spending harder to control. As a result, 41% of education respondents reported exceeding their public cloud storage budgets last year, signaling a shift from storage being a predictable infrastructure cost to a more variable and impossible-to-manage expense.
Data resilience is maturing, but confidence remains low
Education has a cyber resilience confidence gap: Fewer than half of institutions (47%) feel completely confident in their ability to keep data unaltered and operational after an attack, pointing to a broader lack of confidence and potentially trust in recovery capabilities for the majority of education respondents.
Cyberattacks still impact operations: With 44% of education respondents reporting loss of access to public cloud data due to a cyberattack, this threat remains a persistent, real-world issue. Progress is being made, with 63% of education respondents using immutability to protect their data in the public cloud, an increase from 49% last year; pointing to a movement toward implementation of stronger data protection mechanisms.
Download the report to learn more about the 2026 Wasabi Global Cloud Storage Index education industry findings.
Methodology
Wasabi commissioned independent market research agency Vanson Bourne to conduct research into cloud storage. The study surveyed 1,700 IT decision makers who had at least some involvement in or responsibility for public cloud storage purchases in their organization. The research took place in November and December 2025 and included organizations in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK, the United States and Singapore with more than 100 employees across all public and private sectors. All interviews were conducted using a rigorous multi-level screening process to ensure that only suitable candidates were given the opportunity to participate.
About Wasabi Technologies
Recognized as one of the technology industry’s fastest growing companies, Wasabi is on a mission to store the world's data by making cloud storage affordable, predictable and secure. With Wasabi, visionary companies gain the freedom to use their data whenever they like without being hit with unpredictable fees or vendor lock-in. Instead, they’re free to build best-of-breed solutions with the industry’s fastest-growing ecosystem of independent cloud application partners. Customers and partners in over 100 countries trust Wasabi to help them put their data to work so they can unlock their full potential. Visit wasabi.com to learn more.
Media contact
Caroline Cox
Corporate Communications Manager