Forrester Research released analysis warning that enterprise software budgets will increase through 2027 as AI vendors shift pricing from flat-rate subscriptions to usage-based billing. The research firm surveyed more than 2,600 business and technology decision-makers and found that 80% expect their data and software budgets to rise, according to The Register.
The Pricing Shift
In the last six months, Anthropic, OpenAI, and GitHub have all moved some services away from flat-rate subscriptions toward usage-based billing. The shift passes AI infrastructure costs, which Bain & Company estimated could reach $2 trillion in datacenter build costs by 2030, from vendors to enterprise customers.
Microsoft followed a different path toward the same outcome. The company launched its premium E7 license tier, bundling M365 Copilot, Agent 365, and security tools on top of its existing E5 plan. The result for buyers is the same: higher software spend to access AI capabilities that were previously either unavailable or priced into existing contracts.
No Offsetting Savings in Headcount
Forrester also found that AI has not yet reduced enterprise personnel costs, despite what the firm called “AI washing of layoffs” across the tech industry. Oracle, Microsoft, and Meta have all announced significant layoffs in recent months, but IT staffing budgets have not declined, according to the report.
Sharyn Leaver, chief research officer at Forrester, framed the findings as a governance challenge: “The organizations that outperform in 2027 won’t be those that spend the most on AI. They’ll be the ones that invest in the foundations that make AI effective: trusted data, strong governance, organizational readiness, and the ability to continuously adapt as technology and customer behavior evolve.”
The Agent Cost Problem
For teams deploying AI agents, the billing shift creates a specific problem. Agents consume API tokens autonomously, often at volumes that are difficult to predict during pilot phases. A flat-rate subscription caps that exposure, but usage-based pricing passes unlimited cost risk directly to the enterprise buyer.
This dynamic explains why agent cost management has emerged as its own category in 2026. Without spending limits on agentic operations, monthly bills can escalate quickly. The Forrester data suggests that enterprises planning agent deployments in 2027 will need cost monitoring and throttling infrastructure alongside their agent frameworks, not as an afterthought.