Mexico’s ICT Sector Grows 27x Faster Than GDP in 1Q26

The Mexican ICT industry recorded a 5.4% annual growth during 1Q26, significantly outpacing the 0.2% expansion of the national GDP. Driven by cloud services, data centers, and fixed telecommunications, the sector generated MX$360 billion, highlighting its role as a critical driver for enterprise resilience and digital infrastructure.

The Mexican information and communication technologies (ICT) industry grew 5.4% during 1Q26. This expansion represents a growth rate 27 times higher than the 0.2% increase reported for the national GDP during the same period. The divergence between macroeconomic stagnation and technological acceleration stems from the execution of infrastructure projects that reached maturity at the start of the year.  

The ICT ecosystem in Mexico reached a total billing of MX$360 billion (US$20.8 billion) between January and March 2026. This figure encompasses the entire value chain, including transactions among manufacturers, wholesalers, integrators, and distributors, as well as subcontracts and resales. 

Data provided by Select indicates that the sector has maintained a trajectory of acceleration compared to previous years. In 1Q25, the industry reported a growth of 2.5%, while in 1Q24, the rate was 4.9%.

Alejandro Vargas, Research Manager, Select, says the comparison uses the timely indicator from Inegi to measure the annual variation of 1Q26 against 1Q25. The economic environment is characterized as depressed, which makes the acceleration of the ICT sector a notable deviation from general market trends. 

Historically, the ICT sector in Mexico is growing five times faster than the national economy. However, the 27-to-one ratio indicates an extraordinary widening of the gap. This phenomenon is attributed to a high concentration of digital transformation projects that transitioned from the planning phase to full implementation during this time.

Infrastructure and Service Drivers

Fixed telecommunications operators, data centers, and cloud service providers acted as the primary catalysts for the industry, reports Select. These segments possess the necessary scale to influence the performance of the entire ecosystem. In contrast, distribution channels experienced their lowest growth in several years, with a more pronounced impact among generalist wholesalers.

The cloud service provider segment grew 17% during the quarter. This expansion is driven by the migration toward public cloud environments, the institutional search for operational scalability, and the utilization of massive data sets for AI applications. 

Data center operators grew 10%, solidifying their position as essential intermediaries between corporate clients and cloud infrastructure. Managed services, which account for the highest billing volume within this group, reported a more modest growth of three percent.

Technical Evolution in ICT Services

ICT services reached a billing total of MX$58 billion in 1Q26, representing a 10.1% increase. This growth is largely sustained by corporate interest in specialized areas such as cybersecurity, data governance, and observability. Ricardo Zermeño, Director General, Select, says that observability is being assimilated faster than anticipated, as it is essential for the orchestration of complex digital services and data governance.

Clients are now looking beyond basic implementations, says Tania Alvarez, Analyst, Select. Corporate demand is shifting toward data governance, scalability, and cloud integration. The complexity of modern digital infrastructures requires more robust monitoring tools to ensure operational continuity. Consequently, observability has transitioned from an emerging concept to a fundamental requirement for the management of enterprise data architectures.

Despite the positive growth indicators, the industry faces significant operational restrictions. Select has identified bottlenecks in the supply of critical hardware, specifically RAM, driven by the global demand for AI projects. This shortage has resulted in price instability and volatility, which complicates the quoting process for integrators and service providers.

These supply chain disruptions are delaying the delivery of infrastructure and may extend the timelines for projects that require hardware renewal. Alvarez says that the instability of prices due to the shortage of components like RAM is creating friction in the execution of new digital projects. For B2B stakeholders, these constraints represent a financial risk that requires careful planning in procurement and contract management.

The AI Paradox

AI has become the central topic of commercial discourse within the Mexican market. However, a significant gap exists between experimentation and business results. Zermeño says that while more than 90% of businesses in Mexico are experimenting with AI, only 44% report a measurable impact on their business operations.

This disparity suggests that while the adoption of the technology is widespread, the structural changes required to extract value from it are still in progress. Companies are moving away from simple chatbots and are beginning to inquire about the underlying infrastructure needed for AI, such as scalable cloud models and secure data governance frameworks.

As the industry moves forward, the ability to mitigate hardware shortages and translate AI experimentation into operational efficiency will be the primary challenges for the remainder of 2026.