If you’ve priced laptops, servers, or networking gear recently, you’ve probably had the same reaction as many of our clients:
“That’s a lot higher than last time.”
You’re not imagining it. Across the board, IT hardware prices have climbed sharply over the past 12–18 months, and they are still rising.
Why Are IT Equipment Prices Rising?
There’s no single cause. It is a combination of global forces all hitting at once.
1. AI is Consuming the World’s Chip Supply
The biggest driver is the surge in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Large tech companies are investing heavily in data centres to support AI, consuming huge amounts of:
- Memory (RAM)
- Storage (SSDs)
- High-performance chips
This demand is so strong that manufacturers are prioritising those high-value AI workloads over standard business hardware, resuting in less supply for everyday devices.
2. Semiconductor Shortages Across the Board
We’re also seeing a broad-based shortage across the entire chip ecosystem:
- Memory chips have seen price increases of up to 60% in some cases
- DRAM and NAND pricing has surged significantly due to supply constraints
Even when other components are available, a shortage of just one key chip can delay or increase the cost of the entire device.
3. Manufacturers Are Passing Costs On
In the past, vendors sometimes absorbed cost increases. That’s no longer happening.
With rising:
- Energy costs
- Materials costs
- Manufacturing complexity
Hardware vendors are now passing those increases directly to customers.
4. Tariffs and Global Trade Disruption
Tariffs and trade tensions have also added pressure:axes on imported hardware components are increasing costs
- Supply chains are being restructured and diversified
- Logistics and sourcing are more complex and less predictable
All of this adds cost—ultimately reflected in the price you pay.
5. A Shift from “Cheaper Over Time” to “More Expensive”
For years, IT hardware followed a predictable trend: More performance for less money. That’s changed. Analysts now suggest we’ve entered a new phase where:
- Demand consistently outstrips supply
- Cutting-edge technology (especially AI-related) drives pricing
- Costs are more volatile and less predictable
What This Looks Like in New Zealand
We’re seeing this play out locally as well.
- A standard business laptop (Dell Latitude, HP ProBook, Lenovo ThinkPad) now typically sits in the $1,600–$2,200+ range
- Mid-range models are increasingly landing closer to $1,800–$2,000+ depending on configuration
- Higher-performance or AI-ready devices are often $2,500+
Even a typical 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD laptop—once fairly standard—is now commonly priced around $1,500–$1,800, with newer models pushing well beyond that.
Put simply:
you’re paying more for the same category of device than you were 12–24 months ago.
How to Mitigate Rising IT Costs
The good news: there are smart, practical ways to manage this.
1. Plan Further Ahead
Reactive purchasing is now risky. Forward planning allows you to:
- Lock in pricing before further increases
- Avoid supply delays
- Align purchases with business priorities
2. Extend Device Lifecycles (Where It Makes Sense)
You don’t always need to replace devices as quickly as before.
A structured lifecycle approach can:
- Reduce replacement frequency
- Lower capital expenditure
- Maximise value from existing assets
Organisations using lifecycle management strategies can cut device-related costs significantly.
3. Review What You Actually Need
This is a big one. With rising costs, it’s worth asking:
- Does every user need a high-spec device?
- Are we over-provisioning?
- Can some workloads move to cloud or virtual environments?
Optimising requirements often delivers immediate savings.
IT hardware is no longer getting cheaper over time—and that’s unlikely to change soon.
Instead, we’re moving into a market where:
- Pricing is driven by global demand (especially AI)
- Supply constraints are ongoing
- Strategic planning matters more than ever