Hardware Crisis: Severe Shortages and Global Price Rises

Navigating the current hardware shortages and price rises.

At ET Works, we want to keep you informed about key industry developments that may impact your business and decision‑making. Today, we’re discussing the critical supply chain shifts, specifically those affecting SSDs and memory, that are driving these significant hardware shortages and price rises across the enterprise market.

Why are memory and storage prices rising?

The main driver behind these increases is a global shortage of memory and storage components, fuelled by demand from AI data centres.

Manufacturers have been redirecting production capacity towards high‑bandwidth memory (HBM*) required for AI workloads, leaving less available for enterprise products such as NAND flash and DRAM. This shift has already caused NAND prices to more than double in late 2025, with analysts predicting that shortages will continue until 2027.

Hard drive prices are also increasing—although to a lesser extent—due to similar supply chain pressures and rising raw material costs. Overall DRAM prices are forecast to surge by 50–55% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with Q4 2025 and recent February data shows contract prices for certain segments (like DDR5) are actually spiking by 90–95% this quarter.

Industry experts at IDC warn that this could lead to average PC and device price increases of 4–8%, with even greater impacts for storage‑heavy requirements.

Major vendors including Dell, Lenovo, and HP have already warned of even steeper increases, with some signalling 15–20% increases for systems shipping in the second half of 2026 due to contract resets.

These trends are not isolated. Major technology firms including ARM, Qualcomm, and Samsung have confirmed that rising costs for memory and storage will push up prices across PCs, mobiles, and servers in 2026. The BBC reports that the widespread use of these components could result in cost increases of $40–$50.

Summary of Current Market Conditions (Feb 2026)

Why memory and storage prices are rising

Intel and AMD 2026 server CPU capacity is nearly sold out, causing a further 10-20% expected price rises as companies secure allocations for AI infrastructure. On top of this Global AI server shipments are projected to grow 28% year on year further tightening the supply

GPU shortages for enterprise AI workloads originate from HBM scarcity. HBM stacks for Nvidia Rubin and AMD accelerators divert production and have been extending lead time to 36+ weeks and sidelining storage-attached GPU configs.

Server DRAM contracts have faced 55-60% Q1 2026 price rises directly raising storage Array costs for NVMe/SSD-heavy configs. This has been during a 12.8% overall server shipment growth.

How will this affect you?

These increases could significantly impact IT budgets. Enterprise‑grade SSDs and high‑capacity HDDs may see double‑digit percentage price rises, potentially affecting project timelines. If you are planning upgrades or expansions in 2026, delaying purchases may result in substantial cost increases across all major vendors, including Dell, Lenovo, and HP.

How to prepare:

Act now on purchases – If your needs are immediate or foreseeable, consider securing inventory at current prices. Costs will only remain stable while vendor stock levels can buffer the shortages.

Explore alternatives – Our team can help identify cost effective alternatives tailored to your requirements including short term rentals, hybrid storage solutions or cloud based options such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service or Public Cloud, to reduce reliance on hardware.

Budget planning – Include a 20% – 30% buffer for all storage‑related spending in 2026.

We are committed to supporting you through these market changes by offering competitive pricing, flexible financing, and expert guidance.

If you have any questions or need assistance with upcoming orders, please get in touch.