If you’ve priced laptops, servers or network gear lately, you’ve probably had the same reaction as many of our clients: “That’s a lot more than last time.”
You’re not imagining it. IT hardware prices have climbed sharply over the last 12 to 18 months, and they’re still going up.
Why are prices rising?
There’s no single reason. It’s a bunch of global pressures all landing at once.
1. AI is soaking up the world’s chips. The biggest driver is the boom in AI infrastructure. Big tech companies are pouring money into data centres, using enormous amounts of memory (RAM), storage (SSDs) and high-performance chips. Demand is so strong that manufacturers are prioritising those high-value AI orders over ordinary business hardware, so there’s less to go round for everyday devices.
2. Chip shortages across the board. Memory chip prices have gone up by as much as 60% in some cases, and DRAM and NAND pricing has jumped because of supply constraints. Even if everything else is available, a shortage of one key chip can delay a device or push its price up.
3. Manufacturers are passing costs on. Vendors used to absorb some increases. Not any more. With energy, materials and manufacturing complexity all costing more, those increases go straight to the customer.
4. Tariffs and trade disruption. Taxes on imported components are pushing costs up, supply chains are being reshuffled, and sourcing and shipping are more complicated and less predictable. All of that ends up in the price you pay.
5. “Cheaper over time” is over. For years hardware followed a reliable pattern: more performance for less money. That’s changed. Analysts now say we’re in a phase where demand keeps outrunning supply, cutting-edge (especially AI) technology drives pricing, and costs are more volatile.
What it looks like in New Zealand
- A standard business laptop (Dell Latitude, HP ProBook, Lenovo ThinkPad) now typically costs $1,600 to $2,200 or more.
- Mid-range models are increasingly landing around $1,800 to $2,000+, depending on spec.
- Higher-performance or “AI-ready” devices are often $2,500+.
Even a typical 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD laptop, which used to be pretty standard, now commonly costs $1,500 to $1,800, and newer models go well beyond that. Put simply, you’re paying more for the same kind of device than you were a year or two ago.
How to manage it
Plan further ahead. Buying only when something breaks is now risky. Planning ahead lets you lock in prices before the next rise, avoid supply delays and line purchases up with business priorities.
Keep devices longer, where it makes sense. You don’t always need to replace things as quickly as you used to. A structured lifecycle plan means fewer replacements, less capital spend and more value from what you already own.
Check what people actually need. This is a big one. Does every user need a high-spec machine? Are you over-buying? Could some work move to cloud or virtual desktops? Getting the specs right often saves money straight away.
The bottom line
IT hardware isn’t getting cheaper any more, and that’s unlikely to change soon. Prices are being driven by global (especially AI) demand, supply will stay tight, and planning matters more than ever.
Want help planning your hardware spend for the year ahead? Book a free health check, or call us on 0800 688 768.