Hardware volatility forces channel partners to rethink IT projects

Channel partners are adjusting how they plan and deliver infrastructure projects as hardware prices rise and memory shortages put more pressure on supply. A Westcon-Comstor survey found that 87% of partners are taking steps to keep customer projects on track, with delays seen as the biggest risk. When components become unavailable or specifications change, partners often have to redesign or revalidate solutions, adding time and complexity to deployments.

Nearly one-third of respondents have already switched vendors or platforms because of availability issues. Others are moving workloads to managed services, using storage tiering and caching to reduce memory needs, and designing projects around the hardware they can get. Capacity planning was the most common response, cited by 60% of partners.

Customer buying patterns are shifting as well. More than half of respondents said they or their customers had brought hardware purchases forward, while 23% reported delays or cancellations. Overall, three-quarters of partners said buying behaviour had changed as customers weighed project urgency against pricing and supply concerns.

Hardware availability is also affecting where workloads are placed. Forty-five percent of partners reported faster cloud adoption, while 7% saw customers move workloads back on premises. The findings show how supply pressure is shaping hardware refreshes, new purchases, and capacity expansion, leaving partners to manage sourcing, design, and delivery more closely across the life of a project.