At the start of 2026, we wrote about the pressures pushing up IT hardware costs. Since then, the outlook has become even tougher.
At the centre of the problem is a severe shortage of computer memory. Technology publishers have given it an appropriately dramatic name: “RAMageddon”. Behind the headline is a serious commercial issue. AI infrastructure is consuming enormous quantities of memory, while PC manufacturers compete for constrained supplies of RAM and storage.
IDC now forecasts that global PC shipments will fall by 11.3% during 2026, while average selling prices rise by 18.3%. It does not expect meaningful relief from the memory shortage before the end of 2027. Gartner offers a similar view, forecasting a 10.4% decline in PC shipments and a 17% increase in PC prices this year.
The effects are already visible in manufacturers' results. In August, HP reported that its Personal Systems unit sales had fallen 16% year on year during its third fiscal quarter, including a 14% fall in commercial units. Over the same period, Personal Systems revenue rose 18% - a sharp disconnect between unit volumes and revenue.
For IT buyers, this is no longer a question of waiting a few weeks for everything to settle. Higher component costs, constrained configurations and wider supply chain disruption are shaping a market in which price, availability and choice can all move quickly.
That doesn’t mean every organisation should rush to buy. It means device decisions need to become more deliberate.
The RAM crisis isn’t just a story about components. It affects the price, availability and choice of the laptops businesses depend on. The practical response is to widen the options and make every device decision work harder.
When budgets are tight, blanket specifications are difficult to defend. The better starting point is what each group of people actually needs to do.
A designer, developer or data specialist may need a higher-performance device. Someone working mainly in email, browser-based applications and Microsoft 365 may not. Standardising everything at the highest specification can waste budget; whereas keeping everybody on the oldest possible device can create a different cost through lost time, support demand and security exposure.
Map roles and workloads first. Then choose the device.
Keeping an existing laptop in service for longer can be sensible when it remains secure, supportable and fit for the role. Maintenance, storage upgrades or redeployment can all improve the return on hardware you already own.
But extension needs a threshold. If a device is unreliable, no longer receives the right security support or repeatedly disrupts the person using it, the apparent saving can become a false economy.
A useful review should consider:
The choice isn’t limited to buying new or doing nothing. Professionally refurbished business devices can provide another route - particularly for standard office roles, temporary workers, new starters, project teams, education environments or organisations needing to equip more people within a fixed budget.
The important distinction is between a standard used device and one that has been refurbished and independently certified through a controlled process.
TIEVA can provide BSI-certified refurbished laptops, desktops and all-in-ones that are tested, prepared to specification and supplied with warranty protection. Selected eligible devices also include additional first-year Repair & Repay cover, subject to terms.
Refurbished will not be right for every person or every workload. It doesn’t need to be. The opportunity is to use it where it makes operational and financial sense, alongside new and existing hardware.
Urgency reduces choice. A clearer view of upcoming starters, warranty expiries, refresh dates and project demand gives you more ways to respond when a particular configuration becomes expensive or difficult to source.
That plan can include:
The hardware market may be difficult, but the decision doesn’t have to be reactive.
If you’re reviewing devices for the months ahead, TIEVA can help you assess the roles, risks and available routes - then build a practical mix around what your organisation and its people actually need.
Talk to your TIEVA about your upcoming device requirements.