02/26/2026
Selling hardware is one part of my business, so I watch infrastructure pricing and supply trends very closely.
There’s a lot of discussion blaming tariffs for rising technology costs. From what I’m seeing in the market, the dominant driver right now is AI not Tariffs.
I use AI. I believe in it. It’s not going away, and like everyone else, I’m adapting and leveraging it where it creates value.
But the infrastructure pressures we’re experiencing are unlike anything we’ve seen before.
Over the past two years, artificial intelligence has triggered one of the largest global infrastructure expansions in modern history. Companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta are investing tens of billions into AI data centers, GPUs, networking, and power infrastructure.
When hyperscalers buy at that scale:
• Semiconductor production shifts toward AI chips
• Enterprise hardware gets deprioritized
• Lead times extend
• Allocation controls increase
That’s a structural demand shift — not a simple tariff increase.
If tariffs were the sole cause, we’d see predictable percentage-based increases. Instead, we’re seeing global supply reallocation, GPU scarcity, and record data center construction.
This also affects cloud services. Cloud runs on the same hardware. As data center, GPU, and power costs rise, pricing pressure at renewal — especially in consumption-based environments — becomes more likely. Not every bill jumps tomorrow, but the long-term forces are real and should be expected.
I was recently told by a reliable source that Dell Technologies is currently one of the only major server vendors offering quotes valid for up to two weeks. Other vendors are issuing 24-hour quotes — and in some cases canceling orders weeks or months after the order was place because they cannot fulfill due to allocation constraints.
Businesses can’t responsibly make six- or seven-figure decisions in 24 hours.
From what I understand, Dell is reviewing configurations carefully before committing to quotes to avoid that instability. I’ve also been told they anticipate continued cost pressure through 2028 due to AI demand — yet they are working aggressively to stay competitive and maintain pricing integrity.
Tariffs impact goods differently for each type of good typically, including consumer products. But the scale of disruption we’re seeing in infrastructure markets aligns far more closely with AI-driven capital reallocation.
AI is transformative. It’s powerful. It’s here to stay.
But it is also reshaping supply chains, energy demand, and enterprise technology pricing globally.
As always, I fight hard for my clients to keep costs down — negotiating renewals, right-sizing cloud, evaluating hybrid strategies, and avoiding unnecessary upsells that don’t create measurable value.
If you’re approaching a renewal or planning infrastructure investments, now is the time to review your strategy carefully to avoid increases as they are happening more regularly than ever before.
