Almost nine in 10 channel partners (87%) are taking action to protect customers and keep technology projects on track amid hardware pricing volatility and ongoing memory shortages, according to new research from Westcon-Comstor.
The global value-added technology distributor surveyed members of its Tech Xpert community and found that project delays are the biggest concern resulting from supply constraints and rising hardware costs.
Partners said disruptions often require solutions to be redesigned or revalidated when components become unavailable or specifications change, increasing project timelines and delivery complexity.
To address these challenges, partners are adopting multiple strategies, including improving infrastructure planning, changing vendors, and increasing reliance on managed services. Nearly one-third (29%) of respondents said they have already switched vendors or platforms due to availability issues, while 60% identified improved infrastructure capacity planning as the most common approach to managing supply risks.
Customer buying behaviour is also changing. More than half (52%) of partners reported that they or their customers have accelerated hardware purchases to reduce future risks, while 23% experienced delays or cancellations. Overall, 75% of respondents said supply pressures have influenced purchasing decisions.
Hardware constraints are also affecting workload strategies. Around 45% of partners said customers are accelerating cloud adoption, while 7% reported a shift back toward on-premises environments as organisations reassess infrastructure priorities.
The research highlights that disruption is impacting multiple stages of the IT lifecycle, including hardware refresh cycles, new deployments, and infrastructure expansion projects.
Other key findings show that 27% of partners are using storage tiering or caching to reduce reliance on memory resources, while 25% are moving workloads or components to managed services. Meanwhile, 24% cited difficulties in scaling capacity as a major risk, and 39% highlighted technical concerns such as performance instability, reduced user experience, increased complexity, and lower resilience.
Nearly half (47%) of partners said their decision to switch vendors depends on the specific circumstances of each project.
“Hardware pricing volatility and supply constraints are reshaping customer buying decisions and having a profound impact on the IT channel,” said Callum McGregor, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Westcon-Comstor. “Partners are helping customers plan earlier, adapt architectures and remain flexible to keep projects moving despite uncertainty.”
The survey was conducted among Westcon-Comstor’s Tech Xpert community, including technical specialists from value-added resellers, systems integrators, and managed service providers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC).
