The era of easy IT procurement is shifting. For decades, organisations in EMEA have operated under the assumption of component abundance, but as we enter the 2026 fiscal cycle, that reality has fundamentally changed. A structural realignment of the supply-demand equilibrium—driven by the insatiable compute requirements of generative AI—has landed us in a state of chronic resource scarcity.

At Insight, we believe every organisation should have the power to perform at its full potential. To help you surpass what’s possible today, we’ve analysed the "perfect storm" hitting the IT supply chain and how you can protect your progress.

What is the AI Demand Shock and how does it affect IT procurement?

The primary driver of this crisis is the "AI Demand Shock". A single AI server consumes exponentially more advanced memory than traditional infrastructure, prompting manufacturers to reallocate wafer capacity away from standard enterprise DRAM toward high-margin High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

This manufacturing pivot, combined with the Microsoft Windows 10 end-of-life refresh and the marketing push for AI PCs, has created a severe bottleneck. Organisations now face:

• Extended Lead Times: Custom enterprise devices and datacentre hardware are seeing delays of up to nine months.
• Pricing Volatility: Quarterly price increases of up to 40% are expected, with quote validity periods shrinking to as few as seven days.
• Technical Debt: To maintain retail prices, some OEMs may reduce RAM in base models, leaving 2026 purchases incapable of running local AI agents by 2027.

How can financial models mitigate the 2026 memory crisis?

In this unpredictable environment, the standard "just-in-time" procurement strategy has become a liability. As your Solutions Integrator, we get you further faster by providing flexible financial pathways to secure your technology before prices escalate and supply constrained.

Our Insight Financial Solutions (IFS) pillars offer several strategic mechanisms to ensure regional resilience:

• Overall management of Technology CapEx: Insight understands the pressures on an organisation to purchase the required technology, all within managing the cost to do so.
  • Secure the longer-term assets you’ll need now at today’s cost: Insights UK Product Payment Agreement (PPA) enables upfront orders to be placed without the need for full upfront cost settlement. Through relaxing our credit / payment terms (typically 2-5ys) stock can be gained, placed into warehousing or shipped alongside a fixed periodic invoicing plan to ease cash flow / budget strain. With the PPA, title in the technology is immediately passed over delivering the typical organisational title benefits seen via a capital-based purchase.
  • Maximise overall IT infrastructure budget: Insight can support you to manage your overall technology expenses. Insight UK’s Software Payment Agreement (SPA) allows you to optimise multiyear software & support contracts to deliver supply chain savings associated with multiyear commits. Via a reduced Total Contract Value (TCV) based on the best supply discounts this delivers future cost understanding, protection against renewal cost inflation all meaning increased ROI’s being achieved. The SPA takes the multiyear contract cost and invoices the contracted term in annual phases, as the technology contract renews YoY within the multiyear commitment.
• Avoid Disruption & drive long term technology transformation with Rental Models: Our Insight Master Rental Agreement (IMRA) allows you to rent devices on a per user contracted term basis at less than the cost to purchase via upfront capital. Our IMRA delivers technology cost savings through embedding a Residual Value (RV). This future asset value (RV) is used to offset and lower an assets Total Cost of Usage (TCU). Typical 3yr RV benefits can deliver up to 10% of savings, meaning the IMRA charges at 90% of the cost of outright purchase. At the end of the contracted IMRA rental term assets are returned and refreshed ensuring your operation is keeping pace with advancements in future technology.
• Lock in Today’s Prices: Through 3^rd party Leasing models such as Extended Deployment, organisations can secure stock now at today's rates but roll out the hardware over a 12-month period as and when required. Payments and warranties only start once the hardware is in use. At whatever point within the 12 month deployment cycle each & every asset will be insitu for the full term of the agreement length, so no wastage. Options exist to return equipment & refresh, or to take asset ownership via the passing of technology title.
• Maximise Budget Predictability: For organisations with immediate budget to spend, a Single Upfront Payment (SUP) model provides a CapEx-like feel while securing a saving of approximately 15% based on a 3yr Lease model. An SUP delivers the most attractive of Lessor rates due to satisfying upfront the full Lease commitment. Another great way of seeing technology cost savings. Assets are refreshed at the end of the SUP Lease term.

Secure Supply Immediately: If you require devices now but lack current budget, we can facilitate ordering immediately with no payments for up to six months delivered through our Insight Product Payment Agreement.

Maintaining operational agility and resilience

We work as a seamless extension of your team to help you navigate these complex supply chain challenges. By leveraging flexible financial models, you remove the logistical and budgetary burden of procurement, ensuring your 2026 growth strategy remains on track.