Tariffs Are Skyrocketing IT Hardware Costs: Here’s How IT Leaders Can Prepare

Amidst a shifting IT landscape, limited tech budgets, and the latest US tariff policies, it is becoming increasingly complex for organizations to manage their IT assets and leverage asset intelligence for smooth IT operations.

Organizations renowned for their cutting-edge solutions and strategic budgeting are now struggling behind the scenes due to the new tariff shockwave. With tighter budgets, extended delivery times, and unpredictable overhead costs, procuring technology devices has become more challenging for enterprises. 

Let’s discuss in detail the new developments in US trading, how these tariffs are impacting IT spending, and what strategic measures  IT leaders can take to minimize the impact.

The tariff shockwave: How 2025 policies are reshaping IT spending

The latest US tariff wave is sending IT and procurement leaders into a frenzy. Imagine working with a limited budget and having to account for every dollar being spent strategically. Now, all of a sudden, you also have to account for additional import duty on laptops, servers, routers, and other essential network components.

Although the US and China agreed to a recent 90-day tariff reduction, a 30% tariff remains on many Chinese imports, including electronics and IT hardware, leading to increased procurement costs and supply chain complexities.

The financial impact of this on IT-intensive organizations is severe. Even after trimming overhead costs and further tightening their budgets, they have to invest in hardware refreshes and purchase laptops as these are the backbone of employee productivity in many enterprises.

To make matters worse, vendors from tariff-stricken countries like India, China, and Vietnam are revising their contracts mid-cycle, making the supply chains increasingly unstable. The result is extended delivery times for  IT assets, often delaying critical business operations that heavily rely on tech investments.

What’s driving hardware costs up? Key developments you should know

As an IT manager, you’re expected to stretch your hardware budget, but the current geopolitical landscape is making that harder than ever. 

Here are some developments that could be putting pressure on your procurement strategy:

1. Semiconductor squeeze = Higher device costs

Leading chipmakers like AMD and Nvidia are bearing the brunt of ongoing export restrictions. AMD expects a $1.5 billion revenue hit in 2025 due to curbs on sales to China; a signal of broader disruption in the global chip supply chain. This could raise costs for devices powered by GPUs and high-end CPUs, including workstations, servers, and AI hardware.

Expect pricing volatility in performance-intensive equipment and longer lead times.

2. Apple considers price hikes across its portfolio

Apple has revealed a $900 million impact from tariffs this quarter alone, and is now considering price increases for the iPhone 17 lineup. But the ripple effect doesn’t stop there. Apple’s entire hardware portfolio, including enterprise-favored devices, is in play.

What this means for MacBook procurement

MacBooks are a mainstay in creative, executive, and developer workflows, and they’re not immune to the tariff surge. Apple sources components like processors, batteries, and display panels from Chinese suppliers, many of which are still subject to the 30% tariff.

As a result, IT teams may see:

• Higher MacBook unit costs during the upcoming procurement cycles
• Reduced discounts from Apple resellers facing squeezed margins
• Potential refresh delays as Apple shifts production to India or Vietnam

Even if you’re optimizing spend elsewhere, MacBooks remain a high-ticket necessity. Plan ahead to lock in pricing!

How tariff uncertainty affects the entire IT lifecycle

The price hike and uncertainty caused by these tariffs are causing disruptions beyond procurement, ultimately impacting the entire IT asset lifecycle. 

A volatile supply chain, revised vendor terms, and unpredictable procurement is causing ripple effects that affect asset management across the IT lifecycle—whether its the deployment and provisioning or retirement and replacement of IT assets. 

• Procurement delays: The delivery time for IT assets is expected to substantially increase.  With unclear estimated delivery times, it’s difficult for businesses to forecast when their next hardware acquisition will arrive, making the just-in-time strategies less feasible. 
• Impact on IT lifecycle management: IT managers are shifting their focus to adopt more preventive measures and asset health monitoring checks. They now have to closely monitor their hardware performance and ensure all assets are properly maintained to avoid unforeseen downtime. 
• Disposal and retirement challenges: Due to the uncertainty of future procurement, businesses may delay retirement and disposal of their outdated hardware. This can lead to an increased reliance on older assets, hence increasing the risk of unpredictable failures, slower operations, and compatibility issues with the modern IT infrastructure.   

What this means for IT teams: Budgets, bottlenecks, and the case for better ITAM

Tariffs aren’t just an economic policy; they’re an operational wake-up call for IT managers across the U.S. As costs climb and supply chains wobble, IT departments are being forced to do more with less.

1. Budget pressures are mounting

According to the Consumer Technology Association, laptop and tablet prices could rise by 34%, with smartphones close behind at 31%. 

The ripple effect? A potential $123 billion drop in U.S. purchasing power, and your hardware procurement plans may take a direct hit.

Stretching your IT dollar got a lot harder!

2. Supply chains are in flux

With tariffs driving companies to shift production to countries like India and Vietnam, many IT teams are encountering longer lead times, quality concerns, and limited availability, especially for high-performance gear. 

While diversification may protect against tariff risk, it can introduce new procurement hurdles. As mentioned earlier, you may find yourself waiting weeks longer for essential devices.

3. Strategic budgeting is no longer optional

To weather this environment, IT managers must pivot to strategic budgeting and smarter asset planning. Consider the following:

• Diversify vendor sources to reduce exposure
• Invest in cloud-based solutions to decrease hardware dependency
• Negotiate long-term contracts to lock in costs
• Adopt open-source software where feasible

However, all this isn’t enough if you don’t have a strong foundation in IT asset management.

4. The ITAM imperative: From survival to strategy

The new reality for IT managers and leaders is to operate in environments where budgets are being stretched even thinner, asset acquisitions have become slower, and procurements have become more uncertain. 

The spotlight is now firmly on IT Asset Management (ITAM). And not just for inventory tracking, but for survival. Without having a robust ITAM in place, devices get lost in the system, provisioning slows down, maintenance gets missed, and productivity suffers.

By contrast, if your IT teams follow a mature ITAM practice, they can:

• Extend asset lifespan and maximize ROI
• Reallocate underused devices where they’re needed most
• Stay on top of warranties, servicing, and upgrades
• Plan ahead for procurement delays and pricing swings

In today’s environment, smart ITAM isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s your best defense.

How to make ITAM your strategic defense against tariffs

Let’s see how the tariff crisis is playing out across IT departments and what ITAM steps companies can take to combat these challenges. 

1. Making hardware last should be your new mandate 

With laptops, servers, routers, and other business-critical IT assets now costing 15 – 50% more, retiring and replacing your devices has become exponentially harder. 

As procurement is getting costlier, IT managers need to rely on ITAM to extend the useful life of their devices, reduce replacement frequency, and achieve higher ROI.

For example, if the company policy states that a laptop should be replaced every 3 years. The IT managers can stretch the lifespan to 4 years by implementing timely maintenance and servicing. 

Most of the IT managers struggle with asset management due to a lack of visibility into assets and their lifecycle. This challenge is amplified when you have teams across different regions and time zones. 

An ITAM tool provides real-time asset visibility that allows teams to run health checks on devices across different locations. Additionally, this visibility also enables IT teams to reallocate devices based on urgency and demand, maximizing the utilization of the existing asset fleet and thus, slowing down the need for unnecessary procurement. 

Real-time tracking and proactive maintenance can significantly improve the lifespan of a device. It helps flag devices for updates and servicing before they become operational liabilities. Plus, data-driven asset insights from an ITAM tool can help optimize resource allocation and cost.

2. Spend smarter, not sooner 

Organizations cannot completely avoid the repercussions of these tariffs, but it is possible to minimize the impact through careful planning and justification behind every dollar being spent. These new uncertain times make ITAM more than just operational hygiene. 

IT leaders have to use ITAM as their centralized source of truth for asset utilization. They can get a 360-degree view of how every software and hardware asset is being used, so when they put up requests for new purchases, these requests are backed by usage data from their ITAM. 

This adds a new layer of scrutiny and accountability to ensure that purchases are being made only when the spend cannot be deferred any longer and all other alternatives have been exhausted. 

For example, if an employee requests a PC, an audit can be run to determine if there are employees who have PCs assigned to them but aren’t making much use of them. Such assets can be reallocated to cater to more crucial requests. 

Contrary to this, some folks are prioritizing early procurement for critical hardware, as shown.

3. Protect your security posture from procurement workarounds

A rising challenge looming over the IT departments is that tariff-related procurement delays and inflated IT hardware costs may give way to organizations purchasing devices from unauthorized third-party vendors. This may result in more shadow apps or vulnerabilities blending into your IT ecosystem.

If employees start using more personal devices or unmonitored peripherals that are procured privately, more vigorous security checks, better endpoint security, and improved patch management becomes critical. 

In 2024, 62% of the organizations were impacted by data breaches due to unmanaged devices.

This is where an ITAM tool can become your best friend. You can continuously discover unauthorized devices on the network through an ITAM tool’s discovery agent or its  integrations with other Mobile Device Management (MDM) platforms. 

Additionally, you can automate your device provisioning and de-provisioning, ensuring that all hardware devices are being accurately tracked whenever employees join or leave the organization, or whenever an asset is reallocated to another employee. 

Bottomline? Leveraging ITAM to manage your hardware inventory and monitor installed apps for shadow IT helps keep your existing devices more secure and saves you the legal costs of potential security breaches. 

4. Don’t let supply chain nightmares derail your IT planning

The consequences of Trump’s tariff hikes can be seen across all stages of the supply chain. From making more mindful purchasing decisions to strategically making your IT inventory last longer,  IT leaders must re-evaluate their entire procurement cycles. 

One of the major bottlenecks in this entire process is the delayed delivery times, making it difficult to maintain continuous business operations. For example, if five new employees are joining an organization in a month and the IT department places an order for new laptops, it’s highly likely that the laptops wouldn’t be delivered before the employees’ onboarding. 

This can lead to a bumpy onboarding process, poor employee experience, and lower productivity. 

To avoid such nightmares, IT managers can leverage real-time usage data from their ITAM to determine whether in-house, available laptops can be used while the new ones arrive. Or, if laptops of any employees who are leaving the organization can be reallocated as soon as possible. 

During this era of a volatile supply chain, asset intelligence and proactive measures make a huge difference to prevent operational chaos.

AssetSonar: Your first line of defence in a post-tariff IT economy

In a world where IT leaders have to justify every procurement decision and account for every dollar being spent, AssetSonar can become their guiding light. Real-time asset intelligence and accurate asset tracking can help CIOs and IT leaders tackle these modern challenges head-on. 

Here are a few ways in which AssetSonar’s capabilities can tackle all your tariff-related concerns:

1. Optimize asset usage

Leverage AssetSonar to identify the underutilized hardware and software assets across your organization. Run built-in asset utilization reports to flag the assets that are not being utilized optimally and reallocate those devices to high-need teams. For example, if a monitor in a conference room is not being used, set it up in another meeting room where more meetings are being held. 

Additionally, set up maintenance schedules in AssetSonar and enable alerts to notify the relevant teams/employees whenever their machines are up for a planned service. This will prolong the useful life of assets, eventually delaying new purchases and keeping the budget available for business-critical investments. 

2. Stay audit-ready

As tariffs drive up hardware costs, many vendors are revising their contracts, making it crucial for organizations to perform internal audits and ensure that they are complying with the vendor agreements. 

AssetSonar’s vendor management capabilities for hardware vendors and entitlements functionality for software vendors give IT managers the clarity they need to avoid true-up costs or compliance penalties. 

You can carry out license monitoring, unauthorized software detection, discovery of unauthorized hardware devices, and run audit reports to get a comprehensive report on the status and usage of assets across departments. 

3. Eliminate instances of shadow IT

With a rise in remote and hybrid work environments, it’s easier than ever to lose track of who’s assigned which laptop, who’s accessing the network via a vulnerable endpoint, or who’s using a personal device. 

AssetSonar brings full visibility under IT’s control by discovering hardware devices via its ITAM agent. Organizations that don’t deploy the agent on their machines can use our integration with  MDMs to keep tabs on their hardware landscape.

Additionally, they can also rely on AssetSonar’s asset dependency mapping capabilities to link the assets to their relevant owners and track security incidents, should they occur, to a user or an endpoint.

4. Leverage automations, alerts, and asset intelligence

Doing more with fewer resources has become the need of the hour. IT leaders today need to automate tasks and reduce manual work so their teams can focus on more important procurement and operations strategies. AssetSonar automates onboarding, offboarding, and provisioning tasks to make work easier and more efficient for your IT teams. 

Plus, with AssetSonar’s custom reports and alerts, IT managers and CIOs can stay on top of hardware refresh and renewal cycles, asset utilization patterns, and end of life updates for proactive planning and avoiding tariff-inflated purchases. 

For instance, an IT manager can set up an alert 3-6 months before a device reaches the end of its useful life, making procurement smarter and helping the team stay ahead of the excruciatingly lengthy and unpredictable supply chain.

Additional moves IT managers can make to offset tariff pressure

You can’t control international trade policy, but you can control how your organization adapts. 

Below are some additional measures you should take:

• Audit your IT spend, from top to bottom: Start by taking a hard look at your current spending. Evaluate hardware, software, services, and support contracts to identify which areas are most exposed to tariff-driven inflation. This baseline will help you flag redundancies, negotiate smarter, and uncover underused assets that can be removed from the next IT wish list. An honest audit is the first step to making your budget work harder.
• Diversify your vendor base: Don’t put all your procurement eggs in one (Chinese) basket. Work with vendors across different regions to spread risk. Countries like Mexico, India, and Vietnam are emerging alternatives for hardware manufacturing, and could help you avoid supply chain choke points. Diversification equals resilience.
• Move workloads to the cloud: Reduce dependency on hardware altogether. Shift applicable workloads to cloud-based solutions, enabling your teams to scale without the need for adding physical infrastructure, without which you can’t operate. This will not only cut costs but also give you flexibility when hardware availability becomes unpredictable. Cloud adoption isn’t just about performance anymore; it’s about risk mitigation.
• Lock in long-term contracts: Tariff fluctuations make hardware pricing volatile. Locking in fixed pricing through long-term contracts with key vendors can shield you from substantial effects of future hikes and give you more predictable budgeting cycles. Think of it as tariff insurance for your hardware spend.

Making IT asset visibility your best tariff shield

To sum it up, the old playbook for IT asset management is not holding up to today’s economic pressures. IT teams must learn how to effectively use ITAM  to extend the life of hardware devices, minimize the risks of unplanned asset procurement, and eliminate IT waste. 

In a tariff-impacted tech economy, AssetSonar isn’t just a tool for IT asset visibility, and it is a strategic enabler towards prudent IT investments that ensure business continuity amid uncertainty.