Laptop price hikes push firms to buy early, upgrade later

Rising DRAM and NAND memory prices are driving up commercial laptop costs, prompting large enterprises to redraw procurement strategies.

Some companies accelerate purchases of AI-ready laptops with higher memory configurations to lock in prices, while others extend device lifecycles to five years.

Lalitha Indrakanti, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover Technology & Business Services India, noted vendors advise planning requirements earlier to manage pricing and availability.

Lower-memory configurations are considered where workloads permit, and enterprises negotiate harder with OEMs like Dell, Lenovo, and HP.

Firms are replacing only mission-critical systems, such as those needed by AI developers, software engineers, and senior executives.