Westcon-Comstor survey flags project delays from shortages

Westcon-Comstor has published research showing that 87% of channel partners are taking steps to offset hardware pricing volatility and memory shortages, with project delays emerging as the main risk for partners and their customers.

The distributor surveyed more than 100 members of its Tech Xpert community across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific, including technical specialists and decision-makers at resellers, systems integrators and service providers.

One of the clearest responses to supply pressure was tighter planning. Improved infrastructure capacity planning was the most widely adopted measure, cited by 60% of respondents, as partners tried to align supply more closely with customer demand and reduce disruption when components became harder to source.

Vendor changes also featured prominently. Nearly one in three respondents, or 29%, said they had already switched vendors or platforms because of availability constraints, while 47% said their willingness to switch depended on the situation.

The findings suggest supply issues are affecting projects at several points in the infrastructure cycle. Disruption is being felt particularly in hardware refresh programmes, new procurement and system expansion, with redesign and revalidation adding time and complexity when parts are unavailable or product specifications change.

Buying shifts

Buying behaviour has also become less predictable. More than half of respondents, 52%, said they or their customers had accelerated hardware purchases to limit exposure to shortages and price swings, while 23% reported delays or cancellations. In total, 75% said they had seen some change in buying behaviour.

This split points to a market moving in different directions at once. Some organisations are bringing decisions forward to secure supply, while others are holding back as they weigh higher costs and delivery uncertainty.

Workload placement is shifting as well. The survey found that 45% of partners had seen faster adoption of cloud services, suggesting some customers are using hosted environments to reduce dependence on constrained hardware. By contrast, 7% reported a move back towards on-premises environments.

Partners are also making technical adjustments to limit exposure to memory shortages. Some 27% said they were using storage tiering or caching to reduce reliance on RAM, while 25% said they were moving workloads or components to managed services.

Operational risks

The survey highlighted concerns beyond procurement. Almost a quarter of respondents, 24%, said inability to scale capacity was a key risk, while 39% pointed to technical risks such as performance instability, degraded user experience, increased operational complexity and reduced resilience.

These findings show that shortages and pricing swings are not only affecting purchase decisions but also shaping architecture choices and operational planning. For partners, the challenge is to keep customer projects moving while preserving performance and avoiding repeated redesign work.

Westcon-Comstor operates in cybersecurity, networking and hybrid cloud distribution across more than 50 countries. It has been placing greater emphasis on software and services, a shift it has previously linked to lower exposure to structural volatility in hardware markets for both itself and its partner base.

Its most recent annual figures showed gross sales rose 9.6% year on year to USD $5.74 billion, while gross profit increased 13.1% to nearly USD $500 million. Non-hardware gross sales, including software and services, accounted for 71% of total gross sales, up from 68%, and recurring gross sales rose 12.8% to USD $3.89 billion.

The latest research adds detail on how partners are handling market strains, particularly businesses that sit between major technology vendors and end customers. It also suggests distributors with broad vendor portfolios may be better placed to help resellers and service providers respond when shortages affect specific product lines.

Callum McGregor, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Westcon-Comstor, outlined the company's view of the findings.

"Hardware pricing volatility and supply constraints are reshaping customer buying decisions and having a profound impact on the IT channel. In response, partners are helping customers plan earlier, adapt architectures and stay flexible so they can keep projects moving despite uncertainty. That ability to balance immediate performance and long-term requirements is becoming increasingly critical. It also demonstrates the strategic role that channel partners, supported by distribution, can play in building resilience and helping customers navigate the pressures that have quickly become a systemic feature of the market," said McGregor.