Channel offered pricing tracking as storage costs rise

Fluctuating storage prices have put the channel under pressure to pitch quotes that are competitive and represent the current reality of component prices.

The past few months have seen the prices of SSD and HDD rise significantly, with the demand of hyperscalers and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure projects blamed for the pressure the market is facing. Given that selling storage is often a process that takes a year or more, the chances partners have to revise the quote upwards is a significant one.

Figures have tracked that pricing volatility, with the cost of a 30TB enterprise SSDs rising by 257% between Q2 last year and Q1 in 2026. During the same period, HDD prices have increased by 35%.

In response to the situation, Vdura has launched its Flash Volatility Index and Storage Economics Optimiser Tool that can be used by partners to factor in pricing risk and get a firmer grip on the storage market economics.

The service provides quarterly price tracking, giving a sense of manufacturing capacity and how that could impact the flow of product and the total cost of ownership of different architectures.

“We’re not just tracking price increases, we’re documenting a critical market shift,” said Erik Salo, senior vice-president of business operations at Vdura. “When quotes double or triple in a single quarter, resellers face the uncomfortable task of telling customers their approved budgets are no longer viable. Our goal is to bring transparency to this volatility and help the industry understand what’s driving it, how long it might persist and its alternative options.”

The tool is also available to enterprise customers, with Vdura encouraging a broader understanding of the market dynamics so the conversation with channel suppliers is more informed.

“After more than a decade of relatively stable NAND pricing, the rules have changed,” added Salo. “Infrastructure leaders need real data to understand what’s happening and plan accordingly. That’s what we’re providing.”

PC vendors have used recent financial results to warn that PC price rises are coming this year due to the rising storage costs. IDC has also shared forecasts warning of increased cost pressures.

In a recent blog post, penned by a number of analysts, including Francisco Jeronimo, vice-president of data and analytics – devices at IDC, considered the impacts on the PC market.

“PC vendors are signalling broad price increases as cost pressures intensify into H2 2026. Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer and ASUS have warned clients of tougher conditions ahead, confirming 15-20% hikes and contract resets as an industry-wide response,” stated the blog post.

The post added that the larger vendors, with the largest inventories, would be better positioned to ride out the storm, but that would not be the case with the OEM manufacturers.

“White box as well as lower tier (often local) vendors, on the other hand, will bear the greatest burden of the shortage, and that would include DIY systems, oftentimes built by gamers,” it added. “That, in turn, represents an opportunity for large OEMs to gain share from smaller assemblers in the gaming space by positioning pre-built systems as offering higher value.”