As someone who’s worked in IT and infrastructure for decades, I’ve seen how global events—often outside our control—can deeply affect the inner workings of our data centers and tech ecosystems. The newly imposed tariffs are no exception. These changes are more than just headline news; they are a wake-up call to examine procurement, budgeting, and strategy at a deeper level.
A Quick Recap on the Tariffs
In April 2025, sweeping tariffs were reintroduced by the U.S. government. These include a 10% blanket tariff on all imports, with targeted increases such as:
- China: ~70% total tariff when stacked with previous duties
- Vietnam: 46%
- European Union: 20%
For the IT sector—particularly data center operations that rely heavily on globally sourced components—these tariffs pose a direct hit to capital budgets and delivery timelines.
What’s at Stake for IT Infrastructure?
Hardware Costs Surge
Most servers, switches, and storage arrays are built abroad. With the sudden price jumps on these goods, companies face immediate spikes in capital expenditures. Even well-negotiated contracts may come under strain as suppliers attempt to reprice in light of their own rising costs.
Procurement Delays & Project Risk
Tariff-driven supply chain recalibrations—combined with post-COVID supplier volatility—can cause shipping slowdowns, customs holds, and availability gaps. This may derail major refresh projects or colocation expansions.
Budget Instability
Just as teams start forecasting next year’s infrastructure investment, rising costs and variable delivery timelines throw assumptions out the window. Long-term planning becomes a moving target.
Lessons from Recent Disruptions
If the COVID-19 pandemic and the global chip shortage taught us anything, it’s that just-in-time thinking doesn’t work when the whole planet is out of sync. Organizations that relied too heavily on a single supplier or region were caught flat-footed. The ones who fared better already had resiliency baked into their sourcing, planning, and deployment cycles.
Now’s the time to apply that hard-earned wisdom to a new kind of disruption.
Strategic Recommendations for IT Procurement & Infrastructure Leaders
Diversify Your Supply Chain
Don’t put all your hardware eggs in one basket. Diversify hardware providers to those that use manufacturing sources beyond tariff-heavy regions. It may cost more initially, but it avoids severe downstream risk.
Accelerate Moving Workloads to the Cloud
Shifting more of your workloads to public or hybrid cloud platforms allows you to sidestep some hardware sourcing issues altogether. While not a universal fix, cloud migration can reduce the need for on-prem refreshes—especially for non-latency-sensitive workloads.
Negotiate Flexible Contracts
Build in flexibility for hardware and service contracts so you can adapt when tariffs shift again—or when alternative sources become viable. Look for pricing clauses that help protect against sudden supplier markups.
Consider Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Don’t just focus on sticker price. More efficient or resilient hardware may justify a higher initial investment if it lowers total cost over time—especially as tariffs raise the floor on low-cost imports.
Advocate Through Industry Channels
Get involved with industry organizations and chambers of commerce. The more voices that speak to government about the unintended impacts of blanket tariffs, the more chance we have of shaping smarter, long-term predictable policies.
Beware of Rent-Seeking Behavior
As cloud and SaaS providers face their own increased costs (on hardware, energy, and talent), many will seek to pass those costs downstream. Lock in favorable pricing now and scrutinize terms that allow for unpredictable “cost-of-service” escalators.
Implement Resiliency Programs
With longer lead times and higher prices, there’s a real risk that cloud providers and colocation partners will begin overbooking or oversubscribing capacity. Start implementing resiliency programs now—prioritize redundancy, proactively address capacity risks, and prepare for potential service degradation or outages tied to oversold environments.
Efficient, Reliable Cloud Solutions
Strategically determine what mix of cloud services and on-prem solutions will deliver the most value and security for your IT environment.
Final Thoughts
We’ve always lived in a global tech economy, but the current climate demands more than just clever sourcing. It requires forward-looking leadership and a willingness to rethink long-held assumptions about procurement and operations.
If tariffs are here to stay (or worsen), then IT leaders must adapt not just tactically, but strategically. Resilience is no longer a buzzword—it’s an operating principle. The sooner we align our procurement and infrastructure roadmaps to reflect that, the more we safeguard both performance and peace of mind in the years ahead and help our technology teams be effective partners with the businesses we support.
