Dell Technologies reports that the current imbalance between supply and demand for AI infrastructure is forcing enterprises to change their procurement strategies. Waiting for end-of-quarter discounts now carries the risk of significant project delays.
According to David Schmoock, senior vice president of global revenue operations at Dell, the company is urging customers to engage in collaborative planning well before issuing formal requests for proposals. This shift is necessary due to widespread shortages affecting GPUs, rack-level cooling, networking, and power components.
The market is experiencing cost inflation, making supply availability a higher priority than price in negotiations. Dell notes that customers who delay their planning can face project setbacks ranging from 60 to 120 days.
Dell advises enterprises to redesign workflows and optimize data layers before applying AI to achieve significant productivity gains. The company also emphasizes balancing the use of expensive frontier models with open-source alternatives and machine learning to manage costs effectively.
