They say news travels fast, but I don’t think it’s ever travelled as fast as it does just now.

It feels like every time you go to get a cup of tea some new major development has happened on the world stage. Whether it’s conflict impacting the supply chain, the breakout of a trade war or a major budget announcement, these global developments have real-life impacts on businesses and require fast, responsive decisions to avoid significant negative knock-on effects.

How organisations react to these changes can make the difference between having a good or a bad year, being ahead of the curve or being crushed by it. Making smart, forward-looking IT decisions is vital to businesses responding effectively. And, as organisations look to invest in more robust, reliable technology to help keep up with the pace of change, there are various considerations they should have front of mind.

Necessity of high-performing IT – regardless of budget

AI continues to be placed front and centre, supporting business operations across various sectors – and we’re not just talking about businesses doing high-end processing here – but traditional IT setups are simply struggling to keep up.

Companies of all sizes are quickly recognising they need to upgrade to faster, high-performing infrastructure with larger storage capacities to efficiently manage their data. It’s only by doing this that they’ll be able to make the most of the latest digital tools and keep up with competitors.

However, for many, budgets have been tight. Over the past few years, rising day-to-day costs meant IT wasn’t always a priority, with organisations often choosing to extend the lifespan of existing infrastructure rather than invest in upgrades – despite the risk of falling behind.

Now, with demand surging and supply under strain, delaying upgrades is no longer a viable option. And with limited stock and rising prices causing long lead times, more businesses are turning to refurbished technology as a smart way to quickly source the high-spec equipment they need, without blowing the budget.

Security concerns and changing storage needs

Not so long ago, the announcement was made that data centres would be considered Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), driving the sector to think more about how they manage and store information. Ensuring higher security, resilience, and stable compute power all became an even greater focus, and many businesses responded by changing their data storage systems entirely.

In light of these changes, it’s becoming essential for data centres to invest in hardware upgrades which is, in turn, fuelling a boom in demand for high-performance equipment. Specifically, there’s been a move away from low-count processors, with more businesses leaning towards higher core count CPUs and GPUs.

Storage is also an increasingly important consideration. It’s always been on the agenda but, with the rising cost of cloud storage, businesses are spending more time and money on it than ever before. Many have already stepped back from smaller storage devices and are more commonly investing in drives with 30TB and even 61Tb capacities – reflecting the accelerated demand for fast, scalable and high-capacity storage.

As requirements for higher-spec equipment soar, many businesses are already looking beyond new, more expensive hardware purchases and switching to refurbished. It’s a practical way to maximise performance, without overstretching budgets. It also makes scaling a more affordable proposition – preventing difficult conversations around limitations enforced by a basic lack of storage space.

Global trade tariffs

The end of last year brought unprecedented political change, with elections and budget announcements creating some market buoyancy. Since then, though, the threat of universal tariffs has created a great deal of uncertainty in the global market.

While President Trump’s eventual Rose Garden proclamation may not have been as bad for the UK as the worst predictions foretold, and a certain degree of ‘rowing back’ has occurred since, the impact will nevertheless be significant, both here and abroad. While we still don’t entirely know how the dust will finally settle, around global trade tariffs, the price of equipment across the board certainly looks set to fluctuate.

We had seen some businesses taking the leap on technology investment to try and pre-empt the introduction of additional costs but now the details have been revealed a significant cost increase is almost inevitable. Some businesses are even rethinking and diversifying their supply chains to buy from alternative suppliers.

We await the detail, but one factor worth bearing in mind is that refurbished technology is often not subject to the same tariffs as new equipment.

While higher import taxes may still prove problematic if shipping from abroad, refurbished could prove a prudent strategic investment and a way to dodge being hit with the inevitable tariff ripple in the months to come. What’s more, consistent availability and lower initial cost make changes a significantly less complicated obstacle to navigate.

The challenges businesses have faced in recent months have been varied and complex -but they won’t go away any time soon. Huge uncertainty has only served to stir the pot, leaving organisations struggling to know what the best strategic decision is when it comes to technology infrastructure.

Recommended reading

• MIT Tech Review: Responsible AI Principles Urgently Needed
• Gartner: Agentic AI Set to Transform Customer Service with Automation
• PwC Interview | How Agentic AI is Reshaping Business

Staying on top of technical requirements and attempting to pre-empt what policy impacts may be coming down the track are vital considerations for businesses – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Getting it right can make a massive difference when it comes to making smarter IT decisions but make an error and organisations face being left behind by rivals.

Balancing cost and return on investment with the need to meet technical storage and processor requirements has never been more challenging. While there’s no single answer, looking beyond just the traditional options when it comes to technology will be vital – and this is where refurbished could be an extremely effective option.

Not only does this make upgrades less daunting but it can also allow organisations to be more agile, adjusting to changes more quickly. Given the current landscape, this could be the most important factor of all.