IBM “Price Harmonization” Increases For Power Systems Coming In The New Year

September 21, 2026 Timothy Prickett Morgan

When we look back a few years from now, in like maybe 2032 or so, we will look at 2026 as the year of the price increase. Big Blue, along with other system makers and the component makers whose gear goes into those systems, have all had price increases – often very large ones, and sometimes with what looks to me like opportunistic pricing. That’s when vendors raise prices by more than you would think was warranted.

Sometime in early September – I think it might have been on September 1, 2, or 3 – IBM announced a price harmonization across its software, server and storage, and cloud offerings under a “global price harmonize” effort that will go into effect on January 1, 2027.

That is plenty of lead time for you to plan, and enough for you to maybe get the budget together to do deals before the price increases that are part of this “harmonization” take effect. Here is how it all lines up:

The good news is that Power Systems hardware is not getting a price increase.

Any quotes that were made for January 1 and beyond will be honored as their contracts state so long as they were inked and signed before the announcement of the price increase in the first week of September.

IBM explained the price increases as part of the global price harmonization thus: “IBM’s 2027 price adjustment reflects a combination of factors, including macroeconomic conditions such as inflation, currency exchange rate fluctuations, and increases in supplier costs. In addition, the adjustment reflects the continued value delivered through expanded capabilities across our portfolio, including automation, optimization, and AI-driven innovations.”

In the announcement to business partners, Big Blue went into more of its thinking behind the price increases: “IBM’s strategy around annual price increase is generally based on an inflation + approach. Recent forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have global inflation at 4.7 percent ending 2026. However, in addition to inflation, we also consider other macro-economic indicators such as currency, supplier cost pressures, tariffs, competitive landscape, etc., in calibrating our price increases to ensure stability and consistency over time. These considerations may result in price increases below inflation levels in some years (as we saw in 2021/2022 timeframe) and above inflation levels in other periods.”

Obviously, IBM is trying to also use the threat of a future price increase coming in Q1 2027 to help boost sales in the current Q3 and Q4 of 2026. We shall see if it works.

Like before, this price increase is being communicated with business partners, but not directly to current and potential customers through a regular announcement letter. Which is why we are doubly eager to tell you about it.

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