IT price shock hits public procurement. Digital Poland Association warns: Prices are rising faster than procedures
Rising prices of IT infrastructure and increasingly longer delivery times are beginning to pose a real threat to the implementation of digital projects in Poland, experts from the Związek Cyfrowa Polska warn. The organization points out that the pace of change on the global technology market is becoming increasingly disconnected from the speed of public procurement procedures, which may lead to investment delays and higher implementation costs for public-sector projects.
As experts from the Digital Poland Association emphasize, the current situation is not temporary. It is the result of long-term processes, including rapidly growing demand for infrastructure used in artificial intelligence-based solutions and the concentration of component manufacturing among a small number of global suppliers. Persistent disruptions in supply chains — including those related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East — are also playing an increasingly significant role.
“This is not a temporary market disruption. We are entering a period in which access to technology and its cost are becoming one of the key factors determining economic growth. Until recently, we were discussing how quickly to digitize — today, the increasingly common question is whether we can afford it and whether we are even able to deliver these projects at all,” says Michał Kanownik.
Experts from the organization note that IT infrastructure prices are rising faster than investment and budgeting cycles, fundamentally changing the conditions for planning technology projects.
Public procurement under growing pressure
The most noticeable effects are visible in the public sector. Public procurement procedures, which often last several months or even more than a year, are not adapted to a market where prices and hardware availability change from quarter to quarter.
“The public procurement system was designed for a stable market, while today it operates under conditions of high volatility. In practice, this means that tenders prepared several months earlier increasingly fail to reflect actual market realities by the time they are finalized,” emphasizes Michał Kanownik.
According to experts from the Digital Poland Association, public institutions are therefore being forced to limit the scope of investments, modify them, or restart procurement procedures altogether, which prolongs project delivery and increases costs.
“This is no longer only about system efficiency — it is becoming a real risk to the pace of state digitalization. If we do not adapt our approach to public procurement, we will see more and more delayed or scaled-down projects,” adds Michał Kanownik.
The scale of the challenge is also reflected in data from a survey conducted by CIONET among 88 CIOs and IT leaders in Poland, showing that IT infrastructure prices could increase by as much as 100–130% in 2026, while many organizations — including public institutions — are already revising their investment plans.
Experts from the Związek Cyfrowa Polska also stress that the current situation exposes a deeper structural problem: the high concentration of the IT infrastructure supplier market and limited diversification opportunities.
“We are dealing with a market where the number of key suppliers is very limited. This means that both companies and public institutions now have much less room for negotiation and significantly greater exposure to price fluctuations,” says Michał Kanownik.
What solutions are needed
According to experts from the Digital Poland Association, there is an urgent need to adapt public procurement mechanisms to the new market reality. Increasing flexibility in planning and implementing investments, as well as accounting for fluctuations in technology prices and availability, will be crucial.
“We must move away from the assumption that the technology market is predictable over a horizon of several months. Today we need greater flexibility — both in the structure of procurement procedures and in budget management. Otherwise, we will always remain one step behind the market,” stresses Michał Kanownik.
The organization’s experts also point to the need for broader use of more flexible procurement models, phased investment approaches, and hybrid and cloud-based solutions as an operational buffer.
“This is the moment when we must start treating access to technology as an element of state security and operational capability. Because if we are unable to purchase and implement infrastructure on time, we are unable to deliver key public services,” concludes President of Digital Poland Association.