Using DEX to Mitigate Rising EUC Device Costs and Hardware Shortages in the Age of AI

The new EUC reality: Rising costs, limited supply and unchanged expectations

IT leaders are entering a period in which advancing end‑user computing (EUC) innovation must be carefully balanced with increasing cost pressures. The rapid adoption of AI, both embedded in operating systems and delivered through enterprise applications, has fundamentally changed the economics of end-user devices. AI-capable hardware now requires more powerful CPUs, NPUs, memory and storage. At the same time, the global supply chain is facing unprecedented constraints due to semiconductor demand that is driving device shortages and price increases.

For many organizations, the traditional response to supply chain challenges has been to either:

• Accelerate device refresh cycles
• Standardizing on more premium hardware where available
• Skip an entire refresh cycle

However, the current availability, cost, and productivity demands make these responses untenable. Business expectations remain unchanged: employees must be productive, engaged, and secure, regardless of where or how they work, all while maintaining or reducing costs.

This is where Digital Employee Experience (DEX) tools can become a strategic lever rather than a tactical tool. When applied deliberately, DEX enables IT organizations to extend device lifecycles, prioritize hardware investments based on real-world data and offset hardware constraints through smarter software, virtualization and experience-led decision-making.

The problem: AI is reshaping the end-user device landscape

AI is no longer on the fringes in the modern workplace. From generative copilots to intelligent collaboration tools, AI-driven workloads are becoming core to how employees work. However, this shift introduces several interrelated challenges for IT executives:

Rising hardware requirements

Modern AI-enabled operating systems and applications demand:

• Higher baseline memory and storage
• CPUs and NPUs capable of local inference
• More frequent firmware and driver updates

Devices that were "good enough" 24–36 months ago may struggle to deliver acceptable performance under these new workloads.

Hardware shortages and price increases

Demand for AI-capable silicon has outpaced supply. This has resulted in:

• Longer lead times for business-class devices
• Reduced model availability and forced substitutions
• Higher unit costs, especially for premium configurations

For organizations with tens of thousands of endpoints, even modest price increases can translate into millions of dollars in unplanned spend.

Budget and experience tension

CIOs and VPs of IT are caught between two competing pressures:

1. Control costs and delay refresh cycles
2. Maintain (or improve) employee experience and productivity

Without better insight into how devices are actually performing in the hands of employees, decisions default to broad averages and worst-case assumptions, which often lead to overprovisioning or reactive spending.

Why traditional EUC strategies fall short

Historically, device strategy has relied on a static approach to ensure standardization as much as possible:

• Age-based refresh cycles
• Standardized "one-size-fits-most" single vendor hardware tiers
• Reactive support tickets as indicators of poor experience

In an AI-driven world, these approaches are increasingly inefficient because:

• Not all users need AI-capable hardware at the same time
• Not all older devices deliver a poor experience
• Not all experience issues result in support tickets

This gap between perceived and actual experience is where DEX platforms can create value within an organization.

How DEX changes the equation

DEX platforms provide continuous, real-time insight into how employees experience their digital workplace across devices, applications, operating systems, and networks. More importantly, they translate technical telemetry into business-relevant experience signals.

Here are four key ways a DEX solution can mitigate the impact of hardware shortages and rising costs.

1. Extending device lifecycles with confidence

One of the fastest ways to reduce exposure to hardware shortages is to delay refresh cycles, but only when it is appropriate.

DEX enables IT teams to:

• Measure real performance (boot times, app launch times, responsiveness)
• Track stability (crashes, hangs, blue screens)
• Correlate experience with device type, age and configuration
• Identify firmware, drivers, software and management agent configurations that are impacting stability and performance

Instead of assuming a three-to-five-year refresh is required, IT can identify:

• Devices that continue to deliver an acceptable or excellent experience for targeted user personas
• Specific bottlenecks (memory, storage, battery) that may be able to be remediated or re-allocated without a complete device replacement
• Ways to optimize existing devices to maximize stability and performance

The result is a data-backed approach to lifecycle extension that reduces risk and preserves experience.

2. Targeted hardware investment where it matters most

Not every employee needs AI-capable hardware immediately, if at all. Using the performance and usage data from DEX allows organizations to segment users based on:

• Actual application usage patterns
• Performance requirements and bottlenecks
• Experience degradation under core applications and AI workloads

With this insight, IT leaders can:

• Prioritize refreshes and AI-capable devices for high-impact roles
• Delay upgrades for users with minimal AI dependency and performance needs
• Justify hardware spend with experience and productivity data

This shifts hardware investment from a blanket upgrade model to a precision strategy aligned with business value.

3. Using experience data to support cloud alternatives

When the availability of physical devices is constrained, cloud-hosted virtual desktops, also known as Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS), can become attractive alternatives, provided that user experience can be assured and costs are effectively managed.

When determining where and when to deploy a DaaS strategy, DEX tools and data can play a critical role by:

• Identifying users on aging or failing physical devices who can be effectively supported by DaaS
• Monitoring performance indicators such as latency, input lag, session instability, and endpoint issues, and enabling proactive remediation
• Measuring end-user experience across both physical and virtual environments to ensure consistency

Armed with this data, IT teams can more confidently determine which workloads are appropriate for DaaS while:

• Ensuring users are mapped to appropriately sized DaaS instances that meet resource needs without overprovisioning
• Validating that productivity is maintained following migration to DaaS
• Providing secure access for contractors and temporary workers without deploying physical device assets

DaaS can be an effective strategy for reducing dependency on new physical devices while maintaining productivity.

4. Data-driven executive decision making

Perhaps most importantly, DEX elevates EUC discussions to the executive level.

Instead of debating refresh cycles in abstract terms, IT leaders can answer:

• "What is the experience impact if we delay refresh by 12 months?"
• "Which roles are most constrained by current hardware?"
• "Where will AI adoption deliver value. And where will it not?"

This reframes device strategy as a business optimization exercise rather than just a cost-center discussion.

Managing the variability of intelligent device refresh

While an intelligent device refresh model can help lower capital spend, extend device lifecycles, and provide flexibility during supply shortages, it fundamentally changes how risk is distributed across the organization. Predictable, calendar-driven processes are replaced with dynamic, data-driven ones, introducing variability across finance, operations, support, and vendor relationships.

Organizations should carefully evaluate the following changes that an intelligent device refresh model may introduce to existing finance and support structures:

• Variable refresh timing, which affects refresh forecasting, capital planning, and depreciation schedules
• Extended warranty requirements for devices kept in service longer
• Increased fleet complexity as more hardware models remain in production for extended periods
• Ongoing security viability of older devices, including continued firmware and BIOS support
• User sentiment and perception, as irregular refresh timing may impact fairness and satisfaction

The solution: Make DEX a strategic capability

AI-driven hardware constraints and costs are not going to be a temporary disruption. They are expected to impact at least one, if not more, full endpoint refresh cycles. Organizations that rely solely on traditional device strategies will face escalating costs, inconsistent experiences, and growing user frustration, all of which impact productivity and innovation.

Using DEX data as a strategic enabler of a data-driven approach can help businesses transform how they provide support while controlling costs. By grounding endpoint decisions in real experience data, IT leaders can:

• Extend device lifecycles responsibly
• Allocate scarce hardware where it delivers the most value
• Offset shortages through a data-driven use of the cloud
• Protect employee productivity during a period of rapid change

In an era of constrained hardware, leveraging visibility into the user experience can be your competitive advantage.

Learn more about DEX solutions

Read more about the top DEX solutions evaluated by WWT, including Lakeside Software, Nexthink, Omnissa and Riverbed Aternity, in our Top Digital Experience Monitoring Solutions for Employee Experience report.