The New Mandatory RFP Questions

Customers are no longer asking if you can deliver; they are asking how you secure the components to do so. In coming months, we are likely to see the following requirements become standard:

• Proof of Component Allocation: Buyers are demanding evidence that the vendor has a direct "Line of Sight" to the silicon. This is where software-only vendors struggle; they can only provide a quote from an OEM, whereas a hardware-owning vendor can provide a production slot.
• Price Lock Guarantees: Given the 90% surge in DRAM prices, RFPs now frequently include clauses requiring price protection for 6 to 12 months. Vendors who buy through a middleman (OEM) often cannot commit to this, as they have no control over the OEM’s sudden price adjustments.
• Alternative Component Validation: Customers are asking for pre-validated designs that use multiple types of flash or memory modules. If a specific module hits a shortage, can the vendor pivot without requiring a 3-month re-certification process?

Why Transparency is the New "High Availability"
In the past, we designed for High Availability (HA) to survive a controller failure. Today, we must design for Supply Chain HA to survive a manufacturing failure.

Requirement	Software-Only Vendor (OEM Dependent)	Hardware-Owning Vendor (Direct)
Priority	Secondary (subject to OEM internal demand)	Primary (internal control of factory lines)
Pricing	Passive (receives price hikes from OEM)	Active (direct negotiation with foundries)
Visibility	Opaque (blind to OEM component stock)	Transparent (real-time manufacturing tracking)

The "Sovereignty of Hardware"
As a former VMware specialist, I spent years championing the "Software-Defined Everything" movement. However, the current shortage has taught us a humbling lesson: Software cannot run on a slide deck.

If a NEO cloud provider or a large enterprise wins a massive contract, they need to know that the 50PB of storage they ordered will arrive on Tuesday—not "whenever the OEM fulfills the software vendor's order." This is why transparency is becoming a safeguard against "Ghost Capacity"—storage that has been bought and paid for but cannot be delivered.

Architecting for the future now requires auditing the supply chain. In 2026, the best software in the world is a liability if the vendor doesn't own the "metal" it runs on.

A checklist for your reference:

The Architect’s Checklist: Evaluating Supply Chain Resilience
When designing your next-generation data center or cloud expansion, use these questions to help assess the resilience of the hardware supply chain.[ ] Component Sourcing: Is there clarity on the origin and sourcing of key components?

[ ] Supply Chain Visibility: Is there transparency into the different stages of the supply chain?
[ ] Risk Mitigation: Are there strategies in place to mitigate potential disruptions in the supply chain?
[ ] Lead-Time Communication: How is information about potential lead times communicated?
[ ] Scalability Support: How is future scaling of compute or storage addressed in terms of hardware availability?
[ ] Component Flexibility: Is there flexibility in the types of components that can be used if specific parts become unavailable?

Considering the hardware supply chain is an important part of designing resilient IT infrastructure. Even the most sophisticated software can be impacted if the underlying hardware is not readily available.
In 2026, a truly resilient design includes a thoughtful consideration of the hardware's journey from manufacturing to deployment.