Rising IT Costs and How NZ Schools Can Manage the Pressure

If your school has tried to purchase or refresh IT equipment in the past twelve months, you’ve probably noticed something uncomfortable: the prices aren’t what they used to be. Laptops that cost $800 eighteen months ago are now $950 or more. Chromebooks have crept up. Even basic infrastructure like switches and access points has become noticeably more expensive.

This isn’t a local problem. It’s a global one — and it’s being felt acutely by New Zealand schools that are trying to maintain or refresh their device fleets on fixed operational budgets.

In this article we explain what’s driving the price increases, what it means practically for schools planning a device refresh, and — most usefully — the financial strategies that can help you get the equipment your students need without blowing your budget.

 

What’s Driving IT Price Increases?

The short answer is global chip and memory supply constraints. The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure worldwide — data centres, cloud computing, large language models — is consuming an enormous share of global semiconductor and RAM production. Manufacturers that previously supplied the consumer and education device market are diverting capacity to higher-margin AI and enterprise contracts.

The knock-on effects for schools are real:

• Higher device prices — particularly for laptops and Chromebooks that rely on LPDDR memory
• Longer lead times — some popular models are taking weeks longer to arrive than they did 18 months ago
• Less choice — supply constraints mean fewer models at the price points schools traditionally target
• Currency exposure — a weaker NZ dollar amplifies overseas price increases further

For school principals and boards planning a device refresh, this creates a genuine dilemma: wait and hope prices fall, buy now before they rise further, or find a smarter way to structure the cost.

 

The global surge in AI infrastructure is no longer just a technology headline — it is actively impacting school device budgets in New Zealand.

 

Why Leasing Makes Even More Sense Right Now

When equipment prices rise, the case for leasing over outright purchase actually gets stronger — not weaker. Here’s why.

With outright purchase, your school absorbs the full price increase on day one. A fleet of 60 Chromebooks that cost $48,000 eighteen months ago might cost $57,000 today — and that $9,000 difference comes straight out of your operational budget in a single year.

With leasing, that same price increase is spread across the entire lease term. A $9,000 increase divided over 36 months is $250 per month — a much more manageable impact on your annual budget. You also protect yourself against further price increases during the lease term, since your payments are fixed from day one.

Leasing converts a large, unpredictable capital expense into a fixed, predictable monthly cost — which is exactly what you need when equipment prices are volatile.

 

Flexible Lease Terms: A Practical Tool for Budget Pressure

One of the most effective and underused tools available to schools facing budget pressure is adjusting the lease term. Most schools default to a 36-month lease — and for good reason, it’s a sensible balance between monthly cost and total commitment. But it’s not the only option.

At MTL Finance we can structure leases across a range of terms. Extending from 36 months to 42 or 48 months can meaningfully reduce your monthly payment, which may make the difference between a device refresh being affordable this year or having to defer it.

 

How Lease Term Affects Your Monthly Payment

Lease Term	Monthly Payment*	Total Cost*	Best For
24 months	Higher	Lower overall	Schools wanting shortest commitment
36 months	Moderate	Moderate	Most common — good balance
42 months	Lower	Slightly more overall	Schools under current budget pressure
48 months	Lowest	Most overall	Maximum short-term affordability

* Indicative only. Actual figures depend on equipment cost, credit profile, and market rates at time of agreement.

 

The trade-off is straightforward: a longer term means lower monthly payments but slightly more paid overall. For a school that needs to fit a device refresh into this year’s budget without exceeding it, that trade-off is often well worth making.

Example: A school leasing 60 Chromebooks at $950 each ($57,000 total) might pay around $1,750/month on a 36-month term. Extending to 42 months could bring that down to around $1,550/month — a saving of $200/month that may be the difference between the project proceeding or being deferred.

 

Other Strategies Worth Considering

Phased Refreshes

Rather than refreshing your entire fleet at once, consider a phased approach — replacing the oldest and most critical devices now, and deferring the rest to next year. This spreads both the cost and the budget impact across financial years, and means you’re not holding all your eggs in a single procurement basket when prices are volatile.

A phased approach also gives you flexibility: if prices do soften in the next 12 months, you’ll benefit on the second tranche of your refresh.

Sell Your Old Devices

Many schools sitting on end-of-life devices don’t realise they have residual value. Even three to four year old Chromebooks or laptops have a second-life market — through refurbishers, community organisations, or staff purchase schemes.

MTL Finance can purchase your existing devices upfront and roll the proceeds into your new lease — effectively reducing your monthly payment from day one. For a school with 60 ageing devices worth $100–200 each, that’s $6,000–$12,000 that can directly offset your new lease costs.

Lock In Pricing Now

If your school is planning a device refresh in the next six to twelve months, there’s a practical argument for moving sooner rather than later. Lease agreements lock in today’s equipment pricing. If device prices continue to rise — as current supply trends suggest they might — a lease agreed today protects you from further increases.

This doesn’t mean rushing a decision. But it does mean that “we’ll think about it next year” carries a real financial risk if prices continue to trend upward.

 

Presenting This to Your Board

Budget pressure on IT equipment is a legitimate governance concern, and boards respond well to principals who bring structured options rather than just a problem.

When presenting a leasing proposal in the current environment, it’s worth framing three things clearly:

• The cost of doing nothing — ageing devices have real costs: increased IT support time, software incompatibility, NCEA digital assessment risk, and staff frustration. Deferring a refresh isn’t free.
• The monthly cost, not the total cost — boards respond better to “$1,550 per month for 42 months” than to “$65,100 total.” Both are accurate; one is more actionable.
• The fixed nature of lease payments — in a volatile pricing environment, locking in a fixed monthly payment for three to four years is a form of budget protection, not just a financing convenience.

 

How MTL Finance Can Help

MTL Finance has been working with New Zealand schools for over 20 years. We understand that every school’s budget situation is different, and we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all lease terms.

If your school is facing cost pressure on an upcoming device refresh, get in touch. We’ll model a few different lease term scenarios for your specific situation — showing you exactly what 36, 42, and 48-month terms would look like for your monthly budget — so you can take a clear, specific proposal to your board.

There’s no paperwork required to get a quote, and we’ll have numbers back to you the same day.

 

Facing price pressure on your next device refresh? Contact MTL Finance for a same-day quote with multiple lease term options — no paperwork required.