In early February 2026 HPE sent letters to partners, changing contract terms for server and GreenLake orders.HPE cited rising memory prices and supply constraints as reasons for the update. 

What changed

For most server and GreenLake orders:

  • quote validity has been reduced from 30 days to 14 days (excluding public sector, B2B and OEM),
  • contract terms now allow price adjustments after order acceptance and before shipment,
  • both HPE and partners have the right to cancel orders until shipment,
  • GreenLake orders accepted before February 4, 2026 are not affected.
  • sellers are advised to issue separate quotes for compute and block storage.

HPE stated that price adjustments are expected to be rare and would occur only in cases of “material changes in forecasted commodity costs”.

Partner reaction

In a follow-up report, CRN quoted C.R. Howdyshell, CEO of Advizex, an HPE partner, who said that:

“Rapidly changing memory prices could result in budgetary quotes to customers with a variance of 30 percent” on $1 million proposals.”

The comment reflects concern around pricing stability for larger GreenLake transactions.

According to CRN, partners describe GreenLake enterprise deals as typically requiring three to twelve months, depending on scope and approval complexity.

Memory market context

The policy change coincides with sharp increases in memory contract prices. We already mentioned serious changes on the memory market in December 2025:

Now, on January 5, 2026, TrendForce projected that:

  • conventional DRAM contract prices in Q1 2026 would rise 55-60% quarter-over-quarter,
  • NAND Flash contract prices would rise 33-38% QoQ.

Source: TrendForce press release, January 5, 2026

On February 2, 2026, TrendForce revised its forecast upward:

  • Conventional DRAM contract prices: +90-95% QoQ.
  • NAND Flash contract prices: +55-60% QoQ.

Source: TrendForce press release, February 2, 2026

TrendForce attributed the surge to memory makers prioritizing server and AI-related applications, tightening supply across conventional segments.

The projections refer specifically to contract pricing, not spot markets.

TrendForce indicated that imbalances between AI-driven demand and available supply are expected at least in the first half of 2026.

What are consequences of this update

For hosting providers operating HPE infrastructure, the update effects include:

  • a 14-day quote window affects internal order approval cycles, 
  • price adjustments until shipment introduce unplanned cost risk between order placement and delivery, 
  • revised memory contract forecasts indicate continued pressure on server build costs in Q1 2026.

The policy applies to both traditional server purchases and GreenLake hybrid cloud deployments.

At current memory forecast levels, hardware pricing volatility is no longer marginal, but heavier with each passing month.

Sources: crn.com – “HPE Warns Partners Of ‘Price Adjustments’ On Server, GreenLake Orders In Wake Of Memory Price Increases”