The Aging Hardware Landscape in Mexico
According to a joint analysis by American tech giants Intel and Microsoft, Mexico needs to renew at least 7.6 million personal computers. This situation positions Mexico as the second-largest market with high potential for renewal in Latin America, just behind Brazil.
Economic Opportunity vs. Market Reactivation
While this figure presents an economic opportunity, an examination of Mexico’s Information Technology (IT) sector reveals that this potential has yet to translate into a hardware market reactivation.
Four Pillars for Tech Modernization
The need to modernize Mexico’s technological landscape is based on four pillars, according to the analysis by the tech companies:
- Rising consolidation of AI PCs: Driven by demand for smarter and more secure experiences.
- End of hardware lifecycle: Current hardware’s support for old OS versions, especially Windows 10, is ending.
- Aging hardware: The average device age exceeds seven years, with 70% of devices in circulation being over five years old.
This hardware aging not only limits efficiency but also increases operational costs and exposes users to cybersecurity risks, as 84% of these devices cannot be updated to Windows 11 to meet current security standards.
Regional Trend: 36 Million Devices in Latin America
The volume of computers ready for renewal in Mexico is part of a broader regional trend involving over 36 million consumer devices in Latin America.
- Mexico ranks second in terms of device volume requiring renewal, behind Brazil (15.2 million devices) and followed by Peru (3.6 million), Colombia (2.7 million), Argentina (2 million), and Chile (1.8 million).
- The installed base in these countries includes significant manufacturers like HP, Lenovo, and Dell, with Intel maintaining a market share over 64% in all studied countries.
Mexico’s IT Market: A Complex Picture
Despite the renewal potential for consumer devices, Mexico’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) market presents a more complex reality.
- Select’s data shows the ICT sector closed the first half of 2025 with an annual growth rate of 3.3%, a pace below previous years and confirming deceleration.
- Growth composition reveals a clear disparity among segments, with service providers and telecom operators showing advances of 6.8% and 3.5%, respectively, while manufacturers barely grew, recording a marginal negative variation of 0.2%.
This confirms the weakness of hardware in the current environment, with segments like personal computers, printing, and networks facing significant challenges due to shifts in buyer priorities.
Shifting Priorities Among Users
Although Intel’s analysis highlights AI computer adoption as an inflection point, corporate user demand is predominantly channeled towards cloud services and software.
- Cloud services (IaaS/PaaS): Grew by 24.5% in the first half, driven by interest in AI use cases.
- Software as a Service (SaaS): Advanced by 14.7%, demonstrating that companies are adopting AI and cybersecurity through service models, postponing new equipment investments.
The public sector has also acted as a brake on the market. The federal ICT budget was cut by 23% for 2025, and only 28% of the approved amount was exercised in the first half. This underspending by the government has delayed investments and projects, affecting the hardware market’s deceleration.
