Supply Chain Issues Wreaking Havoc In the IT Industry

Global supply chain shortages have been affecting businesses of all types for the better part of two years. For businesses that deal in computing, this problem has seen a jump in the price of some computer components, an inability to get some, and overall an interruption in their ability to supply the insatiable demand for technology. Today, we’d thought we’d take a look at some of the variables that have led us to the situation we now face. 

COVID-19 Supply Chains

Everyone has been touched by the COVID-19 pandemic, and businesses are not exempt from this. People all over the world have been dealing with this issue in different ways, which of course makes a collaborative construct like the supply chain more difficult. In the computing chip industry, which is an over $500 billion per year industry, prices have risen considerably as chip manufacturers have been slowed by supply chain issues. This slowing has resulted in orders of new technology to be significantly delayed. Coupled with global shipping problems and it’s becoming a major problem for nearly every business looking to get new technology.

The irony is that over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of PCs, which had been declining for years, jumped around 11 percent globally, which put more pressure on component manufacturers. This is likely due to a huge increase in the amount of remote workers operating in today’s businesses and the demand for new PCs, smartphones, and IoT devices that are being manufactured today. 

The Chip Shortage Explained

Semiconductors are at the forefront of all computing. The increase in demand for computer chips has triggered a major shortage, slowing global supply chains and this global shortage is significantly delaying a lot of computer purchasing, including monitors, peripherals, and the computing platforms themselves. This means that Ferrum Technology Services is seeing longer wait times for any and all new computing investments. This puts a strain on our company and yours, and if industry trends are correct, we expect this slowing to last into the later parts of 2022. 

What You Can Do

In lieu of this issue, we recommend that any business looking to refresh their computing infrastructure this year, or do any significant hiring that would facilitate new investment in computing hardware, to plan purchases as far ahead as possible. This means working with our team to get the computing you need ordered so we can serve your computing needs as quickly as possible. 

The impediment in the supply chain won’t last forever, but with demand for these chips growing, it will be a while before things normalize. There are a lot of enterprise-level computing options out there in the cloud as well, and our team of IT professionals are proficient in setting you up with the secure resources you need to move your business forward. 

If you have any questions about possible delays of your new computing investments, or would like to talk about advanced options that you can use while the supply chains normalize, give us a call today at (847) 697-3282.