IT & Telecoms hardware is set to become increasingly challenging to source, as production of chips has slowed even more.
The shortage comes down to availability of chips, which are found in every computer and electronic device. The supply chain has been strained since the COVID outbreak in 2020, due to a disruption in production and availability of raw materials as well as a significant increase in demand. In the early days of the outbreak, factories in China and Taiwan were forced to close. Through the pandemic, demand for laptops, tablets and mobile hardware has increased as more organisations have embraced remote and hybrid working.
Adding to this more recently, Ukraine produce about half of the worlds neon, which is a crucial ingredient in the production of chipsets, and factory operations have been halted following Moscow’s attack on the country.
Read more here: Exclusive: Russia’s attack on Ukraine halts half of world’s neon output for chips | Reuters
It’s a huge challenge for our industry. It will continue to drive up prices and diminish availability of all telephone, IT and mobile hardware throughout this year.
What to do:
At Agile we recommend carefully planning ahead and scrutinizing long-term hardware requirements more proactively than usual.
We have built trusted partnerships with the best IT and communications channel providers which means we can competitively source an extensive range of IT & comms hardware. However, we aim to help reduce hardware purchasing requirements for our clients to help bring down costs and carbon impact.
Cloud software for comms and IT services can significantly reduce hardware requirements and extend the life of existing hardware investments. For example, instead of using traditional telephone hardware, staff can use desktop softphones or their own mobile devices to professionally make and take calls from anywhere they choose to work. Not only does this avoid the supply challenges, it also creates a more economical, cost effective and productive way of working without as much of an environmental impact.
Take a look at our cloud phone systems here: Unified Communications Services – Agile Comms (agile-comms.co.uk)
And get in touch if you’d like to discuss hardware supply or communications in your business.