Impact of Global Chip Shortage on IT Departments: Time to Plan Ahead

The global chip shortage has already affected numerous business goods, including laptops, servers and printers as well as consumer goods, from automobiles to alarm clocks. If IT departments want to prepare for a shortage that experts say could last well into 2023, your staff needs to understand the dynamics of the shortage, how it affects them, and which steps will help them the most in the long run.

• The Impact
• What You Can Do
• Working With Your MSP

The Impact of the Global Chip Shortage

Chip demand is coming from any number of sectors today. Nearly every industry is looking to instrument its devices, bringing them into a smart age that consumers are growing ever more accustomed to. Data centers, cryptocurrency miners, IoT manufacturers: it’s clear there are more buyers than products.

Some of the most advanced chips can be found in PCs, which will likely see some fluctuation over the next few months and into 2022. Experts say that there might be a soft dip in demand from manufacturers, though not enough to see a serious impact on the market. It’s also expected that brands like Dell, Lenovo, and HP will inflate their prices to cover the cost of the chips.

What Can IT Departments Do About the Global Chip Shortage Now?

This global chip shortage is fueled, in part, by a shift in our culture brought on by the pandemic. Whether a company is having people work remotely, in the office, or some combination, employees will need reliable and updated managed communication and collaboration equipment to keep up with their daily to-do lists.

In a hybrid work scenario, more businesses are increasingly relying on laptops, which will give employees the flexibility they need to work from multiple locations. IT departments have to determine not just who they have to supply for today, but what future growth of the company may look like in a year or two. If the company is planning to expand, it’s easy to discount just how many devices you’ll need.

IT staff should also prioritize updating their plan, ensuring that their staff have the products and hardware they need as network demands change. This may mean evaluating warranties and creating a more detailed schedule to keep up with equipment upgrades and replacements.

Work with Your Managed Service Provider (MSP)

Managed service providers provide more than just IT support, they actually specialize in acquisition. If you are having problems finding end-user equipment or infrastructure hardware, an MSP will likely have avenues available to them that you don’t.

By developing the right relationships with vendors, MSP outsourcing usually provides more information than your average IT department. Furthermore, they get preferential treatment and pricing considerations that they will pass onto their clients. If the global chip shortage is not going away anytime soon, the best thing you can do is find people who will help you navigate through it.

Stay Ahead with Managed Infrastructure

Could your organization stand to benefit from comprehensive managed infrastructure solutions? Dataprise data protection solutions, managed network services, and endpoint inventory all ensure that your services and devices are continually available, physically secure and fully supported.

Do you know how your business will prepare to Return to Workplace from the isolation/stay-in-place orders enacted to combat the spread of COVID-19? Discover useful strategies in our “Return to Workplace IT Guidebook”. Find out more below!