THE CHIPS are down… literally, according to IT expert Tony Capewell.
He is recommending business owners and managers plan now what new IT devices their businesses will need later this year because of a global chip shortage.
Not enough chips are being manufactured for all the devices that need them, says Mr Capewell, founder and managing director of IT support company Your Cloud Works.
“These days chips go into almost everything that is produced,” he said. “Even fridges need chips. Demand is racing and a number of unique circumstances have come together to severely restrict the number of chips available.”
Purchases by customers soared during the pandemic as millions of people bought new devices while stuck at home. Experts forecast that people will rush to upgrade to new 5G phones this year, increasing demand again.
Some large chip manufacturers have been forced to suspend production, one in the USA due to power outages and another in Japan after a fire.
And, as political tensions have grown between the USA and China over the last few months, Chinese tech companies have been stockpiling chips and chip-making equipment.
“The thing is, it is so difficult and expensive to manufacture chips that you cannot just open new chip-making factories to meet demand,” said Mr Capewell. “All of this means that there just are not enough chips available. And that is going to be a problem right through to next year.”
Your Cloud Works, formed in 2010, supports businesses in Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire with the best use of technology by streamlining and securing their IT systems.
