A global shortage of microchips has slowed the delivery of IT hardware and increased prices. With the impact of the squeeze expected to last for a year or more, technology decision-makers must act quickly to avoid being caught short. According to The Wall Street Journal, “Corporate tech leaders are dealing with dwindling supplies of the physical building blocks of IT.”

Microchip Shortages Become the Norm

The reasons behind the chip shortage are varied. The shift to hybrid and remote work combined with evolving digital consumer buying patterns has skyrocketed demand. Advance buying and stockpiling early in the pandemic further depleted supply. And bottlenecks caused by rising container prices and a shortage of truck drivers have slowed every link in global supply chains.

And the situation won’t improve anytime soon. Semiconductor lead times are running 40 to 60 weeks, and increasing manufacturing capacity can be a multi-year process. Even as supply chains begin to move more smoothly, pent-up demand will keep markets tight. Forecasts for a return to normal extend to a year or more. In the meantime, double-digit price increases may become the norm.

Planning a Hardware Refresh? Move Fast!

What does the chip shortage mean for technology buyers? It’s simple: If you’re contemplating a hardware refresh anytime soon, you’ll need to move fast. Providing an optimal application experience and securing applications from increasing cyberthreats are key to both business productivity and customer satisfaction., That’s why it’s essential to ensure that your application delivery and security infrastructure can meet your needs not only today, but also long term.

If your current hardware solution proves inadequate for your application modernization requirements, a replacement may soon be hard to come by. Plan out your hardware purchases now — or consider a cloud-delivered service for application delivery and security, which eliminates the need for hardware investments. Either way, make sure you’re prepared.

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