How is the world chip shortage impacting technology?
If you’re still wondering: “how is the world chip shortage impacting technology,” you’re not alone. Most major markets have been plagued by this issue for months now and it’s not going to resolve itself anytime soon. We’ll explore the scope of the chip shortages on IoT and how it might affect your organisation in this quick read.
What is the chip shortage?
All modern electronics need computer chips. And they are now in short supply. According to DZone, “there’s no denying that the pandemic and its ensuing lockdowns exacerbated the chip shortage, starting from when factories temporarily closed when Covid-19 first hit. Now, though, the shortage is more linked to a change in habits during the pandemic, during which the demand for smart technology dramatically increased.” Most people bought new devices for their homes when they realised they’d be spending a lot more time in them. More than half of one electronic firm’s customers put at least one smart device in during the worldwide lockdowns. And that’s not slowing down. Supply Chain Brain reports, “the number of connected IoT devices worldwide will increase to 125 billion by 2030.”
Creating supply scarcity
The chip shortage makes it hard to get a hold of even the basic components for manufacturing. As a result, according to ZDNet, “61% of respondents reported that the current semiconductor shortage has negatively impacted their ability to deliver new products.” Furthermore, KORE reports, “Every connected IoT device that makes use of a cellular connection — 4G, 5G, LTE-M, NB-IoT — uses a cellular IoT chipset. […] The chip shortage means that the demand for 20 million cellular IoT chipsets will not be met in 2021, and the report states that the industry is expected to see a growth of 9% year-over-year in 2021, lower than originally anticipated, while prices are expected to increase sharply.” So, you’ll have a harder time accessing the devices that you need. And, if you can access them, they will be way more expensive than before.
The burnout concern
As these shortages rage on, people within the industry are being pushed to their limits. Reportwire suggests, “Some analysts have also noted that the worldwide chip shortage is critically impacting people who perform in the IoT sector, with developer burnout getting to be a genuine problem. If this stress turns into a shortage of developers, it also has the possibility to compound the chip lack dilemma.” With the world in the throes of the Great Resignation, now is not the time for coding teams to leave en masse. But there are steps businesses can take to weather these factors and emerge with their teams intact. One of these options is to look at making optimisations to their existing infrastructure in lieu of new IoT deployments. Taking some of the strain off your internal teams might reduce their chance of burnout during this difficult period. So, speak to an expert systems integration partner about your options as soon as possible.