It’s been a long few years, hasn’t it? Back in March of 2020, we were hoping COVID would long lost memory by now. We mentioned equipment and parts shortages in March and in November of 2020 and again in August 2021. We were hoping things would get better by now. While work-from-home related stuff is generally more available (laptops, webcams, headsets, etc…), the stuff that actually runs things and the stuff you’d use to float between home and office (monitors, networking equipment, docking stations and various other bits and bobs) are hard to get. High-end processors and graphics cards are hard to track down as well. We still have network switch orders from last summer that haven’t been fulfilled, and going with other vendors isn’t helping as they’re all out, too. And stuff that is available is only getting more expensive.

What’s causing all this? A variety of supply chain issues from a variety of global sanctions, the never-ending pandemic, massive drought in Taiwan, closures of some manufacturing plants in Texas due to severe weather, the situation Ukraine (where a lot of the world’s neon comes from, which is used in  chip manufacturing), etc… .

Long story short, things are still very messy.

What we recommend, per our proactive approach to everything:

• If you are planning for a project that is going to require equipment, get us involved early in the process as soon as possible. So if you’re expanding, moving to a new site, or are going to need a bunch of computers, get us involved early so we can order parts early enough to make sure you have them for the project.
• Since laptop and desktop availability is constantly changing, we recommend having a spare of one or the other (depending on your office setup) available. A spare monitor is probably a good idea as well.
• If you have computers that are due for replacement, plan for that early.  If you have new hires you’re planning on bringing in sometime this year, please for that early. While there are more computers available now than there were earlier in the pandemic, inventory is still constantly in flux and something that is in-stock today could be out-of-stock tomorrow.

If you want to discuss any upcoming projects further, email us at sales@weston-tech.com and we’ll put you in touch with your account manager and help you get the information you need.