News in the Channel - issue #38

RISING COST OF RAM

prices are more likely to change at short notice,” he says. “If a customer wants to upgrade in the near-term, partners should encourage them to be decisive about their requirements and planning.” Future The rising cost of RAM is an evolving situation. Ruth says that there has been a bit of stability in the marketplace recently. “There is more availability in distribution and prices seemed to have plateaued but are still massively inflated from six months ago,” she says. “I cannot see that the situation is sustainable, either with regards to stock or prices, but only time will tell. I don’t think prices will come back to where they were. “It is a commodity that every business and most individuals need to operate and carry out their day to day lives, therefore there will always be demand regardless of cost. Hopefully I am proven wrong, but in the meantime, we will keep monitoring the situation for our clients and try to find ways to alleviate the consequences.” Ian is optimistic that the situation will get better. “We anticipate the market improving from Q4 of this year, with prices expected to go down and availability begin to recover in January 2027,” he says. “That’s looking at the current curve of the market, however, so it could change. But there are several innovative developments that will help the market to recover. There are new fabrication plants coming online and 3D chip stacking such as by TSMC, which could see chips integrated into high-density configurations, resulting in a more compact and efficient design. “The market will innovate and catch up but until then businesses will need to take a more adaptive approach that sees them prioritise device replenishment and optimise their use of datacentre capacity.” n

Contributors

Ian Foddering

www.uk.shi.com

business and, unfortunately, that now comes at a cost.” Ian says resellers should steer customers away from the temptation to panic-buy. “That does nobody any good and will inflate the market,” he says. “But do encourage them to stay ahead of shortages with inventory hold and lifecycle planning. Reserve hardware early, store it securely, and deploy on schedule so price spikes and lead-time surprises don’t derail the roadmap of the business. “Technology providers have a key role to play in helping their customers navigate these unprecedented levels of demand. They can advise on and help test and benchmark alternatives, provide flexible financing to help them secure hardware while managing budgeting and timing, and advise on how to use intelligent refresh to offset the scarcity in supply.” James says partners need to carefully manage customer expectations. “Especially when it comes to quotations as

Ruth Wildman

millstreamtech.co.uk

James Reed

uk.tdsynnex.com