Have you been to a supermarket lately? We have. There seems to be a lot of empty shelves. In most cases, we can find a substitute for what we are looking for, or do without potato chips and raisin bread until the next time we get to the store. But in the middle of cold and flu season, when the OTC medicine aisle is empty, it’s a problem.

In September, 2021 we posted a blog addressing the world-wide microchip shortage called “When The Chips Are Down.”

In that blog, we wrote: “Nobody could have anticipated this pandemic and the fallout it would create. But it’s nice to see that policies are being put in place to limit the shortage of microchips in the future. With today’s reliance on advanced technology in almost every industry, it needs to be a priority going forward.”

Maybe we were being a little optimistic because here we are in 2022 and we are still experiencing shortages in the Ubiquiti equipment we need to keep our business running smoothly.

In that September blog we wrote: “The microchip shortage is hitting close to home for Jitterworks as well. We have a client for whom we designed a network and surveillance system. It required Ubiquiti cameras, switches, WiFi access points, a Network Video Recorder and network monitoring and management tools.”

You’re right, Ubiquiti is not the only manufacturer of switches, WiFi access points or any of the other equipment we use. And we might find it available elsewhere. The problem is, there are many benefits to sticking with Ubiquiti across the board. The equipment is cost effective and reliable. Integration across devices is consistent and seamless. And their platform will accommodate our own performance monitoring and management tools. For us, there is a lot of upside to sticking with Ubiquiti.

Industry experts don’t see the microchip shortage ending anytime soon, though it does seem like it’s getting better. We just needed to be more diligent. We keep a close eye on the Ubiquiti and other reseller websites to stay on top of what equipment is available. 

We also receive alerts when items we are looking for are back in stock. The challenge is getting in there and ordering these items as quickly as possible. Or run the risk of seeing those dreaded two words under the desired products: Sold Out.

It’s too bad CVS can’t send us an alert the next time they put a couple bottles of NyQuil on the shelf.