10 Storage Predictions For 2017

4. But NAND Chip Shortage Will Worsen Before It Gets Better

In 2016, the storage industry saw the beginnings of a shortage of NAND chips, a key component in building SSDs. 2017 will see that shortage grow significantly before the situation improves.

SSDs take about 40 percent of the NAND flash chip production, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of Taiwan-based analyst firm TrendForce. DRAMeXchange reported late last month that it expects NAND flash manufacturing capacity to rise only 6 percent in 2017 as manufacturers shift production from 2-D NAND to 3-D NAND. However, the firm reported, more than 50 percent of notebook PCs are expected to ship with SSDs by late 2017, and demand for enterprise-class SSDs in storage arrays and servers will grow quickly, leading to price increases for SSDs even as sales of flash storage solutions continue to grow.