If you’ve been watching industrial RAM prices spiral, there’s still time to lock in a back-up system and save. ESIS is offering 20% off a second CyberVisuell fanless PC or panel PC when you purchase one before the end of December.*
It’s building in redundancy in more ways than one – not only minimising the risk of unplanned downtime and costly technician call-outs if one unit fails, but protecting against soaring RAM prices.
Industrial RAM prices have increased fivefold since the start of 2025. Lead times that were three weeks in October have blown out to six months as of late December. Flash-based products haven’t been hit quite as hard, but lead times have still worsened and prices continue climbing.
The ESIS team has been supplying industrial electronics since 2004. We’ve never seen anything like this.
Why this likely won’t resolve quickly
The 2021-22 chip shortages after COVID were temporary – multiple factors that gradually resolved in a couple of years. This is different.
A key driver this time is the AI data centre boom. AI data centres are being built at an accelerating rate, and the demand likely won’t drop off over the next few years. Chip makers are prioritising specialised AI RAM and flash chips because they’re more profitable than traditional PC components. New chip fabrication plants might alleviate the strain, but can take years to build.
The mathematics of waiting
Right now, RAM and SSD prices are sky high. Many customers are gambling, taking the risk with a single PC, hoping the market settles down by the time they need a replacement.
But let’s say RAM prices even just double for example over the next year. This means waiting 12 months could push the price of a new PC up at least another 30% compared to now. Consider this scenario: A low-end industrial PC could cost $1,000 excluding RAM, and the RAM in today’s market might cost $500. So the total price right now would be $1,500. If the RAM price doubles in 12 months’ time, then you’re looking at a total price tag of $2,000 for the same PC, an increase of more than 30%. And to make matters worse, the lead time could be many months.
Sure if you have a failure you could purchase a regular consumer desktop PC in the meantime, but that will likely also cost more, and worse, it might not make it more than a few months in the harsh operating conditions of an industrial site.
How the conversations have changed
A year ago, when a client called us needing an industrial PC, we’d discuss their application requirements and recommend the right specification. Simple.
Now? We evaluate their requirements, then carefully factor in availability of RAM and SSD for each model, before we can even quote.
We’re even sometimes suggesting smaller RAM and SSD configurations than clients asked for. Not because it’s the right specification, but because it’s what we can actually source within their timeframes.
The client then has to decide whether to spend significantly more money and tolerate longer lead times to get adequate performance, or compromise with undersized components to meet their deadlines and budget. it’s a massively tough choice.
The cost of hesitation
One of our defence industry clients approached us in October 2025 for a quote to upgrade RAM in industrial PCs we’d built for them in 2022.
By the time their management and end client made a decision to proceed, the price had increased fivefold. The lead time blew out from three weeks to six months.
We’re now sourcing alternative brands. They’ll still cost two to three times more than the original quote.
Budgets and timeframes have been blown out of the water in a matter of weeks due to market conditions outside anyone’s control.
What you need to know right now
Procurement and engineering teams need to be aware of the severity of supply chain issues and prioritise purchasing industrial technology without delay. In this environment, quoted pricing goes out of date within a matter of days.
It’s important to fast-track decision making to avoid a vicious cycle – delays lead to price rises, which trigger re-approval requests, which cause more delays, which then lead to further price increases.
We expect prices will increase further and lead times will worsen, with no relief in the next two years.
It’s prudent to act now. Lock in your orders for a second CyberVisuell fanless PC or panel PC at 20% off when you purchase one before the end of December. It’s not only redundancy planning, but insurance against out-of-control RAM pricing.
ESIS Industrial Electronics offers a range of industrial computing solutions, including rugged tablets, data loggers, industrial displays, integrated computing platforms and programmable interfaces for direct PLC integration. Talk to us about solutions to keep your business operations running efficiently.
*Our December offer provides 20% off a second CyberVisuell fanless PC or panel PC when you purchase one.
