AI Boom Creates Hard Drive Shortage

The rise of generative AI has created a surge in demand for nearline hard drives, but hard drive manufacturers haven't kept up, leading to a severe shortage. Western Digital has announced price increases across its entire hard drive portfolio, with lead times exceeding a year. This price increase is also impacting the SSD market, with enterprise-grade SSDs likely to see price hikes. While manufacturers are developing more economical nearline SSDs, the storage crunch is expected to continue in the short term, making now a potentially good time for consumers to purchase storage.