Storage news: prices, shortages, and upcoming innovations

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The world of storage and memory is experiencing a rollercoaster of prices, innovations, and supply problems This affects both home users and large companies. From RAM modules that cost almost as much as a house in China, to hard drives with a maximum lifespan of two years, to SSDs geared towards artificial intelligence or tape and holographic tape technologies with massive capacities, the landscape is anything but boring.

Furthermore, manufacturers such as Samsung, SK hynix, KIOXIA, Kingston, TeamGroup, and ADATA are making moves to respond to a growing demand for capacity, speed and securityMeanwhile, software giants like Microsoft are refining technologies such as BitLocker and DirectStorage. At the same time, the industry is reorganizing itself in the face of memory shortages, warnings of price increases of 20% or more, and the need to align scientific research with very specific problems such as the secure storage of hydrogen or the reduction of mass archiving costs.

Price escalation in RAM, SSDs and hard drives

In the main memory segment, one of the most striking headlines comes from China, where DDR5 modules have been seen at prices so high that they are comparable to those of a modestly sized housing in certain urban areasThis exaggerated but illustrative comparison reflects the impact of the chip shortage and demand pressure, especially from data centers and artificial intelligence applications, which are absorbing a large part of the production.

The situation doesn't end there: it has reached the point where a 192GB DDR5 memory kit has been replaced on the market with an alleged RTX 5070 Ti, with memory valued up to three times higher than the graphics card. This trade, which seems straight out of a forum story, is a symptom of the mismatch between supply and demand and how memory has become an almost speculative resource in some segments.

Laptops are not immune to this trend. There is growing discussion about how computers with 8GB of RAM could once again become the standard configuration For many product ranges, something that just a few years ago was seen as the bare minimum can now, with the rise of increasingly resource-intensive applications, compromise the user experience. The reason: to keep prices down in an environment of widespread price increases, manufacturers are cutting corners on memory first.

Meanwhile, the price of mechanical hard drives has climbed to reach the highest level in the last two yearsFactors such as the cost of materials, the reorganization of production lines towards higher capacity units, and pressure from certain corporate markets mean that the HDD is far from disappearing, but it is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain it as a cheap solution per terabyte.

To make matters worse, multiple analysts and manufacturers warn that by 2026 we could see price increases of nearly 20% for memoryThis includes both DRAM and NAND flash memory, which will affect RAM modules, SSDs, and embedded products. Samsung itself has already implemented price increases of around 30% for DRAM and 10% for NAND flash, anticipating an upward cycle that will immediately impact the PC, laptop, and server market.

Red alert: shortages, manufacturer warnings and forecast for 2026

PC manufacturers and assemblers are practically declaring defenseless against the lack of memory. The supply chains Prices never fully stabilize, and in many cases, integrators cannot pass on the entire additional cost to the end customer without making their products commercially unviable, which squeezes margins and delays product launches or range renewals.

Companies like CyberPowerPC have even warned of possible price increases 500% on certain types of RAM In extreme scenarios, while MAINGEAR warns that the shortage could be even more severe than initial data suggests. Although these striking figures usually correspond to extreme cases or very specific models, they give an idea of ​​the nervousness felt in the sector.

For its part, ADATA has warned of a possible historic shortage of DRAM, SSDs and HDDsThis message goes beyond commercial alarmism and underlines the risk that, if investment in new manufacturing plants and nodes does not keep pace, the demand for storage and memory in the age of AI and big data will far exceed available production capacity.

In this context, several market players indicate that both HDDs and SSDs will see sustained price increases If geopolitical tensions, logistical bottlenecks, and the concentration of production in a few large factories continue, the situation will worsen. For the average user, this translates into more expensive devices or devices with less memory and storage capacity, except for very specific offers.

This scenario forces companies and consumers to rethink their purchasing decisions: it is no longer enough to look only at performance, but other factors also come into play. medium-term purchasing planningTaking advantage of reasonable price windows and seriously considering options such as partial upgrades versus a complete equipment renewal.

Next-generation SSDs: AI, security, and extreme performance

While the market struggles with shortages, SSD manufacturers continue to accelerate innovation. SK hynix is ​​preparing a workload-oriented SSD. artificial intelligence capable of delivering up to ten times more performance than conventional solutions, a leap designed for data centers and applications with very high read and write rates, where every millisecond counts.

Despite certain rumors, Samsung has categorically denied that it will abandon the SSD businessThe company continues to view this market as strategic, both for consumer and professional environments. Its position in NAND flash memory and its own controllers keeps it as a key player, even as it restructures its product lines and adjusts its investment.

TeamGroup, for its part, has presented some truly unique storage solutions, such as an SSD capable of self-destruct your data at the push of a button

In addition, the brand has launched the PD40 portable external SSD, aimed at users who need High mobility and good speed in a compact formatThis type of drive has become a go-to solution for content creators, professionals who work between the office and home, and anyone who needs to move large volumes of data without sacrificing modern transfer rates.

KIOXIA is also very active: it has launched the EXCERIA PRO G2 series, aimed at those looking for High performance PCIe 4.0 For demanding games or creative tasks, and has introduced the EXCERIA BASIC range, a set of PCIe 4.0 SSDs designed for affordable upgrades, ideal for giving new life to PCs that still work well but fall short with hard drives or SATA SSDs.

New controllers, PCIe Gen5/Gen6 and the battle for bandwidth

The SSD ecosystem is inconceivable without controllers, the true heart of these drives. One of the biggest new developments is a controller PCIe Gen6 capable of reaching 28,5 GB/s while maintaining relatively low power consumption. This figure easily surpasses what is currently seen in Gen4 and significantly exceeds the Gen5 SSDs on the consumer market.

At the COMPUTEX 2025 trade fair, Kioxia showcased some very interesting NVMe prototypes, including an EXCERIA model with low-profile heatsink which facilitates installation in compact chassis or pre-assembled equipment, and a flagship model capable of exceeding 14 GB/s, clearly targeting enthusiast users and workstations that work with huge data flows.

At that same event, TeamGroup focused not only on performance, but also on... aesthetics and sustainability of its memory and storage solutionsLighting, sophisticated heat sinks, and more environmentally friendly materials are becoming a relevant selling point in a market where almost everyone offers high speeds.

Within the Gen5 segment, units such as the 1TB XPG MARS 980 Blade Gen5 have been analyzed, designed for those who want pushing the limits of available bandwidth on modern platformsThese units offer huge sequential rates and very good IOPS figures, although issues such as temperature control and full compatibility across all motherboards are still being refined.

There's still a lot of activity in PCIe 4.0. The TeamGroup NV5000 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 drive has been tested, offering a A pretty solid balance between price and speed and reliabilityand the Corsair MP700 Micro, a compact SSD designed for systems where space is critical, but without sacrificing high-end specifications.

Windows 11, BitLocker, and SSD headaches

On the software side, Microsoft is taking steps to improve the relationship between Windows 11 and SSDs. The company has accelerated the performance of BitLocker when it relies on hardware encryptionachieving a radical increase in speed in scenarios where the penalty of having the unit encrypted was previously clearly noticeable.

However, it hasn't all been good news. Some users have reported various problems with SSDs under Windows 11, from performance degradation leading to premature failureMicrosoft has stepped in, stating that the operating system is not the direct cause of SSDs "dying," and pointing out that factors such as faulty firmware, suboptimal configurations, intensive use, or even irregular quality controls in certain models are involved.

Phison, one of the major suppliers of SSD controllers, has acknowledged that issues have been detected in some specific series. compatibility issues or erratic behavior under Windows 11This has necessitated the release of firmware updates. This transparency is key so that integrators and users can correct bugs before they result in data loss.

In terms of gaming performance, PCIe SSDs were compared against SATA SSDs and against mechanical hard drives. The overall conclusion is that the leap in Upgrading from HDD to SSD, even SATA, makes a huge difference in loading times.However, the difference between a SATA SSD and an NVMe PCIe SSD isn't always noticeable in all games, although it is in installations, heavy loads, and tasks that handle many small files.

Regarding DirectStorage, Microsoft's technology designed to better utilize NVMe SSDs in PCs, its real impact has been analyzed. So far, the change hasn't been that significant. revolutionary as some expectedThis is partly because few games fully utilize it and because its benefit depends heavily on how the developer implements it. Even so, it's a path that clearly points toward better leveraging the potential of next-generation SSDs.

Mass archiving solutions: tape, holographic tape, and corporate storage

Beyond the home PC, the volume of data generated in companies, institutions, and research centers continues to grow. There is talk of a constant increase at all levels, which translates into ever-increasing computing and storage needs to extract value from that data by analytics, AI, and decision-making processes based on information.

Fujifilm, for example, has managed to position itself as a benchmark in the data archiving field with its technology of next generation magnetic tapeThese solutions allow you to store enormous amounts of information in a relatively small space, with a very low cost per terabyte compared to other alternatives, something essential when talking about petabytes and beyond.

Fujifilm's strategy focuses on offering increasingly compact and efficient tape systems that simplify long-term storage and minimize the archiving costs and guarantee future data readabilityIn many corporate and research environments, the ability to retrieve information years or decades later is as important as the volume of data stored.

At the same time, work is underway on emerging technologies such as holographic tapeThis technology, considered a potential successor to classic magnetic tape, promises capacities of up to 200 TB per cartridge. This would represent a huge leap in storage density and facilitate the consolidation of massive files onto fewer physical units, resulting in significant savings in space and energy.

In the corporate environment, attention is also paid to how data is managed on a daily basis. One company that implemented a new order and inventory management system reports that it first focused the deployment on the outgoing orders, to avoid disruptions to your operationsand subsequently tackled the inventory tracking and control system. The full implementation took about ten months, without any interruption to operations, demonstrating that storage modernization goes far beyond hardware.

Hydrogen storage, coatings and technology transfer

Storage isn't just about bits. It also affects how we store and manage energy resources like hydrogen. In this area, the first meeting of a Industrial Advisory Committee dedicated to aligning scientific research with the real needs of the industrial fabric, with a special focus on the safe and efficient storage of hydrogen.

At the meeting, held at the TECNALIA technology center, several key lines of work were presented. One of them is the development of barrier coatings on metals to avoid hydrogen embrittlement, a phenomenon that can compromise the strength of pipes, tanks and components subjected to pressure or load cycles.

Another line of research involves investigating coatings for metals and composite materials that reduce the permeation and hydrogen leaksThis is crucial for ensuring the safety and energy efficiency of the systems. Sustainable composite material alternatives for storage tanks are also being explored, including their applicability in advanced manufacturing processes and their subsequent recycling.

The project also works on predictive computational models and techniques of representative mechanical characterizationThese studies aim to better understand how hydrogen interacts with metals and with the bonds between different materials. This knowledge will allow for the design of more robust solutions, reduce risks, and extend the lifespan of hydrogen-related infrastructure.

The Industrial Advisory Committee, made up of leading companies such as Tubos Reunidos Group, Ulma Advanced Solutions, Tamoin, Mugape, Innomat Coatings, Barquín y Ochoa, Grupo Revenant and TECNALIA itself, aims to promote the transfer of knowledge and technology to the marketWith an open and multidisciplinary approach, the Ontzhi_II project, framed within R&D initiatives aimed at improving industrial competitiveness and supported by SPRI's Elkartek program, seeks to translate research into real solutions for industry.

Secure storage, cookie, and cybersecurity solutions

Security and privacy are also part of the storage debate. Beyond SSDs with logical data self-destruct functions, many websites are strengthening their transparency in cookie managementThrough specific control centers, users can select or deselect cookie categories, adjusting in considerable detail what information is recorded during browsing.

Technical cookies, for example, are considered necessary for the basic functioning of the site, as they enable functions such as Stay logged in or remember your chosen language without having to configure it each time. These cookies are not usually used for advertising purposes, but to ensure a smooth and consistent user experience.

The documentation on these practices refers to cookie policies that detail what data is collected, for what purpose, and for how long it is retained. For users, understanding these aspects is key if they want to... make informed decisions about your privacyThis is something that is increasingly worrying in an environment of cloud services and interconnected applications.

At the enterprise level, the alignment between data storage and cybersecurity is now mandatory. Companies that handle sensitive information need solutions that combine robust encryption, granular access controls, and the ability to securely delete anything that is no longer needed, both in local systems and in public or private clouds.

The alliance between hardware manufacturers, software developers, and security service providers will be crucial in ensuring that future storage is not only faster and larger, but also much more reliable and compliant with privacy and current regulations.

Industrial alliances and logistics: the role of physical warehousing

In the logistics and construction sectors, there are also developments that indirectly affect the world of warehousing, although in this case, the impact is more physical than digital. One example is the strategic alliance announced by Axolift with Cintermaq, a company founded in 1996 that offers a wide range of machinery to meet the needs of companies in the construction sector and has established itself as a benchmark in the Spanish market.

These collaborations allow for an improved range of lifting, handling, and storage solutions for construction materials, optimizing time and reducing workplace risks. In many cases, the modernization of construction and logistics processes goes hand in hand with the digitization of inventory management and traceability, which ultimately connects physical storage with advanced data systems.

The general trend points to an ecosystem where information flows from physical repositories to centralized digital platforms, integrating sensors, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and analytics tools. In this environment, having robust data storage infrastructures It is as important as having good material storage solutions.

As the construction sector adopts technologies such as digital twinsWith the rise of remote monitoring and predictive maintenance, the amount of data generated also increases. This forces many companies to review their storage strategy, both on-premises and in the cloud, and consider investing in more flexible and scalable solutions.

The current storage landscape—from RAM and SSDs to tape, holographic tape, and hydrogen tanks—shows a sector in full swing, where the Demand pressure, component shortages, new AI applications, and security requirements They set the agenda. Understanding these dynamics helps both users and organizations to better plan their purchases, infrastructure, and data strategies in a rapidly changing environment.