Summary: As IT resellers and manufacturers face delays caused by a major HDD shortage in the wake of devastating flooding in Thailand, Vernon Computer Source  offers a temporary solution in the interim.

Technology rental organization, Vernon Computer Source has stepped in to aid IT resellers, manufacturers and end-users with a short-term solution to the delays caused by the HDD shortage following the flooding in Thailand.

The rippling effect of the now receding flooding waters in the Southeast Asian country has reared its head in the computer hardware industry by creating a hard drive shortage expected to continue into 2012.  This is expected to cause a hike in prices up to 150 percent after what is anticipated to be a 70 million HDD shortfall for Q4 2011.

Beginning in July, the flooding has claimed 320 lives and devastated homes and businesses in industrialized areas in central Thailand. Among those businesses suffering from damage are top HDD manufacturers Seagate Technology and Western Digital, who both have large production facilities in the country.

The industrial effects felt by outside countries has lead to speculation by research groups like IDC predicting a shortage of PC shipments by as much as one fifth in the first three months of 2012.

When asked how computer rental services could help those end users affected by the HDD shortage, Vernon Computer Source General Manager, Anthony Randazzo, said, “You don’t have to hold back on your IT requirements—rent the notebook or desktop with the needed 500GB hard drive until you get those ordered from your supplier.”

Alternatively, resellers and manufacturers can take advantage of Vernon’s services by providing a temporary solution to their customers held up by the HDD shortage delays.

While IDC indicated that HDD industry participants would likely recover and restore production capacity relatively quickly, the research firm expects supply will remain constrained for an extended period of time. As a result, many major OEMs have begun to close order windows, or hold back orders entirely as production halts due to the inability to obtain the required HDDs.

The rental services of Vernon can temporarily place product into the end users’ environment, securing the suppliers’ customer retention by eliminating the need to seek out equipment elsewhere.