The Tech Landscape is Likely Going to Be a Mess This Year

While we hate to be the bearers of bad news, it would be irresponsible of us not to address the fact that 2025 is shaping up to be a challenging year where business technology is concerned.

Let’s go over a few predictions being shared about the industry, and how these situations can be addressed.

First and Foremost, Hardware Prices are Likely to Skyrocket

Politics aside, as of this posting, the administration being sworn in today has communicated that tariffs are coming. These tariffs will likely impact the prices of many essential computer components and accessories.

Tariffs are intended to be a tool used to encourage domestic manufacturing and purchasing of goods by making the foreign options less cost-effective to import (although these price increases are typically passed on to the consumer). Looking back to the administration’s prior term, Chinese goods had tariffs of anywhere from 7.5 percent to 25 percent stacked on them… and while many PC components were spared for some of this time, supply chain disruptions and hardware shortages just happened to coincide with these tariffs coming into effect.

While these shortages and price hikes resulted from numerous factors—like the sudden craze in cryptocurrency mining and the COVID-19 pandemic—the tariffs imposed in 2019 and the exclusion of computer hardware ending in 2021 undoubtedly exacerbated the situation.

Plus, prices normalized only after these tariffs were lifted, returning to pre-tariff levels.

Considering that the projected tariffs are expected to be a minimum of 10 percent to 20, with 60 percent against China in particular, consumers can anticipate cost increases of, potentially, hundreds of dollars. This is especially the case considering how globalized the modern supply chain truly is… so even if a piece of hardware or one of its components is created elsewhere, it could be packaged in China and made significantly more expensive.

It is also too challenging for manufacturers to divest entirely from certain regions in response to such trends. The United States and other potential countries just don’t have the infrastructure to meet the demand for new hardware… even if other potential countries weren’t also subject to tariffs.

The moral of the story: try to make any hardware-based investments for your business now rather than later, as prices will only increase soon.

The Internet Will Only Break into More Siloes

There has been a decrease in the popularity of larger platforms in favor of smaller communities online, with large social media networks falling out of favor compared to Discord servers and subreddits focused on more niche topics.

While there isn’t anything inherently bad about this, per se, it is vital to take everything on the Internet with a grain of salt, check your sources, and understand how your business’ audience will behave online and absorb information.

Protecting Children from Online Threats Will Be Prioritized

Namely, harmful products, platforms, and applications designed to be inherently addictive will be subject to closer examination. Despite numerous attempts to put some limits on social media platforms in the United States, there has been no headway made thus far. This is likely to change in the near future, as other countries have taken the first steps to restrict some of this activity. Australia recently banned social media for all under 16 as of November 2024.

This may become a more prominent trend, particularly with some of the recent moves made by social media platforms to incorporate more AI into their user experiences and remove user protections. This will likely make it more challenging for businesses—especially small ones—to reach their audiences as social media gradually becomes more inundated with this kind of content and more users abandon these platforms altogether.

We’re Here to Help Guide You Through Today’s Technology Challenges 

We’re here to do whatever we can to assist your business in its operations, from providing preventative maintenance to helping you acquire the hardware you need before it potentially becomes unattainable. Give us a call at (02) 8825-5555 today.