According to DigiTimes, the currently robust global DRAM market faces the threat of oversupply in 2019, the result of recent capacity ramps by Micron and upcoming commercial production by China-based Fujian Jin Hua Integrated Circuit and Innotron Memory.

The news site reports both Samsung and SK Hynix believe the current state of the memory industry will be over by end 2018. The two companies have both previously announced plans to ramp up memory chip capacity, but aggressive moves by rivals are leading to hesitation. After all, according to IHS Markit, Samsung memory market share has been falling since the 50.2% high of Q3 2016 (standing at 44.4% in Q1 2018), while Micron share is up from 20% in Q4 2016 to 23.1% in Q1 2018.

The EMEA traditional PC market (desktops, notebooks and workstations) posts the strongest growth since 2014 in Q2 2018, IDC reports, with shipments reaching 16.6 million units, a 4.1% Y-o-Y increase.

The growth essentially comes from commercial space, with shipments growing by 8.6% Y-o-Y through the rollout of anticipated device renewals. On the hand consumer space remains in decline (-0.8% Y-o-Y), even if said decline is softer than usual thanks to a combination of back-to-school sales and ongoing gaming PC demand.

According to Gartner, many organisations are still not compliant with GDPR legislation, even if it has been in force since May 2018-- the result of a lack of properly audited data handling within supplier relationships.

Thus, sourcing and vendor management (SVM) leaders should review all IT contracts to minimise potential financial and reputation risks.

"SVM leaders are the first line of defense for organizations whose partners and suppliers process the data of EU residents on their behalf," the analyst says. "If you don't have clarity on your organization's role with regards to personal data handling, you have to urgently address this."

According to Gartner global device-- PCs, tablets and mobile phones-- shipments are set to total 2.28 billion in 2018, an increase of just 0.9%, with PC and tablet shipments dropping by -1.2% and mobile phones growing by 1.4%.

"The PC market is still hindered by the undersupply of the DRAM market for all of 2018, due to the lack of new wafer capacity coming online. As a result, PC vendors will continue to increase their prices throughout 2018," the analyst points out. "Larger screens and more graphic boards also mean rising costs, adding to the bill of hardware materials for businesses and household buyers."