The global shortage of SSDs, driven by NAND supply constraints and rapidly growing demand from AI data centres and cloud infrastructure, has created significant challenges for embedded and industrial system designers. Long lead times, price volatility, and frequent product lifecycle changes make it increasingly difficult for OEMs to rely solely on traditional SSD solutions.
The Current SSD Availability Crunch
The storage industry is experiencing a shortage primarily due to NAND flash supply constraints and surging demand from AI infrastructure.
- Demand for NAND flash is growing at ~40% annually, while supply is increasing only 14–17%, creating a supply gap.
- SSD prices have doubled in months, pushing system prices sharply higher.
- Major memory vendors are prioritizing AI data-centre storage and high-margin products, reducing supply for embedded and industrial markets.
- Industry reports indicate NAND supply could remain tight until 2027.
As a result, many embedded and industrial system designers face longer SSD lead times, higher prices and difficulty securing consistent supply for products with long life cycles.
Why eMMC supply is more stable than SSD NAND, even though both use NAND flash?
Both eMMC and SSDs use NAND flash, but their supply stability differs due to how they’re built, sold, and consumed. eMMC is more stable because it is a controlled, embedded, long-lifecycle product, whereas SSDs are market-driven, performance-driven, and highly volatile.
- eMMC are designed for embedded markets like automotive and industrial systems offering long lifecycle support (5–10+ years) with assured availability whereas SSDs (NVMe/SATA) are targeted at consumer and data centre markets, SSDs are driven by performance and capacity demands, resulting in shorter product lifecycles and supply that is more sensitive to market fluctuations.
- eMMC is a simple, self-contained storage solution with integrated NAND and controller, whereas SSDs are complex systems involving multiple components and vendors—making their supply chain more prone to variability and disruptions.
- NAND suppliers prioritize high-margin SSDs, causing price and configuration volatility during shortages, while eMMC—built on mature nodes with reserved capacity—remains relatively stable and insulated from market swings.
- SSD NAND relies on cutting-edge, high-density nodes that face intense demand from AI and hyperscale data centres, whereas eMMC uses mature, lower-density nodes with less competition, resulting in greater supply stability.
iWave’s innovative M.2 PCIe-to-eMMC module
To address this challenge, iWave offers an innovative M.2 PCIe-to-eMMC module that provides a flexible and reliable alternative to conventional SSD storage. This module bridges the high-speed PCI Express interface used by modern host processors with embedded Multimedia Card (eMMC) storage devices. This allows systems designed for PCIe-based storage to utilize eMMC flash devices instead of SSDs without requiring major hardware redesigns. Since eMMC integrates its own storage controller within the device, it eliminates dependence on separate SSD controllers—one of the key bottlenecks in the current SSD supply chain.
By enabling PCIe-based platforms to interface directly with eMMC storage, the iWave module provides system designers with greater flexibility in component selection. eMMC devices are widely available, cost-efficient, and commonly used in embedded, industrial, and consumer electronics, making them a stable alternative during periods of SSD supply disruption.
This architecture is particularly valuable for long-lifecycle embedded systems such as industrial computers, edge AI platforms, software-defined radio systems, and network appliances. In these applications, storage requirements often focus on reliability and consistent supply rather than the extreme performance offered by high-end NVMe SSDs. The PCIe-to-eMMC module allows designers to maintain PCIe-based system architectures while leveraging the stability and availability of eMMC storage.
Overview of the M.2 PCIe to eMMC Module
The M.2 PCIe to eMMC module is designed in the widely adopted M.2 2280 form factor, making it easy to integrate into systems that already support M.2 expansion slots. It converts the PCIe bus interface from the host system into an eMMC interface, enabling communication between a host processor and eMMC storage devices.
This bridging functionality is implemented using programmable logic, which allows the module to support flexible storage protocol implementations and customizations for various application requirements. The PCIe interface provides high throughput and low latency communication, making it suitable for demanding storage operations and validation environments.
Hardware Characteristics
The module is designed with a compact and robust hardware architecture suitable for embedded and industrial applications.
- Form Factor: 2 2280 (22 mm × 80 mm)
- Connector Type:2 Key-M
- Host Interface: PCIe Gen 2×2
- Storage Interface: eMMC 5.1
- Industrial Operating Range: Suitable for demanding environments
The compact M.2 form factor eliminates the need for additional cabling and simplifies installation into embedded systems or host PCs.
How the M.2 PCIe to eMMC Module Helps to address the SSD Supply Challenge?
The iWave M.2 PCIe to eMMC module addresses these challenges by enabling systems designed for PCIe storage to use eMMC flash devices instead of SSDs.
Enables Use of Widely Available eMMC Devices
eMMC devices are widely used in industrial, automotive, and consumer electronics, have more stable supply channels and are easier to qualify for long-life embedded systems as mentioned earlier.
With the iWave module, a system that expects PCIe storage can still use eMMC, avoiding the need for an SSD addressing the SSD NAND supply challenges.
Provides a PCIe-Compatible Storage Interface
Many modern platforms (x86, ARM, FPGA, AI accelerators) expose PCIe as the primary storage interface.
This allows designers to maintain the existing PCIe storage architecture and use eMMC instead of SSD without redesigning the host system.
Cost Optimization During Price Volatility
With SSD prices increasing due to NAND shortages and AI demand, using eMMC can provide a lower-cost storage option for moderate-performance workloads.
This is particularly useful for embedded computing and data logging applications where extreme NVMe SSD performance is not required.
Ideal for Embedded and Industrial Systems
Industrial products often require 10–15-year product lifecycles with Stable component availability and Controlled BOM costs. Using SSDs in these systems is risky because SSD models change frequently and supply is volatile.
The iWave module allows manufacturers to use long-lifecycle eMMC components, maintain storage compatibility through PCIe and reduce redesign cycles caused by SSD EOL.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the iWave M.2 PCIe-to-eMMC module helps organizations reduce supply chain risks, stabilize product bill-of-materials costs, and maintain production continuity during periods of SSD market volatility. By decoupling storage architecture from traditional SSD dependency, it provides a practical and forward-looking solution for modern embedded system design.
Looking for more insights? Contact us at mktg@iwave-global.com.
