Partner-led business

Khwaja says WD delivers the widest range of digital storage solutions.
Khwaja says WD delivers the widest range of digital storage solutions.

Saifuddin Khwaja, sales director, South Asia, Middle East and Africa at WD, outlines how the company is helping the channel with partner-led initiatives.

What’s been Western Digital’s focus and business strategy for the Middle East channel this year?

WD delivers the widest range of digital storage solutions towards consumers across various channels. To keep up with the rapid pace of technological advances, WD aims to keep introducing the latest innovations in storage technology. Our current distribution network in the region is extensive. Our strategy for the Middle East is to increase our share of the lucrative hard drive market and to stay ahead of market trends and our customers’ varied needs.

How is Western Digital helping its channel partners to take advantage of the improving business climate in the Middle East?

WD believes in supporting its channel partners in all areas. One way to achieve this is by offering them extensive training. This way, the partner is made aware of the value of the product and can then deliver based on specific customer needs. This is highly beneficial to the partner in terms of profitability as they don’t have to compete on price, but instead understand the product’s value.

Trading in fake components remains a thorny issue in the components channel. How is Western Digital working with authorised channels to limit the scourge in the Middle East?

To address the issue of fake components, WD is taking all the necessary measures with their channel partners to ensure that counterfeiters do not succeed in compromising WD’s components. We have authorised dealers and channel partners in the Middle East to educate our customers through various marketing strategies, in order to avoid the emergence of any counterfeit products.

How are your partners benefiting from the business gains the company is making in the components market?

Since the launch of myWD in 2012, the programme has grown to over 25,000 channel partners worldwide, spanning 190 countries and 17 languages. With the re-launch of myWD, WD is proving its commitment to invest in the channel by presenting our valued partners opportunities to build their business in the growing storage applications of NAS, surveillance and data centres.

What role are your distribution partners and reseller partners expected to play in the components space?

In this fast-paced era, distribution channels play a vital role in helping a business to grow. Reliable distribution partners like Logicom help in stocking in-country, invoicing in local currency and helping the partners have the fastest possible access to our solutions. Such partners act as ambassadors for WD, which helps us in leading the storage technology race.

What can your channel partners expect from Western Digital going forward in the Middle East?

WD’s channel partners expect WD to keep introducing lucrative offers, product training sessions, discounts, a wide range of offers and continuous support. Partners are enthusiastic about the extensive training programs WD has introduced across the channel. They also expect WD to keep introducing programs like myWD, which offers a wide range of features. These programs have helped the channel in achieving better results in the Middle East.

What impact will the Internet of Things (IoT) have on the way channel partners do their business?

The Internet of Things (IoT) has definitely had an impact on the business, especially channel partners. With increased storage and more connectivity, more data is expected to drive, which entails an increase in the requirement for storage. WD predicts that there is massive room for improvement in storage technology which will drive the channel partner business on a larger scale. Demand will keep growing for more accessible and reliable data storage solutions, leaving a huge gap to be filled by the storage industry.

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