As the technology landscape evolves each day, companies are faced with the critical decision of whether to migrate entirely to the cloud or continue maintaining on-premises data centers. While cloud adoption is on the rise, many enterprises are finding value in balancing the two through a strategy known as a hybrid approach.
Toshiba Gulf FZE, Vice President, Santosh Varghese, said the firm recently launched its ambitious “Build Your Own Data Centre (BYODC)” initiative to educate and empower channel partners, including System Integrators, VARs, VADs, and enterprise clients enhance their business-critical enterprise server storage systems and cloud storage capabilities while leveraging high-capacity hard drives.
Varghese, while addressing channel partners in Kenya, underscored the importance of setting up its data centers, stating, “We want the data storage channel ecosystem to be aware of the kinds of storage backup companies need. We see many companies still using tape as a storage backup option, but a hard drive is the first choice for storage because the cost per GB is still very low compared to SSDs.” He added.
As of 2021, approximately 63% of data storage worldwide still relies on traditional hard disk drives (HDDs). However, the landscape is evolving, and by 2025, SSDs are expected to claim a 16% share of data storage, with NAND making up 10%. Nonetheless, HDDs will continue to hold the majority share at 58%. By 2030, it’s projected that HDDs will still account for 48% of total data storage, while SSDs will grow to 29%, and NAND will comprise 12%.
The Toshiba boss said several initiatives have been put in place across the region to raise awareness and provide training opportunities to equip sales and pre-sales teams belonging to system integrators and enterprises with in-depth knowledge about enterprise-level storage, especially about high-capacity, purpose-built hard drives.
“We believe that an educated channel and business entities can better address specific market requirements, such as surveillance, backup, and big data storage which will enhance market growth”, he added.
With the global data explosion showing no signs of slowing down, data storage remains a critical concern for businesses. He emphasized the pivotal role storage plays in today’s business landscape, adding that the market had matured quite a bit in the past couple of years in terms of their appreciation of the need to invest in the right kind of storage.
As businesses worldwide reevaluate their data storage strategies, Toshiba’s “Build Your Own Data Centre(BYODC)” initiative offers valuable insights and cost-effective solutions that align with the evolving storage landscape. Through education and partnership with channels and enterprises, it aims to equip businesses with the tools they need to adapt to a data-driven future while optimizing costs and performance.
