As the ever-changing technology landscape continues to evolve, companies are confronted with a crucial decision: whether to migrate entirely to the cloud or to maintain on-premises data centers. While the trend toward cloud adoption is on the upswing, many enterprises are discovering the value of striking a balance between the two—a strategy commonly referred to as the hybrid approach.
Santosh Varghese, Vice President of Toshiba Gulf FZE, recently unveiled the ambitious “Build Your Own Data Centre [BYODC]” initiative. The initiative’s primary objective is to educate and empower channel partners, including System Integrators, VARs, VADs, and enterprise clients, to enhance their business-critical enterprise server storage systems and cloud storage capabilities, all while harnessing the power of high-capacity hard drives.
Addressing channel partners in Kenya, Varghese emphasized the importance of establishing one’s data centers, stating, “We want the data storage channel ecosystem to be well-informed about the storage backup options companies need. While many companies still resort to tape as a storage backup solution, hard drives remain the preferred choice due to their cost-effectiveness per gigabyte compared to SSDs.” He further added.
As of 2021, approximately 63% of global data storage still relies on traditional hard disk drives [HDDs]. However, the landscape is evolving, and by 2025, SSDs are projected to occupy a 16% share of the data storage market, with NAND accounting for 10%. Nevertheless, HDDs will continue to dominate with a majority share of 58%. Looking ahead to 2030, it is estimated that HDDs will still constitute 48% of total data storage, while SSDs will expand to 29%, and NAND will make up 12%.
The leader of Toshiba highlighted several initiatives that have been implemented across the region to raise awareness and provide training opportunities. These initiatives aim to equip sales and pre-sales teams belonging to system integrators and enterprises with comprehensive knowledge of enterprise-level storage, particularly when it comes to high-capacity, purpose-built hard drives.
“We believe that a well-informed channel and business entities can better address specific market requirements, such as surveillance, backup, and big data storage, which will ultimately drive market growth,” he added.
In the face of the ongoing global data explosion, data storage remains a paramount concern for businesses. He stressed the pivotal role that storage plays in today’s business landscape, emphasizing that the market has evolved significantly over the past few years in terms of its understanding of the need to invest in the right type of storage solutions.
As businesses worldwide reassess their data storage strategies, Toshiba’s “Build Your Own Data Centre [BYODC]” initiative offers invaluable insights and cost-effective solutions aligned with the ever-evolving storage landscape. Through education and collaboration with channel partners and enterprises, the initiative seeks to equip businesses with the tools they require to adapt to a data-driven future while optimizing both costs and performance.
