TOSHIBA

Fueling the Enterprise Storage Business

SANTOSH VARGHESE, VICE PRESIDENT, TOSHIBA GULF, DELVES INTO THE CURRENT TRENDS IN THE ENTERPRISE STORAGE MARKET AND HOW THE FIRM AIMS TO BUILD AN EVEN STRONGER BUSINESS IN THE REGION THROUGH INNOVATIVE OFFERINGS AND CHANNEL PARTNERSHIPS.

“WE WILL CONTINUE TO CATER TO THE DEMANDS FROM THE MARKET THROUGH HIGH INVESTMENTS IN R&D AND FOCUS ON INNOVATIVE, HIGH QUALITY AND RELIABLE PRODUCTS.”

Can you elaborate on how Toshiba has grown its business over the past 12 months? What have been some market drivers? As the surge for data storage is increasing exponentially and is expected to reach 166 Zeta Bytes by 2025, there is a greater demand for high tech and quality as well as reliable storage products. In sync with the market demands, Toshiba is offering pioneering and superior products in the Data Storage segment. Over the past 12 months, we have had a tremendous growth mainly in the near line storage category. We have introduced several new offerings such as colour label products, higher capacity and storage based on applications like surveillance, gaming and NAS. Currently Toshiba enjoys 30% market share in the Client External HDD and 17% market share for Surveillance HDD. The gain in market share for Surveillance was achieved within 6 months of introducing our range of dedicated Surveillance products.

What have been the key trends in enterprise storage market within the region? The demand for higher capacities is the key trend in the enterprise segment. Also, we have observed that adoption of private cloud has picked up in the region, which is driving the need for high-capacity and mission-critical enterprise storage.

How do you see enterprise HDDs evolving in line with the increasing demands of the digital era? Enterprise HDD will always remain relevant, even as SSD is fast catching up. As the price and GB of SSDs are higher, HDD demand will continue. Enterprises are now using hybrid model of storage – frequently used data are stored in the SSD and non-frequently used data are stored in the HDD, thereby increasing the capacity demand for HDD. What is Toshiba’s focus at GITEX? Which products will the company be emphasizing on this year? At GITEX 2019, Toshiba’s focus will be on its range of Enterprise HDD and Surveillance HDD products. We will be showcasing the high capacity 16TB drives through our partners.

How has the market received the recently launched SMART app? How is it adding value to customer and partner businesses? Toshiba SMART APP is the first of its kind in the IT industry. Toshiba is the first vendor to launch an App for its channel partners as well as its customers. It’s a very comprehensive platform, which provides all the details of the products, sales tools and marketing collaterals. The demand from the channel has been excellent. In order to keep the engagement levels high, Toshiba will be launching various activities like Quiz competition and certifications, which will be rewarding for the users.

What do you believe are the current challenges that partners are grappling with when it comes to enterprise storage? I believe channel partners are continuing to struggle with Product positioning for various enterprise applications due to lack of product knowledge. With the Toshiba SMART App, this problem will be taken care off. Toshiba also conducts F2F product training events across the region so that our channel sales force is well ahead in their product knowledge.

How is Toshiba enabling and empowering its channel ecosystem to successfully take advantage of the market opportunities? Toshiba's sales strategy has been 100% channel led – we work with distributors and authorized channel inventory to deliver to end customers. We don’t believe in moving boxes from one warehouse to another, instead our primary focus is to enable partners. We have many ongoing activities that empower the channel ecosystem. These include regular training, Channel Health program – our award winning P4P rebate program, co-op marketing activities and sales lead generation activities among others.

Can you elaborate on channel initiatives planned for the upcoming quarters? Sales lead generation and channel training program will be our focus in the upcoming quarter.

How is ASBIS Middle East enriching your business in the region? ASBIS is one of the leading IT distributors in EMEA region, we utilize their experience and expertise in the Storage segment to develop the channel market and also expand our reach extensively.

Could you share what the market can expect from Toshiba in the coming months? Toshiba is always leading in technology and innovation. We will continue to cater to the demands from the market through high investments in R&D and focus on innovative, high quality and reliable products. We will be introducing new products and solutions very soon. We look forward to further growing the business together with our partners.

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