Owais Mohammed, Sales Director for Middle East, Africa, Turkey & Indian Subcontinent at Western Digital explains that the company is expanding high-capacity, high-speed storage solutions in the Middle East, targeting digital-first consumers and professionals with advanced HDDs, strong retail partnerships, and support for AI, IoT, and 5G trends.
How is Western Digital adapting its storage solutions to meet the growing demand for high-capacity and high-speed consumer data storage in the Middle East?
The demand for high-capacity storage is surging in the Middle East as consumers generate more digital content than ever. Western Digital is meeting this need head-on. We are currently offering the world’s highest storage capacity in a 2.5-inch portable HDD with up to 6 terabytes (TB) of storage, which is a major technological achievement in such a compact form factor. Furthermore, we just introduced our highest capacity 26TB G-DRIVE and G-RAID solutions for professional creatives.
This innovation reflects our broader commitment to pushing technical boundaries while making storage solutions more accessible. Behind this is our vertically integrated manufacturing approach, allowing us to control everything from head and media production to final assembly. This helps us deliver consistent quality, scale efficiently, and respond quickly to evolving consumer needs.
As storage demands grow, we’ll continue investing in R&D and product development to ensure our offerings remain future-ready, in capacity, performance, reliability and price point.
What role does Western Digital see emerging technologies like AI, IoT, and 5G playing in shaping future storage trends in the region?
AI, IoT, and 5G are creating a data surge and with it, higher storage demands than ever before. These technologies require storage solutions that balance capacity, cost, and energy efficiency. Western Digital’s HDDs play a crucial role by enabling cost-effective storage of massive raw datasets, training files for AI, and long-term archives.
In the Middle East, growing interest in smart infrastructure, connected devices, and AI applications is driving demand for scalable, reliable storage. We’re already seeing an uptick in multi-petabyte infrastructure needs as enterprises prepare for more data-heavy operations.
HDDs offer unmatched value for these use cases, and we’re continuing to evolve our offerings to support the region’s tech ambitions and help organizations manage, store, and access growing volumes of information efficiently.
Can you elaborate on your retail strategy across the Middle East, and how it’s evolving to reach today’s digital-first consumers?
Western Digital enjoys a strong brand presence across key retail and e-tail channels in the Middle East. Our retail strategy is focused on two priorities; one is enhancing partnerships with major outlets and the second is expanding our reach via top-tier e-commerce platforms.
We understand that today’s consumers shop across multiple touchpoints, and our goal is to meet them wherever they are, in-store or online. That means ensuring visibility, availability, and a seamless purchase experience.
We also invest in content and merchandising support to help our partners tell our product story clearly and effectively. Whether it’s drives for the average consumer, student, gamer, professional creative or business owner, our strategy ensures that customers have easy and clear access to our offerings, quality and reliability when purchasing through one of our authorised partners.
How is Western Digital addressing the increasing demand for portable storage among content creators, gamers, and remote workers in the region?
Content creators, gamers, and remote workers all need storage that’s reliable, and high capacity. Western Digital addresses this with purpose-built solutions like our 6TB 2.5” portable My Passport HDDs, the world’s highest-capacity drives in their category.
Celebrating the drive’s 20th anniversary, we have designed the MyPassport to go beyond storage. Features like backup software, password protection, and built-in 256-bit AES encryption offer peace of mind, especially when working across devices or on the move. The durable design ensures portability without compromising performance or safety.
As remote work and digital content creation continue to rise in the Middle East, we are committed to expanding our portable portfolio and offering users reliable, travel-friendly options that make storing, sharing, and protecting their files effortless.
What partnerships or distribution models are key to your retail growth in high-potential markets like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt?
Western Digital’s growth in the Middle East is supported by a strong network of authorized retail and distribution partners that give us premium visibility.
These partnerships help us stay close to consumers, ensuring our products are widely available, competitively positioned, and supported by strong in-market engagement. As demand grows, we are focused on deepening these collaborations and identifying new retail opportunities that align with our values and expand our footprint in high-potential markets.
How does Western Digital differentiate itself from competitors in the consumer retail storage space, especially with the rise of e-commerce?
Western Digital is one of the top-selling HDD brands across all major e-commerce platforms in the Middle East and that’s because we have built long-standing partnerships that ensure product visibility, availability, and brand credibility.
We work closely with online retailers to keep our products in front, backed by informative content and strong customer support. Our digital approach is simple, it is to give consumers all the information they need to make the right choice, and make sure that choice is seamless to access.
This, along with our reliable, high-performance products, makes Western Digital a brand that online shoppers in the region know and depend on. It’s not just about having great storage, it’s about being where the customer is and delivering a smooth, value-driven experience.
What are the key investment or expansion plans for Western Digital in the Middle East over the next 12–18 months, particularly in retail channels?
Over the next 12-18 months, we are focused on growing our retail presence and strengthening ties with existing partners. That means working more closely with retailers who share our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. We will continue to expand our product lineup, especially high-capacity and performance-oriented solutions to meet the needs of increasingly data-driven consumers. It’s all part of our plan to stay ahead of storage and data demand, grow with our retail partners, and ensure that Western Digital remains the go-to name for storage in the Middle East.
