Toshiba Gulf FZE Unveils Revolutionary Storage Solutions in Uganda

On Tuesday, Toshiba Gulf FZE held a media briefing at the Kampala Serena Hotel to unveil its revolutionary storage solutions in Uganda under the initiative “Build Your Own Data Centre [BYODC]” — aiming to empower enterprises to build their own data center infrastructure. Mr. Santosh Varghese, Vice President of Toshiba Gulf FZE told journalists “This is the best time to unveil these products in the Ugandan market because of the openings of data centers in Uganda.”

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.

While unveiling the ambitious “Build Your Own Data Centre [BYODC]” initiative for Uganda Market, Varghese said 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.

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.”

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, Solid State Drives (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 BYODC initiative has been launched in Kenya, South Africa, and now in Uganda — with plans of expanding to other countries across Africa.

The storage solutions (HDDs) that were launched are S300 & S300 Pro (Purposely for Surveillance), Naas System (N300), and the MG/AL Series (Purposely for enterprises).

Toshiba has implemented several initiatives 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.

In the face of the ongoing global data explosion, data storage remains a paramount concern for businesses. Varghese 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.

“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 said.

As businesses worldwide reassess their data storage strategies, Toshiba’s 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.