Today marks a new milestone for Western Digital – with our company separation now complete, we are once again fully focused on our pioneering hard disk drive (HDD) business. Our rich history of delivering top-notch HDD innovation has defined us for decades, and I am excited for us to further deepen our commitment to delivering the best storage capabilities to our customers going forward.
Looking ahead, we see massive opportunity. As AI accelerates and impacts industries around the world, and as companies generate and store more data, HDD exabyte shipments are expected to increase. In addition, much of the data stored by cloud service providers, such as native cloud application data, AI data lakes, media, and machine learning data, runs on HDDs.
So what does that mean for Western Digital? It means we are ready. Our relentless focus on our customers, our leadership in product and technology development, our operational excellence, and our committed leadership and teams are what set us apart, and what will enable us to deliver the best storage technology going forward.
Everything we do starts with our customers – our deep legacy in HDD technology makes us the trusted partner for the world’s largest hyperscalers, cloud service providers, and OEMs that need the most cutting-edge HDD technology to grow their businesses. Our consultative approach and robust portfolio give our customers the proper perspective and confidence they need on what’s coming, and what to plan for, to ensure business success.
It’s also our trusted relationships that drive the future of creating storage solutions at scale. Our differentiated portfolio of scalable capacity ensures that our customers have expanding capacity points to achieve maximum value today, particularly as the industry moves to HAMR technology. This is how we ship millions of industry-leading ePMR and UltraSMR HDDs today, while simultaneously testing our HAMR technology with two hyperscale customers. Our ultimate plan is to deliver HAMR when it reaches economic crossover for everyone. Beyond HDD, our teams are exploring new growth opportunities that leverage our core capabilities in magnetics and materials science, and with their dedication, the possibilities for future applications of our technologies are truly endless.
Our expertise extends as well to our world-class operational capabilities – from in-house vertical integration across head, media, and HDD assembly, to disciplined capacity management, and a strong commitment to quality, our operational excellence enables us to differentiate and deliver consistently, at scale. We are also a company that has consistently focused on ethical business practices, sustainability, and maintaining good governance, and that strong commitment will not abate.
Of course, all that we do is powered by our people – over 40,000 dedicated employees around the world, located in 22 different countries, all of whom wake up every day thinking about how they can help our customers meet their goals. From our incredible engineers, who spend their time designing, testing, and exploring how we can push boundaries with HDD technology, to our factory workers, who are dedicated to building the best HDD products, our workforce is one that has a singular focus – to deliver the best.
I personally feel deeply inspired when I think about what is possible with our technology going forward. As someone trained as a mechanical engineer, I too enjoy the challenge of thinking through what a customer needs, and how to build a product to meet that requirement.
So I feel incredibly lucky to have the chance to lead the team at Western Digital, with a reinvigorated focus on HDD technology, and united in delivering the best storage capabilities. We are ready to meet the moment, and help unleash the power and value of data for our customers.
Our industry-defining journey is over 50 years old, and continuing — join us as we carve the path to the future. We’re excited to see what we will achieve in the decades to come.
–Irving Tan, CEO
