Western Digital starts to make an exit from Storage Systems as it sells off the IntelliFlash business to artificial intelligence (AI) and multi-cloud management vendor DDN. The financial details of the deal are not available.
The sale follows an expansion of a partnership between the two companies, one seeing DDN increase the purchase of WD HDD and SSD devices. It is also the first step of the WD "strategic intention" to exit Storage Systems, which consists of the IntelliFlash and ActiveScale businesses. The company is currently looking for a willing buyer for ActiveScale, an action allowing to focus its Datacentre Systems portfolio around the core Storage Platforms business, which includes the OpenFlex platform and fabric-attached storage technologies.
While lucrative, the storage systems market is a fairly competitive one. The IntelliFlash portfolio competes with similar offerings from the likes of Dell EMC, HPE, IBM, NetApp and Hitachi, and while WD supplies products to many storage systems developers it certainly does not appreciate the competition.
"As we look to the future, scaling and accelerating growth opportunities for IntelliFlash and ActiveScale will require additional management focus and investment to ensure long-term success," WD adds. "By refocusing our Data Center Systems resources on our Storage Platforms business, we are confident that the Western Digital portfolio will be better positioned to capture significant opportunities ahead and drive long-term value creation."
Go Western Digital Announces Sale of IntelliFlash Business to DDN and Intention to Exit Storage Systems
