With 150 years of legacy and a strong focus on sustainability, Toshiba accelerates growth in the UAE and Saudi Arabia by delivering reliable, high-capacity, and energy-efficient storage solutions.
The Middle East and Africa are advancing ambitious digital transformation agendas, and the demand for reliable, energy-efficient, and high-capacity storage is accelerating in parallel. Toshiba, with 150 years of corporate history and five decades of leadership in the storage business, is positioning itself to support this growth with a comprehensive portfolio spanning personal storage (including NAS), surveillance solutions, and enterprise-class capacity for cloud data centres and hyperscalers.
Commitment to sustainability, reliability, and long-term partnerships defines the company’s regional strategy. Senior executives – Peter Lieberwirth, President of Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH; Larry Martinez-Palomo, Vice President and Head of EMEA Storage Products Division; Daisuke Hara, General ManagerAssistant Vice President, EMEA Storage Products Business MarketingDivision; and Jeff Briggs, General Manager – Distribution Sales, EMEA Storage Products Division — underline in an interview with Sandhya D’Mello, Technology Editor, CPI Media Group on how Toshiba’s pioneering technologies, strong channel ecosystem, and focus on reducing cost per terabyte position the company as a catalyst for digital progress in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the wider MENA region.
Peter Lieberwirth, President of Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH, emphasises that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are setting the pace for digital growth in the region, and Toshiba’s role is to act as a catalyst in this transformation through flexibility, openness, and enduring partnerships.
The company’s 150-year corporate history and more than 50 years of storage expertise form the foundation of this vision, rooted in addressing society’s evolving challenges – from the first electric bulbs in Japan to today’s imperative of managing vast volumes of data efficiently and sustainably.
“Our vision is to make it possible for humanity to preserve and utilise data efficiently, while reducing energy consumption. Storage must deliver the highest capacities with the lowest power usage,” said Lieberwirth.
Reliability and quality remain Toshiba’s top priorities, with sustainability embedded in the design of products that minimise replacement needs and reduce energy consumption. This approach is reflected in the company’s roadmap towards delivering drives of 30–40 terabytes, advancing beyond the current 24TB models to meet the demands of big data and AI-driven innovation.
Lieberwirth points out that the MEA region, with its ambitious population and robust investments, represents a dynamic growth opportunity for Toshiba’s storage business. He also highlights the UAE’s digital-first strategy as a benchmark for progress, describing it as a bold and necessary move that will drive development across sectors and set the tone for future growth.
“The MEA region is very dynamic, with a young, ambitious population and significant investments driving growth. This creates excellent opportunities for us to expand our storage business and contribute to the region’s digital transformation. The UAE has set the right tone. The young, competitive population will fuel strong growth and development, and the digital-first vision will drive progress across all sectors,” said Lieberwirth.
Building on this vision, Larry Martinez-Palomo, Vice President and Head of Toshiba’s EMEA Storage Products Division, explains that the company’s mission is clear: “We preserve the world’s data.” He highlights how this strategy is executed across four key segments – personal storage, where external hard drives and NAS systems serve home and small business users; surveillance storage, with specialised drives created in partnership with camera and recorder manufacturers; and enterprise storage, delivered through collaborations with hyperscale data centres, global system vendors, and local integrators. Affordability is another cornerstone of the approach, as Martinez-Palomo stresses: “Each generation reduces cost per terabyte. Compared with SSDs, HDDs still provide the most cost-effective solution for large-scale storage.”
In an increasingly standardised and competitive market, Toshiba sets itself apart by combining innovation with value-added services. “Differentiation is challenging, but we aim to lead through innovation,” he notes, pointing to the company’s external drive compatible across PC, Mac, iOS, and Android as a unique example. He also emphasises the importance of long-term support for partners, adding: “We add value through services such as our HDD Innovation Lab in Düsseldorf, where partners and data centres can remotely test compatibility and reliability of configurations.”
Regional success is also built on a strong channel ecosystem, something Jeff Briggs, General Manager – Distribution Sales, EMEA Storage Products Division, SPD, views as a cornerstone of Toshiba’s growth. “Distribution is central—we remain 100% indirect for our channel business. We prioritise strong relationships with distributors, embedding our mission ‘Committed to people, committed to the future,’” he explains.
The handover of MEA operations to TOSH NXT TECH Ventures has strengthened this approach, ensuring continuity and stability in local markets. “Their strong local knowledge ensures we remain close to customers, while European support services like our HDD Innovation Lab and marketing add further value,” he adds.
Looking ahead, Briggs highlights a robust roadmap, pointing to near-term advancements in 30TB HDDs powered by HAMR technology. “Coupled with our customer-focused approach and strong distributor relationships, we are confident of gaining share in enterprise and AI-driven storage,” he affirms.
Technology innovation remains equally critical, with Daisuke Hara, General Manager, Assistant Vice President, of EMEA Storage Products Business Marketing, emphasising how Toshiba is aligning its portfolio with MEA priorities. “We are about to launch some new products for the surveillance market designed for higher durability and enterprise-class reliability, aligned with regional smart city initiatives and government projects,” he explains.
Hara also notes how AI is transforming Toshiba’s operations internally: “AI shortens development cycles and improves manufacturing by detecting failures early. This reduces waste and enhances energy efficiency in our production processes.” With the rapid pace of development in markets such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, surveillance storage is becoming indispensable.
“Surveillance storage is critical in supporting smart city and government initiatives. We are focusing on growth in markets like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where demand for secure, reliable storage is rising rapidly,” Hara concludes.