Western Digital continually redefines its approach to collaborating with partners

Khalid Wani  
Senior Director – Sales, India - Western Digital

Western Digital takes pride in running one of the industry's most robust and successful partner programs. The key to this is its clarity and a sharp focus on a two-way partnership, and on its mutual success. 

Partner programs hold an important role within organizations, and Western Digital acknowledges their strategic importance. We view our channel partners as essential assets, integral to our business strategy. They extend our market presence and contribute to mutual growth. Our programs foster a collaborative ecosystem, equipping our partners with the necessary resources, tools, and support, to effectively market and distribute our innovative solutions. By harnessing their market insights and expertise, we unlock new customer segments, enhance overall customer experiences, and tailor storage solutions meet the ever-evolving market needs.  

Western Digital takes pride in running one of the industry's most robust and successful partner programs. The key to this is our clarity and a sharp focus on a two-way partnership, and on our mutual success. We continually redefine our approach to collaborating with our partners, and the results are clearly visible across our partner network. While traditional communication methods often rely on email, we recognized the need for a more efficient approach in markets like India. To facilitate transparent and direct communication, we have embraced the WhatsApp Business platform within our "My WD" program. We also organize online and offline events, webinars, workshops and more to ensure that our communication remains efficient and aligned with our partners' expectations. 

Western Digital values its channel partners and offers a comprehensive reward and incentive policy to support and motivate them. These incentives include financial rewards for achieving or surpassing sales targets, deal registration programs to protect partners' investments in opportunities, and marketing development funds to aid in promoting Western Digital products. Training and certification programs enhance partners' knowledge and skills, and volume-based incentives, along with special programs for elite partners, are available to encourage higher sales volumes and exceptional performance.   

We measure the success of our partner programs by evaluating key performance indicators (KPIs) such as partner satisfaction, certification completion rates, cost savings, the quality of customer support, response times, and customer feedback. These metrics help assess the effectiveness of the programs in empowering partners, improving customer satisfaction, and contributing to the company's overall strategic goals.