T3 India

Western Digital

Understanding Data Storage Habits of PC Users in India

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Western Digital today released the findings of a new study titled ‘Understanding Data Storage Habits of PC Users in India’ drawing attention to the data storage and backup habits of users in the country. The study, commissioned by Western Digital and conducted by Feedback Advisory, found that in India, only 31% of the respondents take data backups monthly.  As per the study, 52% of the respondents also confirmed having lost their data, at least once, in their lifetime.

The study highlights that while awareness about data backup benefits has risen over time, however, in India, only 32% take a full backup of their data1. Upon delving deeper to understand the reluctance to backup and risk losing precious data and memories, the study reveals that respondents cited reasons such as the cost of a backup device, fear of losing the backup device, inability to find time to back up, finding it a cumbersome process, and finding it difficult to carry a backup device with them.

Sharing his views on the findings, Mr. Jaganathan Chelliah, Senior Director, Marketing, India, Middle East, and Africa, Western Digital, said, “While there is high inertia among consumers to back up their data, we are seeing a slow yet steady mindset change. Consumers are becoming more aware of the importance of their data and looking for effortless backup solutions. We are pleased to play a key role in helping consumers understand the importance of data.”

Mr. Khalid Wani, Senior Director, Sales India, Western Digital, said, “At Western Digital, we are very focused on understanding consumer challenges and offering solutions that can help them overcome those and live a truly digital life. The study helps us understand the reasons for consumers not taking backup and offer them effortless backup solutions, so they can continue to make and save their memories every moment.”

The study also reveals that most users have consumed up to 75% of the internal memory of their devices, such as laptops, smartphones, PC, tablets, and digital cameras. To understand the kind of devices consumers, utilize, the study finds that in India, 48% of users store data on external hard drives (HDDs), 39% use portable solid-state drives (SSDs), and 36% prefer cloud services. However, in India, 66% of the respondents said that they would prefer an external HDD to back up their data in the future while 41% would prefer an external or portable SSD, underscoring the growing preference to store devices on personal portable devices. Moreover, with security being one of the key concerns, 69% of users are also willing to pay a premium for hardware encryption

 With World Backup Day taking place today, Western Digital is encouraging users to back up their data. The company provides effortless backup solutions ranging from external HDDs, external SSDs, Dual Drive devices (pen drives for mobile), and many more from the popular SanDisk and WD brands to empower consumers to create what’s next.

WESTERN DIGITAL HOSTS WD_BLACK CUP Season 4

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Western Digital is hosting the WD_BLACK Cup Season 4, pitting some of the top gamers in India against each other in the new edition of the sought-after esports tournament. The WD_BLACK Cup aims to empower gamers and esports enthusiasts across India by offering them a platform to display their expertise, test their skills and learn new gaming techniques. The Cup also rewards the winners handsomely, with a total prize pool of about INR 13 lakhs. 

The tournament brings together PC and mobile professional esports athletes, popular streamers, and gaming content creators. This season kicked off on the 1st of this month and has NVIDIA and Amazon as sponsors.  

Commenting on the tournament Mr. Jaganathan Chelliah, Senior Director – Marketing, India, Middle East & TIA, Western Digital, said, “WD_BLACK Cup has become a hugely popular esports event in India which many gamers look forward to participating in. Through this initiative, we endeavor to promote esports by nurturing and recognizing gaming talent in the country.”

As per reports, the Indian esports market is expected to grow at 46% CAGR to grow over fourfold from INR 2.5 billion in 2021 to INR 11 billion by 20251. Western Digital is playing a pivotal role by working with various stakeholders in the ecosystem to promote professional gaming and esports in India. The WD_BLACK Cup is among the many initiatives by the company for helping the gaming ecosystem develop and mature rapidly.  

One of the key highlights of the WD_BLACK Cup season 4 is the LAN-based physical event as the grand finale on the 18th of February at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan. It will be held at the India Gaming Show (IGS).

Level Up Your Game with New Western Digital NVMe SSDs

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Western Digital has released its latest addition to the WD_Black portfolio, the WD_Black SN770 NVMe SSD. The new drive fuels gaming PC rigs with faster speeds and longer gameplay, offering up to 40 percent faster performance and up to 20 percent more power efficiency at maximum speed over the previous generation.

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The WD_Black SN770 NVMe SSD features a PCIe Gen4 interface that delivers ultra-fast read speeds of up to 5,150MB/s (1TB and 2TB models only) to fuel in-game responsiveness, minimise stutter, and provide smooth streaming for a performance boost that gamers can see and feel. The drive is an accessible option for gamers looking to transition to Gen4 while also being backwards compatible for those with Gen3 systems. Purpose-built for PC gaming, it is an ideal solution for enthusiast PC builders and long-time gamers looking to elevate their gaming experience.

Khalid Wani, Senior Director – Sales, India, Western Digital, said, “Our WD_Black portfolio provides a variety of innovative, high-performance solutions that are purpose-built for every type of gamer, at every level. Today we have introduced SN770 NVMe SSD, which is designed for PC gaming with blazing fast speeds and additional storage for quick game load times, smooth streaming, and minimal in-game stutter.”

“As more gamers look to make the transition to PCIe Gen4 systems, we believe it is important for the PC gaming community to have a variety of reliable, high-performing solutions to level up their gaming rigs,” said Jaganathan Chelliah, Senior Director – Marketing, India and Middle East and Africa, Western Digital. “The new WD_Black SN770 NVMe SSD makes Gen4 technology more accessible, helping more gamers get into the game faster and improve their overall gaming experience.” He added.

The WD_Black SN770 NVMe SSD is available in capacities ranging from 250GB up to 2TB, starting at an SRP of ₹4,749.

Western Digital hosts second edition of the WD_BLACK Cup Esports Tournament for gamers across South Asia

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Earlier this year, Western Digital (WD) hosted the first edition of the WD_Black Cup in India, and now, WD is ack with Season 2 of the esports tournament, in association with AMD Ryzen. This 19-day long gaming marathon – WD_Black Cup Season 2.

This season, the tournament will have a prize pool of $20,000, a longer duration, and there is one more game added to the tournament. The WD_Black Cup S2 will feature some of the most seasoned gaming influencers and esports players as they battle for top honours across 3 tracks:

  • WD_Black Cup Open Qualifiers featuring Valorant and League of Legends, and
  • The Invitational track featuring Battlegrounds Mobile India

This tournament will be held across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives, with an expected viewership of over 8 million. The tournament began on November 20th with the first track, WD_Black Cup S2 Valorant Qualifiers, open to 200 teams. This track was spread across 9 days and will be broadcasted live with single elimination open qualifiers filtered down to top 8 teams, with the total prize pool being $10,000.

The second track, WD_Black Cup S2 League of Legends open commenced from 6th December with qualifiers, and the play-offs started from 10th December with the final being held tomorrow, December 15th, which will also be streamed live on the Skyesports WD Black Cup S2 streaming channel. This track featured 32 teams.

The third track, BGMI Invitational track, was a 4-day long marathon that ran from 6-9th December, and it hosted 18 teams, featuring a few top influencers from India, including Soul Esports and Godlike, with the prize pool being of $7,000.

“The inclusion of esports in the medals category at the Asian games is attracting a lot of young talent to gaming in India. Western Digital is enabling gamers to be battle-ready with or by using our innovative WD_BLACK range of gaming SSDs. The WD_BLACK Cup is our flagship gaming tournament designed to motivate, recognize and reward these budding gamers in India and South Asia, and we are thrilled to have AMD as our partner in this exciting initiative”, said Mr. Jaganathan Chelliah, Senior Director, India, ME &Africa, Western Digital.

For more information, please visit this page.

Western Digital unveils redesigned hard disks

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Western Digital updated its existing My Passport and My Book range with the introduction of refreshed models compatible with USB 3.0 and Apple Time Machine.

My Passport portable drives come in a reimagined design with a textured bottom that fits in the palm of the hand. They come in 4 colours – Black, Red, White and Blue. It is available in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities. My Book supports upto 8TB capacity. Both drives come with Password protection with 256-bit AES hardware encryption and automatic backup with included WD Backup software.

My Book (3TB) is priced at Rs.13,050 while My Passport (1TB) costs Rs.7,980. Both drives come with a 2 year limited warranty and are available at select retailers and distributors across the country.