Seagate Sees Rising Demands And Opportunity For Channel Partners As AI Expands

AI is showing up across nearly every part of the enterprise, driving massive data growth and reshaping how partners advise customers. Storage infrastructure is becoming a central focus in those conversations. CRNtv host Sydney Neely speaks with Seagate’s Melyssa Banda about what this means for the channel.

Sydney: Let’s start with the business challenges that channel partners face right now. What trends are you seeing in the market as a global leader in data storage?

Melyssa: First and foremost is the unprecedented amount of data growth and the challenges that come with that data growth. So, partners are really struggling to identify: “How do we help our customers solve those storage challenges as their data continues to grow? How do we help them future proof their business? How do we help them deal with complex compliance issues [and] data sovereignty issues?” There's a lot of nuances that come with the sheer amount of data growth being driven by AI.

Sydney: Data storage is at the epicenter of the AI conversation. So how is Seagate helping partners navigate these challenges to drive positive outcomes for their customers?

Melyssa: We're very focused on an edge-to-cloud portfolio. Seagate has a breadth of solutions that are available to partners so that they can have conversations with customers, from “Where is that data being generated?” to “How is it being stored [and] preserved long-term?” It's the breadth and the strength of our portfolio that gives our partners that distinguished advantage in overcoming a lot of those data challenges created by this AI demand.

Sydney: How can your partners differentiate these Seagate solutions to stand out in a competitive market?

Melyssa: The Seagate solutions are really built for competitive differentiation. We have a broad portfolio, including our systems enterprise business, which is really built for high density storage. It gives our partners the opportunity to rise to the occasion through that differentiation of a broad range of solutions to meet their customers' growing needs. From our 4U100 solutions to our 5U84 solutions on systems to our enterprise drives that are built for data center and hyperscalers, we continue to innovate. We're the innovation leader when it comes to aerial density and the next generation. So, when you partner with Seagate, you're really future-proofing your business and you're able to provide your customers with a differentiated solution long-term.

Sydney: What resources does Seagate provide to its channel partners to prepare them for these important customer conversations?

Melyssa: With our newly revamped partner program, we're providing a whole new range of partner training solution briefs. We're investing more in the channel than we've also historically done. In this era of AI and data explosion growth, we need to ensure our partners are fully equipped with those resources. So, we're doubling down in many parts of our business to focus on that enterprise growth. We make sure our partners have the assets, the skills and the training they need to go tackle these tough questions for their customers.

To learn more about the Seagate Partner Program, visit: seagate.com/partners