A little less than a year ago Western Digital announced plans to split its business into two: one would concentrate on hard disk drives, and another would get 3D NAND assets, including the production of memory and related products. Recently the company quietly split its websites: those who want to get an HDD should go to WD.com and those after flash storage should visit SanDisk.com, as noted in a Reddit post.
As a result of the split, all the company's hard drive products are now available at WD.com, including those that traditionally belonged to Western Digital's family of WD-branded devices as well as G-Technology's external HDDs that over time gained their SanDisk Professional badge. SanDisk, on the other hand, sells all types of 3D NAND flash-based products. We are talking about memory cards, USB drives, and products extending to enterprise-grade SSDs - even those that currently carry the WD trademark.
In addition to splitting product lines, Western Digital will also split support. Western Digital will keep supporting all HDDs, while SanDisk will keep supporting all NAND-based products.
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"As of today, we are operating two specialized websites: WesternDigital.com for all HDD and platform products and SanDisk.com for all flash products–including SSDs, memory cards, USB flash drives, and more," a statement by Western Digital reads. "In addition, we now have two specialized support websites. Western Digital Support will continue to support all HDDs and platform products while SanDisk Support will support all flash products from the Western Digital family of brands."
The formal split of Western Digital was set to be completed in the second half of 2024, so it will probably occur over the next several weeks. Since announcing the split in October 2023, Western Digital has made considerable headway, including establishing legal entities across 18 countries and preparing necessary financial structures, the company announced in March. Western Digital also indicated back then that regulatory filings were nearing completion. Once complete, both companies will operate as publicly traded entities with their own capital structures.
David Goeckeler, the current CEO, will lead the new NAND-focused company, possibly named SanDisk. Irving Tan, currently the executive vice president of global operations, will become the CEO of the standalone HDD company, which will continue to operate under the Western Digital brand.
The decision to divide the company stems from challenges in managing its diverse product lines and lagging growth in a highly competitive market. Western Digital had become a vertically integrated storage company after acquiring SanDisk and HGST but struggled to grow revenues, especially as demand for hard drives waned and the NAND market became more volatile. This separation is intended to improve operational focus and create two independent, more agile companies.
