Is this the end of WD as an SSD brand? Sandisk takes over SSD, memory cards and USB flash drives from Western Digital as company cements split

After Western Digital announced plans to separate its HDD and flash businesses back in 2023, that plan now appears to have come to fruition, with the storage giant dividing its company into two distinct brands.

Despite knowing the move was coming, the timing is interesting, as WD only recently released an 8TB SSD as part of its WD Black SN850X series, joining the existing 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB models in the range.

In an announcement, the company explains to customers, “We are now operating as two specialized websites: WesternDigital.com for HDDs and platforms, and SanDisk.com for flash technology, including SSDs, memory cards, USB flash drives, and more.”

What does it mean for buyers?

The company added its creation of separate websites is designed to, “better position each franchise to execute innovative technology and product development, capitalize on unique growth opportunities, extend respective market leadership positions, and operate more efficiently with distinct capital structures.”

Back in March 2024, Western Digital supplied additional information on the reason for the split, which essentially boils down to "creating shareholder value and driving long-term success for its businesses.”

David Goeckeler, CEO of Western Digital, said at the time that the split was “an extremely complex transaction that incorporates over a dozen countries and spans data storage technology brands for consumers, professional content creators, the world’s leading device OEMs, and the largest cloud providers.”

So now that the division is complete, what will it mean for customers? The company says, “On WesternDigital.com, you can shop for all HDD and platform products from the following brands: Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK, and SanDisk Professional. On SanDisk.com, you can shop for all flash products, such as SSDs, memory cards, and USB flash drives from the following brands: Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK, SanDisk, and SanDisk Professional.”

There will, of course, be repercussions for customers. If you have a discount code from Western Digital, you’ll only be able to use it to buy products on the WD site. The reverse is true for customers with SanDisk codes.

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