Storage technology maker WD, a Western Digital company, has named Sahara Computers as its official South African distributor for internal and external hard drives, as well as storage devices.

Sahara is a technology distributor in South Africa with operations in all of the country’s nine provinces and a footprint that extends into the South African Development Community, says WD in a statement.

The partnership is planned to enable both companies to expand their market reach.

Following the WD agreement, Sahara is also expected to have access to a global support network, extending WD service to its resellers through the myWD channel programme.

“For the past few years Sahara has been a sub-distributor for a number of hard disk brands,” says Stephan Nel, executive director at Sahara.

“However, we wanted to increase our focus and secure official distribution rights,” Nel added.

“Sahara is a unique distributor that is always looking to create new markets and market segments. They not only service the traditional IT retail market, but also other retailers such as furniture chains and home stores. This gives WD new avenues and channels to explore and enables us to reach a far wider market,” says Anamika Budree, WD’s country manager for branded products in South Africa.

Moreover, Sahara is also expected to use WD hard drives in its own brand of Sahara manufactured PCs.