New Rochester, Minn. Facility Accelerates Qualification of Next-Generation High-Capacity HDDs, Enabling Customers to Quickly Deploy Maximum Storage Density with Unmatched Economics at Scale

Western Digital (Nasdaq: WDC), the backbone of the AI-driven data economy, today announced the opening of its expanded System Integration and Test (SIT) Lab, a state-of-the-art 25,600 square foot facility designed to accelerate customer success and unlock faster time to value. As AI applications drive unprecedented storage demands, the new lab directly addresses what customers need most: faster, more predictable qualification of Western Digital’s reliable high-capacity HDDs.

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Western Digital, System Integration and Test (SIT) Lab, Rochester, Minnesota

With strong demand for Western Digital’s products, this strategic investment is part of the company's commitment to customer-first priorities. In addition to providing research, development and global operations, the facility's mini data center environment enables real-world testing and validation, ensuring customers receive advanced storage solutions precisely when they need them.

Solving Critical Customer Challenges

Western Digital’s SIT Lab serves as a massive, dedicated collaboration hub where the company’s engineers work alongside key customers throughout every stage of the product lifecycle, including development, qualification, production ramp and end-of-life. This customer-centric approach ensures that the company’s storage solutions exceed the highest standards of performance and reliability across a diverse set of AI and cloud workloads.

“The AI revolution has made one thing clear: storage is the foundation of the AI data-driven economy — and HDDs remain its backbone. With nearly 80% of cloud data stored on HDDs, they are critical for enabling the collection, preparation, retention and long-term accessibility of data. By delivering the best storage economics at scale, HDDs make the AI era possible,” said Ahmed Shihab, Chief Product Officer at Western Digital. “But our customers need more than just reliable storage — they need a trusted partner that innovates alongside them. This lab is a testament to our commitment to co-developing the technologies that will power AI and cloud infrastructure today and tomorrow.”

Comprehensive Customer Support Ecosystem

The Rochester facility, which includes expanded areas for testing, labs and dedicated customer spaces, seamlessly integrates with Western Digital's global facility network, enabling cross-regional collaboration while providing localized, responsive customer support. Its global SIT lab network has multiple sites close to its customers in the United States and across Asia, serving more than 2,000 customer systems. It provides comprehensive support spanning:

• Product development planning and staging
• New product testing and validation, including software, electrical, mechanical, environmental and reliability
• Product qualification and customer engagement
• Ongoing engineering support throughout product lifecycles

Community Investment and Future Innovation

Beyond customer collaboration, the Rochester SIT Lab represents Western Digital's ongoing 40+ years of investment and the cultivation of next-generation engineering talent in the local community. The facility reinforces the company's role as a committed community partner while building the workforce needed to drive continued storage innovation.

Blog: WD’s Global SIT Lab Expansion to Advance Data Storage for the AI Era

About Western Digital

At Western Digital, our vision is to unleash the power and value of data. For decades, we have been at the forefront of storage innovation, which fuels our mission to be the market leader in data storage, delivering solutions for now and the future. We are committed to providing scalable, sustainable technology for the world’s hyperscalers, enterprises, and cloud providers, and delivering cutting-edge innovation that will drive the next generation of AI-driven data workloads. All that we do is powered by our people, who are united in a common purpose of creating solutions that move the world forward. Follow Western Digital on LinkedIn and learn more at www.westerndigital.com.

© 2025 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Western Digital, the Western Digital design, the Western Digital logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the US and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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“The AI revolution has made one thing clear: storage is the foundation of the AI data-driven economy — and HDDs remain its backbone," Ahmed Shihab, Chief Product Officer, Western Digital