Hitachi Digital Services Targets IT/OT Opportunity

PAC recently caught up with Hitachi Digital Services, one of the more intriguing parts of the €59bn Hitachi empire.

There are more than 300 different business units within the group, including several that fall within the software and IT services sector. Among the most prominent are GlobalLogic, the software engineering business it acquired for $9.6bn in 2021 and Hitachi Solutions, the group’s Microsoft services wing.

Hitachi Digital Services (HDS) was created in October 2023, following the spin-out of the services part of the Hitachi Vantara data storage and cloud infrastructure division. HDS brings together more than 5,000 employees worldwide under the leadership of former Cognizant executive Roger Lvin, with a mandate to focus on the growing overlap between traditional IT and OT (operational technology).

The company’s core portfolio has evolved from a platform of ERP services, where it remains focused on implementing and enhancing SAP and Oracle environments for mid-market clients. Another key part of the HDS proposition is complex cloud engineering and optimization projects for companies in highly demanding sectors. It recently helped a central European bank migrate 800 applications onto a cloud platform from an on-premise data center environment, delivering multi-million euros in cost savings.

A key component of HDS’ delivery proposition is its network of Hitachi Application Reliability Centers (HARC), which bring together teams of industry and cloud experts to design, build and operate critical systems. Client engagements are also supported by a network of global software engineering centers in locations including India, Vietnam and Portugal.

But the most interesting part of the HDS portfolio is its focus on IT/OT integration, which Lviv describes as being the “armour-piercing tip” for many of its new client engagements. The business is able to draw on the Hitachi group’s decades of experience in developing and running critical systems across sectors including financial services, telecoms, pharma and energy.

Indeed, HDS shared several examples of projects it has delivered in conjunction with other Hitachi divisions, including the development of a data model to help a major truck manufacturer build a more predictive view of vehicle performance and maintenance requirements. It has also worked with Hitachi’s Energy unit to develop pilot schemes to optimize the deployment of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

HDS aims to help clients harness the full potential of their data that resides in their often-siloed manufacturing execution systems, product lifecycle management applications and SCADA systems. One example of the company’s work in this area was its work with a major automotive manufacturer to support the creation of a data lake across its multiple production sites, and to standardize machine connectivity across its factory locations.

This focus on IT/OT integration is timely, given the huge asset modernization programmes that are getting off the ground in sectors such as energy, utilities and transportation. Increasingly, these programmes are being framed as data projects as much as asset replacement initiatives, and Hitachi’s deep domain experience in these industries coupled with its software engineering heritage, puts it in an interesting position.