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Hitachi Data Systems

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Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) is a company that provides modular mid-range and high-end storage systems, software and services. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. and part of the Hitachi Information Systems & Telecommunications Division.[1]

Hitachi Data Systems sells through direct and indirect channels in more than 170 countries and regions. Its customers include over 50 percent of the Fortune 100 companies.[2]

Hitachi Data Systems
Company typeA wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd (NYSE: HIT)
IndustryInformation storage hardware
Information storage software
Data storage devices
Computer systems
Computer hardware
Computer software
IT consulting
IT services
Founded1989
Headquarters
Santa Clara, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jack Domme (Chief Executive Officer)
Number of employees
5,900 employees in more than 100 countries and regions
WebsiteHDS.com

Corporate history

The current Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) was founded in 1989 when Hitachi and Electronic Data Systems (EDS) acquired National Advanced Systems (NAS) from National Semiconductor and renamed it Hitachi Data Systems. But before that the company's history stretches back to Itel, an early player in the mainframe market.

Origins as Itel

Itel was an equipment leasing company founded in 1967 by Peter Redfield and Gary Friedman, initially focusing on leasing IBM mainframes. Through creative financial arrangements and investments, Itel was able to lease IBM mainframes to customers at costs below what customers would have paid IBM, making them second to IBM itself in revenues.

A joint venture between National Semiconductor and Hitachi formed in 1977 was contracted by Itel to manufacture IBM-compatible mainframes branded as Advanced Systems.[3] In the face of initial success of having shipped 200 such systems and netting profits of $73 million, Itel had increased their investments and personnel to market their Advanced Systems brand and hence committed themselves to long term contracts with National Semiconductor and Hitachi. While Itel had not expected quick change in semiconductor technologies, Charlie Sporck, CEO of National Semiconductor, saw opportunities by tempting Itel to longer term commitments in response to request by Itel for lower prices in order to compete with IBM. Itel agreed.

National Semiconductor Takes Over Itel's Advanced Systems

Thereafter, news was abound that IBM was releasing a new technologically superior line of computers, to which customers responded by holding back purchases causing Itel's inventory to build up drastically. Even though Hitachi had agreed to Itel's request to cut back on shipment, National Semiconductor was adamant in implementing what the industry had termed as National's blackmailing of Itel. In 1979, Redfield was forced to resign as CEO, and National Semiconductor took over Itel Advanced Systems, including its sales and marketing team.

National renamed the division to National Advanced Systems (NAS), assembling and selling IBM-compatibles where the CPU was imported from Hitachi. National and Hitachi quite often depended on IBM's gradual and restrained roll-out of newer models to feed on IBM's technology and market share and hence NAS enjoyed occasional successes.

However, IBM had invested and obtained significant success in semiconductor technologies which enabled them to build more powerful computers at lower costs.[4] Meanwhile, the mainframe market itself was in decline as mini- and microcomputers, and the UNIX operating system gained popularity. Mainframe makers such as Sperry, Honeywell, Burroughs, NCR and Control Data were gradually being forced out of the mainframe market. NAS, as well as Amdahl (the other IBM-compatible mainframe maker), was no exception to facing the technological and sales pressure from IBM.

In fact, National Semiconductor and its subsidiary NAS were sued in 1983 by IBM for $2.5 billion on charges of using computer technology secrets stolen from IBM,[5][6] as result of an investigation by the United States Government into National's collaboration with Hitachi in engaging in industrial espionage to obtain technology secrets from IBM. Hitachi settled with IBM and licensed the mainframe operating system software from IBM. In 1983, NAS ceased the manufacture of its own line of mainframes (which had Hitachi processors) and became a reseller of Hitachi's mainframe and data storage products.

HDS Formed as Joint Venture of Hitachi and EDS

On February 28, 1989, National Semiconductor and Hitachi announced their agreement that Hitachi and EDS would jointly acquire NAS for $398 million in cash ,[7] of which Hitachi would own 80%. Memorex Telex and National had earlier, on January 10, 1989, announced plans on a joint venture "under which each company would own half of the unit and National would get $250 million plus four million shares of Memorex Telex". However, National proceeded to negotiate with Hitachi after Memorex's offer expired as National had felt that the Hitachi-EDS offer was a better deal as it entailed no further financial obligation or commitment on the part of National after the sale besides reaping a pre-tax profit of $200 million from the sale. By that time, Memorex Telex was able to arrange financing for the deal, but National had already accepted the Hitachi-EDS deal.

The acquisition was envisaged to provide Hitachi a better presence in the United States to compete with IBM. The entity was renamed Hitachi Data Systems (HDS).

Hitachi Acquires EDS Stake

On 29 January 1999, Hitachi announced it would take over EDS' stake in HDS, appointing Jun Naruse as CEO of its new subsidiary.[8] Naruse had been an engineer with the RAID Systems Division involved in storage systems development. Having total control of the company, Hitachi was able to infuse Hitachi Data Systems with its corporate culture, ethics and practices.

HDS Enters the Storage Era

On April 6, 2000 Hitachi Data Systems announced a strategic global transformation and re-organization to apply resources in a customer business-centric approach and focus on storage systems rather than mainframes.[9] Shortly thereafter (June 26, 2000), the first product of the HDS’ storage era was unveiled, the high-end Freedom Storage Lightning 9900, featuring the Hi-Star crossbar switched architecture to interconnect memory, disks, servers and other external devices instead of the traditional bus architecture.[10] In addition to HDS sales, HP OEM’d [11] and Sun resold [12] the Lightning 9900 and succeeding generations, which featured additional advanced capabilities such as virtualization of external Hitachi and third-party storage systems to form storage pools.[13] In January 2001 HDS announced the Thunder 9200, a mid-range modular storage system aimed at the SMB market and sold mainly through resellers.[14] Hitachi Data Systems high-end and mid-range modular storage systems complemented by a software portfolio that encompasses storage management, content management, business continuity, replication, data protection, and IT operations continue to challenge established storage vendors for leadership of the storage market.[15]

HDS Moves to the Cloud

Leveraging technology from its acquisitions of Archivas,[16] ParaScale,[17] and BlueArc,[18] HDS has been moving to the cloud over the last few years, culminating with the announcement on October 25, 2011 of its Information Cloud Roadmap, Cloud Services, and Cloud Solution Packages.[19]

Acquisitions

  • February 6, 2007: Hitachi Data Systems acquired Archivas, provider of "industry-leading" digital archiving and content management solutions.[20]
  • August 20, 2010: Hitachi Data Systems acquired the IP and core engineering team of ParaScale, developer of Cloud Storage software which aggregates multiple standard Linux servers to present a single, highly scalable, virtual file-storage appliance.[21]
  • September 7, 2011: Hitachi Data Systems acquired BlueArc which develops and sells a clustered NAS solution for storing and managing digital content and unstructured data.[22]
  • February 13, 2012: Hitachi Data Systems acquired Shoden Data Systems, a leading provider of data center technology solutions in South Africa and across the sub-Saharan African continent.[23]

Corporate affairs

The company has its corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California and has business offices in the United States, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. [24]

Corporate culture, social responsibility and work environment

The culture of Hitachi Data Systems is influenced by the founding values[25] of the parent company, Hitachi Ltd., those being Wa (harmony, trust, and respect), Makoto (integrity, sincerity, honesty), and Kaitakusha-seishin (pioneering spirit and challenge). Hitachi Data Systems was recognized by Ethisphere Magazine in 2011 as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. The company has active Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs[26] including a means for employees to recommend and request a grant for a non-profit organization. Hitachi Data Systems works with the Hitachi Foundation and other Hitachi entities to support philanthropic enterprises around the world.

Hitachi Data Systems participates in "Best Places to Work" lists globally, achieving a position on FORTUNE Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list in 2012[27] (ranking at No. 86) and was ranked No. 8 in FORTUNE's list of top-paying companies.[28] Chief Executive Magazine gave HDS a ranking of No. 16 in its “40 Best Companies for Leaders” list for 2012.[29] Hitachi Data Systems has been named to the top 10 best places to work in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past three consecutive years,[30] and was recognized among the "Best Companies to Work For" in France[31] and Poland[32] in 2011. In 2010 Hitachi Data Systems was accredited by the Best Companies organization in the United Kingdom.[33]

Products and services

Partial list of hardware products

  • Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform. HDS’ high-end storage platform focused on consolidation for enterprise storage needs, including virtualization of internal and external heterogeneous storage into one pool and managing all data types.[34]
  • Hitachi Unified Storage VM. Unified system with enterprise storage virtualization for small and medium companies which can centrally consolidate and manage file, block and object data.[35]
  • Hitachi Unified Storage 100 Family. Modular storage which enables central consolidation of file, block and object data with up to 3PB capacity.[36]
  • Hitachi NAS Platform, powered by BlueArc. The Hitachi NAS Platform provides integrated network attached storage (NAS) for file sharing and file server consolidation with models for large enterprises and medium companies.[37]
  • Hitachi Content Platform. A distributed object storage system that enables IT organizations and cloud service providers to store, protect, preserve and retrieve unstructured content with a single storage platform. The Content Platform is the foundational component of the HDS cloud architecture.[38]

Partial list of software products

  • Storage Management. Storage management software allows the configuration, day-to-day operation, performance tuning, and monitoring of Hitachi storage environments. Many management processes can be automated based on policies set by the storage administrator.[39]
  • Cloud Storage. Hitachi Content Platform is the foundation of the Hitachi Data Systems cloud architecture. It can be deployed in public, private, or hybrid cloud storage models.[40]
  • Replication. Hitachi software supports in-system as well as remote data replication for data migration or to meet companies’ business continuity and disaster recovery objectives.[41]
  • Data Protection. Hitachi data protection software is used to manage backups and snapshots.
  • IT Operations. Hitachi IT operations software monitors the IT infrastructure and simplifies IT administration, including security and asset management, and software distribution.[42]

Partial list of services

  • Assess and Consult. These services evaluate and assess customers’ IT environments for adoption of new technologies and can also prepare an economic justification for investments in new storage infrastructures.[43]
  • Plan and Design. Based on the customer’s requirements and current IT environment, these services design and generate a plan to meet service level objectives.[44]
  • Install and Implement. These services use proven methodologies and best practices to customize, transition and operationalize the customer’s purchased storage systems and software for rapid, accurate deployment.[45]
  • Integrate and Transition. These services leverage multiple techniques to transparently migrate data to new Hitachi technologies while applications keep running.[46]
  • Manage and Optimize. These services use Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) principles and Hitachi Data Systems best practices to manage a customer’s storage infrastructure.[47]
  • Education. Hitachi Data Systems Academy provides product and technology training courses in a variety of formats which can lead to HDS Certification in several tracks.[48]

Technology Partners

Hitachi Data Systems has four types of partners: Technology, Global Systems Integrators, Hitachi TrueNorth Partners, and Hitachi TrueNorth Advisor Partners.[49]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hitachi Data Systems Corporation Company Profile". Yahoo Financel accessdate=2009-01-21. {{cite web}}: Missing pipe in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Microsoft Solutions Partners". Microsoft. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  3. ^ "National Semiconductor Corporation". Funding Universe.
  4. ^ David E. Sanger (February 13, 1985). "Sierra Adds Power to I.B.M". The New York Times.
  5. ^ AP (November 16, 1983). "I.B.M. SUIT MAY ASK $2.5 BILLION". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Peter Carey (May 22, 1983). "The selling of IBM secrets". Boca Raton News.
  7. ^ LAWRENCE M. FISHER (February 28, 1989). "Partners Buy A Computer Subsidiary". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Hitachi to Acquire EDS Stake in Hitachi Data Systems". HDS. Retrieved 2012-02-8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ "Vendor profile: Hustling Hitachi Data Systems has EMC in its sights". Computerworld Storage Network World Online. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  10. ^ "Hitachi ups stakes in storage race". CNet. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  11. ^ "HP Extends Hitachi Resale Agreement". Eweek. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  12. ^ "Sun UPS Storage Presence". CRN. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  13. ^ "Hitachi Updates TagmaStore". Computerworld. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  14. ^ "Where there's Lightning, there's Thunder". SearchStorage. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  15. ^ "Hitachi Data Systems: A storage giant lost in translation". The Register. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  16. ^ "Hitachi acquires Archivas". InfoStor. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  17. ^ "Hitachi Data Systems buys Parascale, gets more 'cloudy'". techtarget. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  18. ^ "Hitachi Data Acquires BlueArc in Big Data Deal". Data Center Knowledge. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  19. ^ "Hitachi unveils roadmap for cloudy offerings". Channel Register. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  20. ^ "Hitachi acquires Archivas". InfoStor. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  21. ^ "Hitachi Data Systems buys Parascale, gets more 'cloudy'". techtarget. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  22. ^ "Hitachi Data Acquires BlueArc in Big Data Deal". Data Center Knowledge. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  23. ^ "Hitachi Completes Acquisition of African Data Center Firm Shoden Data Systems". Data Center Talk. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  24. ^ "Hitachi Data Systems Corporation". Business Week. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  25. ^ "Corporate Philosophy". Hitachi USA Website. Hitachi USA. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  26. ^ "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)". Hitachi Group Website. Hitachi Group. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  27. ^ "Best Companies to Work for 2012". FORTUNE Magazine. Cable News Network. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  28. ^ "25 top-paying companies". FORTUNE Magazine. Cable News Network. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  29. ^ Donlon, JP. "40 Best Companies for Leaders". Chief Executive Magazine. Chief Executive Group, LLC. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  30. ^ "Top Workplaces in the Bay Area 2012". Top Workplaces. Bay Area News Group. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  31. ^ "Best Workplaces in France". Great Place to Work Institute. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  32. ^ "Best Places to Work in Poland". Great Place to Work Website. Great Place to Work Institute. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  33. ^ "Best Companies 2010". Best Companies. Best Companies Ltd. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  34. ^ "HDS Debuts Storage Hardware, Software For Cloud Computing". CRN. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  35. ^ "HUS VM – Hitachi's New Midrange Baby". Architecting.IT. Retrieved 2013-02-010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  36. ^ "Hitachi Unified Storage 100 Family". Hitachi Data Systems. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  37. ^ "Hitachi Data Systems on Integrating BlueArc in NAS Devices for VFX". Studio Daily. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  38. ^ "Hitachi unveils roadmap for cloudy offerings". Channel Register. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  39. ^ "HDS unifies storage management tools". InfoStor. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  40. ^ "HDS Launches New Content Platform For Cloud Storage". CRN. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  41. ^ "HDS Takes the 'White Gloves' Off as it Launches New Strategy to Expedite and Simplify Data Migrations". Network World. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  42. ^ "Hitachi Data Systems takes on IT lifecycle management". IT World Canada. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  43. ^ "Global Services: Assess and Consult". Hitachi Data Systems. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  44. ^ "Global Services: Plan and Design". Hitachi Data Systems. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  45. ^ "Global Services: Install and Implement". Hitachi Data Systems. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  46. ^ "Hitachi unveils new data migration services". Trade Arabia. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  47. ^ "HDS service reclaims capacity". InfoStor. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  48. ^ "Services: Education". Hitachi Data Systems. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  49. ^ "Hitachi Data Systems Partner Programs". Hitachi Data Systems. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
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