Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
June 18, 2020
From preparing and managing telecommunications lines to providing platform for collecting, storing, and utilizing data, Hitachi provides a service that covers all system environments necessary for global IoT and supports swift business launch
Tokyo, June 18, 2020 - Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501, "Hitachi") today announced the systematization and launch of "Hitachi Global Data Integration" on June 30, as an IoT service that supports the expansion of companies' global IoT businesses.
The service is for companies aiming to expand their business globally using IoT technologies and takes the form of a subscription service that provides a range of infrastructure functions for collecting data from things and using it, including the preparation and management of communication lines and the provision and operation of system environments for collecting, storing, and utilizing data. By providing means to utilize data in a global environment as a comprehensive service menu that can keep initial costs down and facilitate easy small-scale startups, we support stronger business using IoT technologies on global markets in a variety of industries, including manufacturers shipping products and equipment across the world.
The service also makes use of OT knowhow accumulated over many years and the latest AI and other advanced digital technologies to offer Lumada*1 solutions that accelerate our clients' digital innovation through the "Lumada Solution Hub"*2, which enables Lumada solutions to be quickly and easily introduced.
In recent years, the development of IoT technologies for connecting all kinds of things to networks has exponentially increased the volumes of data accumulated, which is increasing opportunities to utilize that data to create new businesses and resolve social issues. In particular, companies that ship automobiles, industrial machinery, and other products and equipment globally seek to generate new value by improving efficiency in operations and maintenance as well as devising new services through the utilization of data collected from the operating status of each region.
Meanwhile, to collect and utilize data from products and equipment operating in various regions, a range of preparations are required, including surveying and concluding contracts for communication lines in each region as well as building and operating system infrastructure to manage IoT devices and collect, store, and utilize data in accordance with the local circumstances and laws of each country. Moreover, the system infrastructure needs to be able to expand in response to the exponential increase in number of devices and data volume, making it a major obstacle for analyzing and utilizing IoT data in a global environment.
This service addresses the various challenges that obstruct the use of IoT technologies in a global environment and provides a comprehensive system environment that supports the collection, storage, management, and utilization of data sent from communication devices*3 that connect with the relevant equipment. More specifically, it consists of a "connection service*4" that manages the lines needed to utilize IoT technologies across national and regional borders, a "data collection and storage service" that collects and stores data globally in the cloud, and "data utilization solutions" that visualize operational data stored in the data lake and such.
Moreover, these services are provided through a subscription, which keeps down the initial cost and reduces the costs and load associated with developing and operating the system infrastructure needed to use IoT technologies. Since we can provide a range of system environments from line management to utilization, we can support easy PoC environment setup and plans to use IoT in business.
With the recent spread of COVID-19, people's movement is restricted and social activities are changing considerably. Hitachi is working to realize a business environment for our customers' new normal through our Hitachi Global Data Integration service.
Moreover, Hitachi will continue to enhance and expand services, such as those for new data utilization with 5G support, support our customers' expansion of IoT businesses globally, and contribute to creating innovation through the use of a diverse range of data.
We provide a "connection service" for connecting and managing lines by comprehensively offering communication lines in the countries our customers are considering use, in cooperation with telecom providers. Conventionally, the use of communication lines for IoT use in countries around the world would require surveys and contracts with telecom providers in each country and region as well as the building of systems that support each telecom providers' connection interface (API*5), which is quite challenging in terms of man-hours and workload.
The "connection service" already has an API for telecom providers and quickly realizes centralized line control and management across national and regional borders. For example, the service reduces the load of line connection and management by enabling the opening, suspension, and communication status management of the SIM (subscriber identity module) lines of the products and equipment shipped overseas.
We provide highly scalable system platform for data collection and storage as a cloud service that can flexibly accommodate a huge number of devices and constantly growing data volumes. The service uses Hitachi Application Framework/Event Driven Computing*6 ("HAF/EDC"), a framework capable of highly reliable and scalable distributed processing, to effectively adjust processing throughput when collecting and storing data in response to changes in the data volumes handled. Moreover, the "data collection and storage service" provides externally linked API to enable data linkage with various applications and in-house systems for various customers' visualizations and analyses.
The "data utilization solutions" provide highly demanded functions for data utilization including location tracking, operation monitoring, and alert management as standard. We support the creation and expansion of new business by providing system environments necessary for data utilization in the form of standard functions that include mapping the position information of products and equipment shipped overseas on map data, summarizing devices' operation status (pressure, temperature, etc.) by region in list or graph form, and supporting swift maintenance responses by detecting and alerting about irregularities.
![[image]Overview of "Hitachi Global Data Integration"](200618.jpg)
| Type | Service name | Outline | Price (excl. taxes) |
Start date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard services |
Connection service | Offering and initial setting of SIMs, mobile lines, and public networks | Initial cost 500,000 yen Monthly 396,000 yen *7*8 |
July 31 |
| Data collection and storage service | Provision and initial setting of gateways, data storage infrastructure, APIs, and GUIs | |||
| Data utilization solutions | Provision and initial setting of operation monitoring, location tracking, and alert detection | |||
| Options | Individual system integration service |
Developing original specifications based on standard services | Individual quote |
|
| Consulting service | Provision of consulting services for IoT business development from PoC to all aspects of actual operations | |||
| Data analysis support service | Suggestions based on data analysis and analysis results |
Customers may select functions and services according to their needs and existing assets.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is focused on its Social Innovation Business that combines information technology (IT), operational technology (OT) and products. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2019 (ended March 31, 2020) totaled 8,767.2 billion yen ($80.4 billion), and it employed approximately 301,000 people worldwide. Hitachi drives digital innovation across five sectors - Mobility, Smart Life, Industry, Energy and IT - through Lumada, Hitachi's advanced digital solutions, services, and technologies for turning data into insights to drive digital innovation. Its purpose is to deliver solutions that increase social, environmental and economic value for its customers. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.
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