Global Efforts
To contribute to the expansion of social innovation businesses and to the realization of digital management, we aim to build a digital management platform that will be shared throughout the Hitachi Group. Even as we expand our company scope and portfolio, this shared platform will provide information for growth and keep costs down.
The IT departments in each of the five global areas are contributing to the smooth and efficient management of business through various measures tailored to each region's particular characteristics and business strategies.
Hitachi America's mission is to drive growth for Hitachi in the Americas across all sectors, contribute to and support our business units, have a positive impact on society and the communities we serve, and commit to sustainability, and foster a culture that is diverse, inclusive and innovative, and lives by Hitachi's values: Harmony, Sincerity and Pioneering Spirit. The primary focus is to build regional growth strategies that complement our sectors by understanding the regional market dynamics, growth drivers, risks and capital allocation and investment opportunities. Promote “One Hitachi” activities where synergies happen naturally across Hitachi America's Group companies.
Hitachi America Information Technology organization's focus is to contribute to regional growth strategies, expansion of new services to our regional customers, IT Security and One Hitachi initiatives. Our IT security mission is to deliver managed services by adopting standardized, unified and quantified information security and risk management methodology to protect our businesses and customers through risk-based assurance. We collaborate with the America's innovation team and regional BU's#1 on new business incubation efforts and future innovative technologies(Generative AI#2, Metaverse, IoT#3 Security etc.,). In FY23, we have initiated DX#4 transformation efforts using low-code platform and plug-n-play solution model.
2022 has been an exceptional year for Hitachi Europe with continued strong growth in shared services across Europe, reducing IT costs for Hitachi in the region and improving collaboration by sharing platforms and systems.
In addition to our service expansion, we have seen close collaboration with the corporate IT department (IT Strategy & Digital Integration Division (ITSD)). Together we have launched and delivered two key projects; the establishment of Public Cloud 2.0 service as our secure Azure cloud offer and the build of the shared ERP#5 platform to replace our existing SAP instance with the Hitachi templated S/4HANA solution.
The team in Europe has been strengthened with ITSD representation to help us build out a global application support function for the shared ERP platform and will continue to expand to deliver the needs of the business.
In China, we have a challenge in complying with 3 digital laws, as well as region specific IT environment and business process standard, in order to efficiently support various kind of Hitachi business requirement in China from the IT perspective. Especially the impact of Data Security Law might be serious, since it might restrict global data exchange as for individual data and important data, Government defines. Although the detail is still so unclear that it remains huge gray zone, the Law has become active, and some others has been already punished by it.
As for those services or global data exchange, which might become risky in China, we are preparing the China version of Hitachi Group shared services under the leadership of HQ/IT division.
We may do our best to better comply with this special environment and prepare for valuable solution not only for China local business but also help global unified type of business to take proper action in China.
ASEAN region has gone through various shifts to mitigate risks on various domains and Hitachi groups in this region have contributed to the business performance through addressing the challenges and obtaining more business opportunities in the targeted growth areas. Hitachi Asia Ltd. (HAS) IT department has again supported the business in realizing their improvement through the global initiative to standardize business process and consolidate the system landscape.
We coordinated the progress of IT standardization and consolidation and continue to monitor these activities for ASEAN group companies. This has also allowed IT to also look at security from a platform approach, where solutions work together seamlessly. We have continued to conduct various initiatives to share knowledge and to empower our Hitachi groups to be more productive.
As part of the global IT platform unification and structural reform, HAS IT will take on additional role to lead global measures and taking responsibility for IT performance, in cooperation with other regional IT. With our commitment, we hope to contribute the realization to improve Hitachi group's Green/Security/BCP#6 initiatives.
In India region, there are over 30 Hitachi Gr companies, and majority is manufacturing industry and IT. We, Hitachi India IT team, provides Global standard IT services and Local IT solutions according to business type and requirement from these companies. For example, we supported IT infrastructure set up for new factory as their project manager.
M&A in Hitachi group happens frequently, and new company has their own IT infrastructure and policy.
To keep IT security at a high level as same as Hitachi standard rule, we visit office/factory and assess security and suggest security level improvement. We hold security session for all employees regularly and conducted security maturity level assessment to know our current security awareness level and consider improvement plan.
Indian government will enact Digital Personal Data Protection Bill soon then we have started data protection activity to support data protection management activity in each company.
From FY2022, we are charge of Unified IT-PF global operation and lead this project to provide follow-the-sun support to all region. As first phase, we'll start Security Assistance Service for all region, and as second phase, we'll start Managed Service for all region. I hope that these supports will improve work efficiency and contribute Hitachi group business indirectly.
