Tokyo, May 12, 2016: Hitachi has taken one more big step in the Internet of Things (IoT) business. It has announced the setting up of the Hitachi Insight Group, headquartered in Santa Clara, USA.
The new group will drive Hitachi’s unified IoT business and go-to-market (GTM) strategy worldwide. With US $5.4 billion in IoT solutions and services revenue generated in 2015 and 33 solutions in-market today, Hitachi offers one of the broadest IoT solutions portfolios in the industry. By uniting its digital and IoT solutions 
and services businesses, Hitachi is positioning itself to lead in this fast-growing market. The newly formed Hitachi Insight Group will be the ‘tip of the spear’ in Hitachi’s quest to capture market share in what IDC projects to be a US $1.46 trillion market opportunity by 2020.
The Group, also introduced Lumada, an IoT core platform, which it billed as “a comprehensive, enterprise-grade IoT core platform with an open and adaptable architecture that simplifies IoT solution creation and customisation.” Lumada incorporates expansive expertise in operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT), blending powerful and proven data orchestration, streaming analytics, Content intelligence, simulation models, and other Hitachi software technologies. The platform will serve as the core foundation on which all of Hitachi’s IoT solutions are built and will enable the creation of IoT business ecosystems, said the company.
The formation of Hitachi Insight Group is part of Hitachi’s corporate strategy and initiative to move its business toward a market-in approach. Led by Keiji Kojima, who also holds concurrent positions as senior Vice President and executive officer at Hitachi Ltd, the group will drive research and development and GTM strategies for Hitachi’s IoT-optimised solutions and services, in four key market segments: Smart City, Smart Energy, Smart Healthcare and Smart Industry. Hitachi’s global IoT-focused team of more than 16,000 employees from Hitachi Insight Group and various divisions across Hitachi Ltd. and its Group companies, including Hitachi Data Systems and Hitachi Consulting among others, will collaborate to accelerate delivery of solutions.
“Through the formation of Hitachi Insight Group and the Lumada IoT core platform we will provide Hitachi’s customers and partners with the fastest and simplest path to develop and deploy comprehensive digital solutions at scale,” said Kojima.
Hitachi Insight Group’s leadership team includes veteran executives Kevin Eggleston, General Manager for the Americas, and Patrik Sjostedt, General Manager for EMEA.
“IoT is propelling a rapid convergence of our physical and digital worlds, creating markets, which stand to benefit significantly from digital transformation. Although the market is still nascent, digitalisation is already disrupting traditional product-based business models, driving demand for solutions and an everything-as-a-service approach,” said Vernon Turner, senior Vice President, Enterprise Systems and IoT research fellow at IDC.
Hitachi’s IoT portfolio includes solutions and services for public safety and smart cities, renewable and sustainable energy, intelligent transportation, precision agriculture and manufacturing, water treatment and urban development, construction, mining and more. China. Hitachi said it plans to establish regional operations for Hitachi Insight Group in APAC later this year.
“IoT represents a critical inflection point, in which the interests of business, industry and society are now intersecting and aligning like never before,” said Eggleston. “Our repeatable solutions are already helping businesses, cities, municipalities and industrial companies around the world. The formation of Hitachi Insight Group will now enable us to take Hitachi’s vision for Social Innovation to the next level, as we move our IoT business into the next critical phase of its evolution.”
Hitachi has also established global Centers for Social Innovation in multiple geographies staffed by cross-disciplinary researchers, data scientists and solution architects to work closely with customers on solution development to solve unique challenges, ultimately verified through a proof-of-concept process. These labs will work closely with Hitachi Insight Group to apply the Hitachi’s market-in strategy and solve real world challenges in areas such as energy & natural resources, transportation, telecommunications, and healthcare.
The announcement of Hitachi Insight Group’s formation was made from the Internet of Things World Conference and Exposition at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California.
Image Credit: Hitachi