Hitachi Data Systems
Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) provides 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] The company 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 was founded in 1989 when Hitachi and Electronic Data Systems (EDS) acquired National Advanced Systems (NAS) from National Semiconductor. The company marketed, sold, and serviced IBM-compatible mainframes built by Hitachi. On January 29, 1999 Hitachi acquired EDS' stake in Hitachi Data Systems, assuming full control on April 21,1999. One year later, Hitachi Data Systems announced a strategic global transformation and re-organization to apply resources in a customer-centric approach and focus on storage rather than mainframes.[3]
Acquisitions
- February 6, 2007: Hitachi Data Systems acquired Archivas, provider of industry-leading digital archiving and content management solutions.[4]
- 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.[5]
- 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.[6]
- October 5, 2011: Hitachi Data Systems announced intention to acquire Shoden Data Systems, a leading provider of data center technology solutions in South Africa and across the sub-Saharan African continent.[7]
Corporate affairs
Hitachi Data Systems has its corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The company has business offices across North America and Latin America; EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) headquartered in the UK; and, APAC (Asia Pacific) headquartered in Hong Kong. HDS maintains Executive Briefing Centers in Santa Clara, California; Sefton Park of Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom; and Odawara, Japan.[8]
Products and services
Partial list of hardware products
- The Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform is Hitachi Data Systems high-end storage platform for enterprise storage needs. It includes virtualization of internal and external heterogeneous storage into a single pool which it uses for dynamic provisioning and dynamic tiering.[9]
- Universal Storage Platform. The Hitachi Universal Storage Platform (USP-V & USP-VM) family is HDS’ older high-end storage platform focused on consolidation for enterprise storage needs, including virtualization of internal and external heterogeneous into one pool.[10]
- USP-V / USP-VM products are also OEMed and resold by HP as its HP StorageWorks XP 24000 / XP 20000 Systems[11] and prior to the Oracle acquisition were also sold by Sun Microsystems as the Sun StorageTek 9990V & 9985V Systems[12]
- Hitachi High-performance NAS (HNAS). The Hitachi High-performance NAS line offers performance in scalability, Intelligent Tiering with dynamic data migration (Hierarchical storage management), and Cluster Namespace (CNS) for unified file administration.[14]
- Hitachi Content Platform. An intelligent, multipurpose 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. It supports multiple levels of service, evolves with technology and scale changes, and eliminates the need for tape-based backups.[15] The Content Platform is the foundational component of the HDS cloud architecture.[16]
Partial list of software products
Hitachi Data Systems complements its hardware products with a software portfolio that encompasses storage management, cloud storage, replication, data protection, and IT operations.
- Storage Management. Storage management software allows the configuration, day-to-day operation, performance tuning, and monitoring of Hitachi storage environments. Some specific functions include storage provisioning, optimization, and tiering, as well as virtualizing and managing Hitachi and third-party externally attached storage. Many management processes can be automated based on policies set by the storage administrator. HDS storage management applications are available individually or as a bundle in the Hitachi Command Suite.[17]
- 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 and uses Hitachi Data Ingestor[18] software to move data into the cloud. Hitachi Content Platform provides dynamic tiering, active archiving and content-aware search capabilities for unstructured data files. Using the Hitachi Content Platform-based cloud companies can comply with regulatory mandates for long-term archiving and meet e-discovery deadlines.[19]
- 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. Examples of this software include Hitachi ShadowImage In-System replication for local mirroring and point-in-time copies, Hitachi TrueCopy Extended Distance or Synchronous Remote Replication for long-distance replication, and Hitachi Universal Replicator which supports two, three or potentially four remote data centers for business continuity efforts as well as virtualized external storage.[20]
- Data Protection. Hitachi data protection software is used to manage backups and snapshots. Examples include Hitachi Backup Services Manager which provides a centralized, real-time view of backup and restore applications, Hitachi Data Protection Suite which uses CommVault software to provide snapshot, replication and persistent copies, and Hitachi Data Retention Utility which allows storage administrators to assign access permissions and to make archived data non-erasable and non-rewritable for compliance with government and industry regulations.
- IT Operations. Hitachi IT operations software monitors the IT infrastructure and simplifies IT administration. Hitachi Operations Analyzer software provides a high-level view into the status of multi-vendor server, storage, and network infrastructure performance, availability and interdependencies. Hitachi IT Operations Director is used for security management, asset management and software distribution.[21]
Partial list of services
Hitachi Data Systems offers services in the areas of Assess and Consult, Plan and Design, Install and Implement, Integrate and Transition, Manage and Optimize, Education, and Financial Services.
- Assess and Consult. These services evaluate and assess customers’ IT environments for adoption of new technologies for business continuity, storage management, tiered storage, virtualization, thin provisioning, and cloud storage, and can also prepare an economic justification for investments in new storage infrastructures.
- 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.
- 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.
- Integrate and Transition. When migrating to new Hitachi technologies, the Integrate and Transition services leverage multiple techniques, to transparently move data between heterogeneous storage systems while servers stay online and applications keep running.[22]
- Manage and Optimize. These services use Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) principles and Hitachi Data Systems best practices to manage a customer’s infrastructure, ranging from zoning and storage allocations to 24/7 monitoring, performance assessments and health checks to fully managed support.[23]
- Education. Hitachi Data Systems Academy provides in-depth product and technology training courses in a variety of formats which can lead to HDS Certification in several tracks.
- Financial Services. Hitachi Data Systems Credit Corporation provides a number of financing options from asset management to leasing to meet a customer’s budget.
Support
Select Care Maintenance Service Levels include both offsite and onsite support and range from Basic maintenance coverage during normal business hours to 24/7 Premium coverage with a 2-hour response time.
See also
References
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1Now integrated into other Hitachi divisions or business groupings
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