Hitachi Data Systems Unveils Strategic Blueprint for Enterprise Information Management Solutions

Business Wire, Feb 18, 1999

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 18, 1999--

New Products, Integration of NT Servers, Key Industry

Alliances, and $300 Million Hitachi, Ltd. Investment to

Position Hitachi Data Systems as High-Value Information

Management Solutions Provider

Hitachi Data Systems today unveiled its new high-level strategy for providing comprehensive, scalable enterprise information management solutions.

The new strategy is closely tied to Hitachi, Ltd.'s decision to designate Hitachi Data Systems as its premiere vehicle for delivering a full array of enterprise management solutions to the international corporate marketplace.

Several key steps have been taken in the last 60 days to finish building and refining this phase of the strategy. Hitachi, Ltd. and Electronic Data Systems (EDS) -- Hitachi Data Systems' two shareholders -- agreed to Hitachi Data Systems acquiring EDS' shareholding in Hitachi Data Systems, thereby making Hitachi, Ltd. the sole shareholder (see http://www.hds.com/news/pr95.html); Hitachi, Ltd. also announced it will merge Hitachi Data Systems' operations with those of sister company Hitachi PC (see http://www.hds.com/news/pr99.html); and Hitachi, Ltd. has invested an additional $300 million in Hitachi Data Systems.

Commenting on these steps, Hitachi Data Systems Chairman and CEO Yoshihiro Koshimizu said, "Hitachi Data Systems will now be better able to deliver and deploy, on any scale, innovative products as a solutions provider. By adding Hitachi PC's product lines, plus the customer relationships and channels they have developed, we feel our business will benefit in many ways.

"Their assets will allow us to broaden the range of platforms we support while accelerating the development of our solutions-providing capability. And the additional investment will be particularly helpful in expanding our services offerings."

Hitachi Data Systems is moving aggressively towards its next-millennium business model that will provide customers with a broader range of information management solutions -- not only through its own direct sales force, but also through a complementary, expanded universe of channel partners and business alliances.

"The stage is now set for us to become a true enterprise solutions provider," said Koshimizu. "We have evolved from being primarily a hardware vendor into a genuine solutions provider.

"While we will continue to manufacture high-performance computer systems and storage devices, the difference today is that they are not just isolated pieces of hardware, but rather integral parts of a solution suite flexible enough to meet the many and varied critical business problems faced by our customers.

"As global information management requirements grow increasingly critical to corporate profitability, and even viability, Hitachi Data Systems is committed to a strategy that ensures the most robust, comprehensive solutions available."

This initial phase of the new Hitachi Data Systems strategic direction is rooted in a broad spectrum of resources and addresses product, service, and distribution programs in four key areas -- Enterprise Servers; Enterprise Storage; Professional Services; and Industry Alliances.

Enterprise Server Strategy

While Hitachi Data Systems currently -- and uniquely -- offers two mainframe product lines, each featuring a different technology, CMOS for Hitachi Data Systems Pilot Series(TM) and ACE (Advanced CMOS ECL) for the Hitachi Data Systems Skyline Series(TM), the future will see a seamless fusing of the two highly scalable and granular product lines. These S/390(R)-compatible processors will be complemented by powerful NT and UNIX servers.

All enterprise servers, regardless of operating system, will be designed in conjunction with surveyed customer requirements, will have compressed product cycles, will feature customary Hitachi engineering precision, and will aspire to be the most reliable and available processors in the marketplace.

Enterprise Storage Strategy

Hitachi Data Systems' storage strategy recognizes that customers want solutions that allow them to access and control their data without being tied to proprietary technology that limits their business options.

The Hitachi Data Networking Architecture (DNA) provides the overall structure for implementing this strategy, bringing storage and network protocols together in a way that will enable customers to access their data on any computer, any time, anywhere. Within this architecture, the company will be able to deliver open solutions in many environments, including Storage Area Networks (SANs) and Network Attached Storage (NAS).

Key to these solutions is a growing number of industry alliances in areas such as networking and communications. And the foundation for all this is Hitachi Freedom Storage(TM), the first family of SAN-ready subsystems to reach the marketplace. It is ideal for customers whose business needs require that their data be distributed throughout the enterprise, and yet be managed from a central location.

Professional Services Strategy