Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Data Systems and IBM Extend Interoperability for Storage Systems, Servers and Software

Business Wire, May 26, 2005

TOKYO & SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT)(TSE:6501), its wholly owned subsidiary Hitachi Data Systems, and IBM today announced a technology licensing agreement intended to extend the interoperability and compatibility of their respective storage systems, servers and software. The agreement is intended to make it easier for customers to be able to more easily install both Hitachi Data Systems and IBM products in their environments. The companies also announced plans for joint collaboration on product interoperability testing to support Hitachi storage system compatibility with IBM zSeries mainframe customer deployments.

As part of the agreement, Hitachi will license a portion of IBM's eServer zSeries enterprise storage related interface technologies for use in Hitachi storage platforms as well as future technologies. IBM has licensed the FICON/ESCON attachment specification for its high-end IBM TotalStorage DS8000 Series and IBM(R) TotalStorage(R) Enterprise Storage Server to Hitachi. The license will help Hitachi be better positioned to support clients who want the benefits of IBM's industry leading Global and Metro Mirroring capabilities, z/OS Global Mirror, FlashCopy(R), Parallel Access Volumes (PAV), and GDPS(TM) functions in an environment that includes IBM TotalStorage products as well as enterprise storage products marketed globally by Hitachi Data Systems as the Hitachi Universal Storage Platform Series, including its OEM and co-branded variants.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE:HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 347,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2004 (ended March 31, 2005) consolidated sales totaled 9,027.0 billion yen ($84.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Website at http://www.hitachi.com.

About Hitachi Data Systems

Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs. With 2,900 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.hds.com.

About IBM

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across IBM and IBM Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. For more information about IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com.