What is Hitachi Data Systems (HDS)?
Hitachi Data Systems Corporation (HDS) is a global company that provides IT infrastructure and products to large corporations, governments and other organisations. HDS is the IT solutions business unit of Hitachi, Ltd., a Fortune Global 500 company. HDS has operations in over 100 countries and claims to have close to 6,000 employees as of December 2015.
HDS was founded on March 16, 1976, as Hitachi Manufacturing Company, Ltd. Its first products were tape drives and other components for data transmission systems. HDS incorporated Hitachi Computer Systems Corporation in 1987 and became Hitachi Data Systems Corporation in 1991. The company originated the products known as “Hitachis,” which are sold to thousands of corporations in the United States and abroad. In 1995, HDS established a new subsidiary named Hitachi Data Systems America Inc., which is now a separate entity incorporated under the laws of Delaware. Hitachi Data Systems Limited, the British subsidiary of HDS, was established in the same year.
How did HDS come about?
The company was created after Hitachi completed the buyout of IBM’s Storage Systems Division in December 2012. The move made HDS a part of Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, which is led by Jerome Peribere. According to HDS, the name of the new company reflects its intention to provide a full range of storage offerings, including those for open systems. The market for traditional storage has been in decline, but Hitachi is betting that the technology will soon be as relevant as it was in the 1980s and 1990s.
(Source: Hitachi Corporation, “Hitachi Data Systems Corp. becomes global leader in open hybrid cloud storage solutions,” May 30, 2013)
**End of article background information.**
HDS = hitachi data systems (IBM storage systems group). HDS is a subsidiary of Hitachi, which is the parent company of its storage division. The storage division is Hitachi Data Systems. Hence HDS became part of the Hitachi Data Systems corporations.
What does Hitachi Data Systems offer its customers and partners today ?
HDS offers a range of products and services under the following areas: systems, services, and solutions. The company’s solution offerings include storage systems, servers, software applications and services. Its systems comprise disk storage and tape storage products in addition to those designed specifically for open systems environments. The company’s range of services include consulting, integration, maintenance and support. With regards to HDS’ solutions for partners, the company divides them into two categories: open systems solutions and Hitachi-branded solutions.
The company’s open systems solutions (including Hitachi-branded solutions) focus on helping partners implement and manage their computer networks. This includes implementing, testing and maintenance of computers, storage networks, data management systems and telecommunications systems. The company offers consulting services to help system integrators develop applications utilizing the company’s products. Some of the company’s most recognized open systems solutions include: Hitachi Linux Net for Storage; Hitachi iSCSI SAN; and Hitachi RAID System Manager.
Hitachi’s software portfolio includes proprietary software and open source software. Hitachi’s proprietary products include: Hitachi Data Ingestor, Hitachi Command Suite and Hitachi Data Services Platform. The company also licenses and supports the implementation of open source software including Apache (web server); MySQL (database management system); and Linux (operating system).
