Hitachi Insight Group to wipe-off IoT challenges boosting corporate strategy

Interaction among physical things and virtual technology platforms in consumer applications of IoT are already flourishing. And Tokyo-based conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. plans to stand taller in the race announcing the launch of a new Internet of Things (IoT) business division called Hitachi Insight Group, alongside the unveiling of its enterprise-grade IoT core platform called Lumada, from its newly formed division. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the platform will serve as playground on which all of Hitachi ‘s IoT solutions will be built and tested, enabling the creation of IoT business ecosystems.

“The greatest opportunity for IoT lies in the enterprise, industrial and public sector markets, which stand to benefit significantly from digital transformation. Although the market is still nascent, digitalization 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, IDC.

Keiji Kojima, senior vice president and executive officer at Hitachi Ltd would currently serve as the head of HIG. The 7,000 HIG employees will combine their knowledge with Hitachi’s experience in industrial and IT fields to target four market segments: smart city, smart energy, smart healthcare and smart industry.

Tailor your IoT preferences with Lumada

The IoT core platform Lumada is specifically designed to combat the challenges standing before Hitachi while creating of IoT business ecosystems. The solution cores are packaged as repeatable blueprints which industries can customize to suit their requirements. Users can pin-pick and integrate only those components that best fit their specific use and further streamline the solution creation process for the fastest time to value.

“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,” Kojima said.

Innovation stands as the need of the hour

Hitachi Insight Group’s leadership team includes veteran executives Kevin Eggleston, general manager for the Americas, and Patrik Sjostedt, general manager for EMEA. The company has also established global Centers for Social Innovation that 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.

“IoT represents a critical inflection point, in which the interests of business, industry and society are now intersecting and aligning like never before,” said Kevin 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.”

With an investment of $5.4 billion in IoT solutions and services revenue generated in 2015 and 33 solutions in-market today, Hitachi is merging its digital and IoT solutions offers IoT solutions. The newly formed Hitachi Insight Group stands as its strongest bid in the field to capture market share in what IDC projects to be a $1.46 trillion market opportunity by 2020. Hitachi Insight Group is collaborating with market leading innovators to co-develop digital and IoT-optimized solutions, including SAP, PTC, AT&T, Eurotech S.p.A., Intel, Microsoft, and others.