Hitachi and Google Cloud Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Innovation and Productivity with Generative AI

Hitachi will use Gemini models and Vertex AI to help enterprises improve business performance

Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, California, May 28, and Tokyo, Japan, May 29, 2024 – Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501), and Google Cloud today announced a multi-year partnership to accelerate enterprise innovation and productivity with generative AI. Hitachi will form a new business unit focused on helping businesses solve industry challenges with Gemini models, Vertex AI, and other cloud technologies, and it will also adopt Google Cloud’s AI to enhance its own products and services. Through the partnership, Hitachi will further accelerate growth of Lumada, its core digital business, and it will advance operational efficiencies for the Hitachi Group.

Led by GlobalLogic, a leader in digital engineering and a subsidiary of the Hitachi Group, the companies will establish the Hitachi Google Cloud Business Unit and the Google Cloud Center of Excellence (CoE) to rapidly scale Google Cloud technology to new and existing enterprise customers. Additionally, Hitachi will collaborate with Google Cloud to incorporate training on Google Cloud’s GenAI as part of Hitachi’s GenAI Professional training program. The program will deepen the expertise and managed services available through these business units, which will ensure large-scale organizations have access to the resources needed to fundamentally improve how they operate with AI.

Additional focus areas of the partnership will include:

• New GenAI solutions for software modernization and customer service: Hitachi will use Gemini models to build solutions that help businesses efficiently modernize legacy software systems, and it will adopt Google Cloud Contact Center AI to power more effective and accurate customer service experiences. For instance, using Google Cloud Agent Assist, customer service representatives can be supported with real-time knowledge assistance and resolution suggestions to help them be more productive and provide better service. The new solutions will be compatible with GlobalLogic's Platform of Platforms architecture, which is designed to address the needs of intelligent enterprises.
• Enabling safe, secure GenAI solutions for on-premises and cloud environments: Hitachi’s new solutions will support customers running both on-premises and in the cloud, enabling enterprises to modernize operations while retaining existing IT environments. The solutions will also be compatible with Virtual Storage Platform One, so that users can build GenAI applications using data stored on Hitachi Vantara’s hybrid cloud platform.
• Joint go-to-market initiatives: Hitachi and Google Cloud will better align their sales, marketing, and engineering teams to ensure that customers across industries have access to the resources needed to optimally deploy and manage GenAI projects through Hitachi Google Cloud Business Unit and Google Cloud CoE. This will include the GenAI Professionals that Hitachi trains on Google Cloud technology.
• Strengthen GenAI talent development: Hitachi’s GenAI Professionals play a critical role in supporting customers' transformation with AI, and Hitachi will train more than 50,000 GenAI Professionals through its global training program. As part of the program, Hitachi will include training on Google Cloud’s GenAI solutions and AI technology.

GlobalLogic and Google Cloud have collaborated for more than 15 years and helped empower enterprises with solutions that achieve their business objectives with efficiency and scale.

“Through this partnership, Hitachi will leverage Google Cloud's AI capabilities to improve and enhance employee productivity and accelerate innovation. By augmenting the capabilities of our developers and customer success units with Google Cloud GenAI solutions, such as Vertex AI and Gemini models, Hitachi will be able to better serve the needs of its customers in diverse industries and across complex domains such as energy, mobility, manufacturing and digital services,” said Toshiaki Tokunaga, Executive Vice President and Executive Officer at Hitachi.

Nitesh Banga, CEO, Digital Engineering Business Unit, Hitachi, and President & CEO, GlobalLogic, added: “Through this global alliance, Hitachi is strategically aligning its go-to-market approach together with Google Cloud to drive tangible results. We are establishing clear pathways for collaboration, ensuring enhanced efficiency and acceleration in delivering solutions to our collective clients. This investment in building our Google Cloud Business Unit will provide the necessary energy, focus, and cohesive teamwork essential for achieving the desired accelerated time-to-market, translating innovation into swift revenue growth.”

“To solve complex business challenges with generative AI, enterprises need advanced technology and the technical expertise to successfully deploy it throughout their organizations,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “Our partnership with Hitachi will provide customers with the resources needed to optimally build, implement, and manage every stage of their generative AI projects.”

About Google Cloud 
Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology 

About Hitachi, Ltd. 
Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers' and society's challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products. Hitachi operates under the 3 business sectors of “Digital Systems & Services” – supporting our customers’ digital transformation; “Green Energy & Mobility” – contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and “Connective Industries” – connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company’s revenues as 3 sectors for fiscal year 2023 (ended March 31, 2024) totaled 8,564.3 billion yen, with 573 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 270,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com

About GlobalLogic 
GlobalLogic (www.globallogic.com) is a leader in intelligent digital engineering. We help brands across the globe design and build innovative products, platforms, and digital experiences for the modern world. By integrating experience design, complex engineering, and data expertise—we help our clients imagine what’s possible and accelerate their transition into tomorrow’s digital businesses. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, GlobalLogic operates design studios and engineering centers around the world, extending our deep expertise to customers in the automotive, communications, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing, media and entertainment, semiconductor, and technology industries. To learn more, visit www.globallogic.com. 

About Hitachi Vantara 
Hitachi Vantara is transforming the way data fuels innovation. Hitachi Vantara provides the data foundation the world's leading innovators rely on. Through data storage, infrastructure systems, cloud management and digital expertise, the company helps customers build the foundation for sustainable business growth. To learn more, visit www.hitachivantara.com.