Hitachi Data Systems

Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) was an enterprise technology company specializing in modular data-storage systems, storage-management software, data protection, content management, and infrastructure services. Although its corporate history began with the mainframe-leasing business Itel and later National Advanced Systems, the HDS entity was established in 1989 when Hitachi and Electronic Data Systems acquired NAS from National Semiconductor. Hitachi held the larger ownership position, and the transaction gave it a stronger presence in the United States enterprise-computing market. The company initially continued to market Hitachi-compatible mainframe products and storage systems. Its strategic direction changed decisively around 2000, when HDS exited the mainframe business and concentrated on enterprise storage. The company built a portfolio spanning high-end storage arrays, mid-range modular systems, network-attached storage, object storage, replication, backup, disaster recovery, and storage administration. Its products were designed for large organizations that needed to consolidate heterogeneous storage environments, maintain business continuity, and manage structured and unstructured information at scale. HDS's most recognizable offerings included the Virtual Storage Platform, Hitachi Unified Storage systems, Hitachi NAS Platform, Hitachi Content Platform, and TrueCopy remote-replication technology. The company also expanded through acquisitions. Archivas brought digital archiving and content-management capabilities; BlueArc added clustered network-attached storage; ParaScale contributed clustered file-storage technology; Cofio strengthened data-protection orchestration; Sepaton added deduplication appliances; oXya added SAP HANA services; and Pentaho broadened the portfolio into data integration, big-data processing, and analytics. During the 2010s, HDS increasingly associated storage with cloud computing, analytics, and the broader Hitachi Social Innovation strategy. It sold through direct and indirect channels and reported an international customer base that included many large multinational companies. In 2017, HDS was combined with Pentaho and Hitachi Insight Group to create Hitachi Vantara. Hitachi later integrated Hitachi Vantara with Hitachi Consulting: the integration was announced in 2019 and the combined operations began using the Hitachi Vantara brand in January 2020. HDS therefore no longer operates as a separate corporate entity, while many of its storage technologies, products, employees, and capabilities became part of Hitachi Vantara.

The roots of Hitachi Data Systems reach back to Itel, founded in 1967 by Peter Redfield and Gary Friedman as an equipment-leasing company. Itel initially leased IBM mainframes and used financing arrangements to make large systems more accessible to customers. It later moved into IBM-compatible mainframes through a manufacturing relationship involving National Semiconductor and Hitachi. After the mainframe market became more competitive and customers delayed purchases ahead of new IBM systems, National Semiconductor took control of Itel's sales and marketing operations in 1979 and reorganized them as National Advanced Systems, or NAS. NAS shipped IBM-compatible mainframes using Hitachi processors, including the AS/9000 DPC. The business faced strong technological and commercial pressure from IBM as Unix systems, minicomputers, and microcomputers gained ground. In 1983, following litigation by IBM concerning alleged misuse of proprietary technology, Hitachi settled with IBM and licensed mainframe operating-system software. NAS stopped manufacturing its own mainframe line and shifted toward reselling Hitachi mainframe and storage products. On February 28, 1989, Hitachi and Electronic Data Systems announced an agreement to acquire NAS from National Semiconductor. The transaction valued the acquisition at $398 million in cash, with Hitachi owning 80 percent. The acquired business was renamed Hitachi Data Systems. The arrangement gave Hitachi a larger U.S. enterprise presence and combined Hitachi hardware expertise with EDS's systems and services position. In 1999, Hitachi acquired EDS's remaining stake, making HDS wholly owned by Hitachi. HDS initially retained a connection to the mainframe market, but in April 2000 it announced a reorganization centered on storage systems. The June 2000 launch of the Freedom Storage Lightning 9900 marked the new direction. Its crossbar architecture connected memory, disks, servers, and external devices without relying on a traditional shared bus. The platform and its successors supported storage consolidation and virtualization, and some systems were sold through OEM or reseller relationships with companies including Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems. The company subsequently developed a broad enterprise-storage portfolio. High-end Virtual Storage Platform systems addressed consolidation and heterogeneous-storage virtualization. Unified Storage products combined file, block, and object workloads, while the Hitachi NAS Platform supplied clustered file services. Hitachi Content Platform provided distributed object storage for preserving, protecting, and retrieving unstructured content. Software covered administration, replication, snapshots, backup, business continuity, disaster recovery, and IT operations. TrueCopy enabled synchronous or asynchronous remote mirroring for open systems and IBM z/OS environments. Acquisitions broadened the business beyond arrays. Archivas added archiving and content management; ParaScale contributed clustered file-system technology; BlueArc supplied clustered NAS; Shoden Data Systems expanded regional data-center capabilities in sub-Saharan Africa; Cofio added unified data-protection workflow software; Sepaton added deduplication appliances; oXya contributed SAP HANA services; and Pentaho added data integration and analytics. HDS also promoted cloud-storage architectures and partner ecosystems during the 2010s. In 2017, Hitachi combined Hitachi Data Systems, Pentaho, and Hitachi Insight Group to form Hitachi Vantara. Hitachi later announced the integration of Hitachi Vantara and Hitachi Consulting in 2019, with the combined operations adopting the Hitachi Vantara name in January 2020. This ended HDS's existence as a standalone organization, but its storage, data-management, and analytics capabilities continued within Hitachi Vantara.

1. 2020Integrated Hitachi businesses operate as Hitachi Vantara

   Following the announced integration with Hitachi Consulting, the combined operations use the Hitachi Vantara brand.

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2. 2017HDS becomes part of Hitachi Vantara

   Hitachi merges HDS with Pentaho and Hitachi Insight Group to create Hitachi Vantara.

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3. 2015Pentaho acquisition is completed

   HDS completes its acquisition of Pentaho, adding data integration and analytics capabilities.

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4. 2000Storage becomes the central strategy

   HDS reorganizes around enterprise storage and introduces the Freedom Storage Lightning 9900 platform.

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5. 1999HDS becomes wholly owned by Hitachi

   Hitachi buys EDS's remaining interest in HDS.

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6. 1989Hitachi Data Systems is established

   Hitachi and EDS acquire NAS from National Semiconductor and rename the business Hitachi Data Systems.

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7. 1983NAS exits mainframe manufacturing

   After IBM litigation and a settlement involving licensed software, NAS stops manufacturing its own mainframes and becomes a reseller of Hitachi systems and storage products.

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8. 1979National Advanced Systems is formed

   National Semiconductor takes over Itel's sales and marketing operations and creates the National Advanced Systems division.

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9. 1967Itel is founded

   Itel begins as an equipment-leasing company focused initially on IBM mainframes, establishing the earliest corporate roots of the later HDS business.

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Enterprise data infrastructure and information-management provider focused on storage consolidation, resilient data services, hybrid-cloud architectures, analytics, and digital transformation.

• Hitachi Virtual Storage PlatformEnterprise storage2000

  A high-end storage platform designed for enterprise consolidation, virtualization, and management of internal and external heterogeneous storage resources. It supported multiple data types and was positioned for demanding enterprise and IBM mainframe environments.

• Hitachi Unified StorageUnified storage

  A family of modular systems intended to consolidate file, block, and object data in a centrally managed environment, with versions serving both enterprise and smaller or mid-sized organizations.

• Hitachi NAS PlatformNetwork-attached storage

  Clustered network-attached storage technology originating with BlueArc. It supported file sharing, file-server consolidation, and scalable enterprise NAS deployments.

• Hitachi Content PlatformObject storage

  A distributed object-storage platform for storing, protecting, preserving, and retrieving unstructured content. It could be delivered as a hardware appliance or virtual software appliance and formed part of HDS's cloud-storage architecture.

• Hitachi TrueCopyData replication

  Remote-mirroring technology for open systems and IBM z/OS environments. Synchronous operation committed writes at both sites, while asynchronous operation transferred timestamped I/O updates subject to available link capacity.

• Pentaho Data IntegrationData integration and analytics2015

  Pentaho technology brought data-integration, big-data, and analytics capabilities into the HDS portfolio after the 2015 acquisition, helping connect storage infrastructure with broader data-driven applications.

• 2019Integration with Hitachi ConsultingStrategy

  Hitachi aimed to accelerate global expansion of its Social Innovation and digital businesses.

  What changed. Hitachi announced the integration of Hitachi Vantara and Hitachi Consulting; the combined operations began using Hitachi Vantara in January 2020.

  Aftermath. The enlarged organization combined technology, analytics, and consulting capabilities under the Hitachi Vantara brand.

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• 2017Creation of Hitachi VantaraM&A

  Hitachi sought to combine storage, analytics, and Internet-of-Things capabilities under its Social Innovation strategy.

  What changed. Hitachi merged Hitachi Data Systems with Pentaho and Hitachi Insight Group to form Hitachi Vantara.

  Aftermath. HDS ceased to operate as a separate corporate organization and its capabilities continued within Hitachi Vantara.

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• 2000Shift from mainframes to enterprise storageStrategy

  HDS faced a changing computing market and had inherited a business that had moved away from manufacturing IBM-compatible mainframes.

  What changed. The company reorganized around storage systems and launched the Freedom Storage Lightning 9900 platform.

  Aftermath. Storage became the foundation for HDS's subsequent hardware, software, replication, content-management, and cloud offerings.

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• 1983IBM litigation over mainframe technologyControversy

  IBM sued National Semiconductor and NAS, alleging that computer technology secrets had been misappropriated. The dispute ended with a settlement involving Hitachi and licensing of IBM mainframe operating-system software; NAS then stopped manufacturing its own mainframe line.

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• 2020Integrated operations begin under Hitachi Vantara

  The integrated Hitachi Vantara and Hitachi Consulting operations began operating under the Hitachi Vantara brand, led by Toshiaki Tokunaga.

  Leadership change
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• 2019Hitachi announces integration of Hitachi Vantara and Hitachi Consulting

  Hitachi announced an integration intended to accelerate international growth in its Social Innovation and digital businesses.

  M&A
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• 2017Hitachi Data Systems forms Hitachi Vantara with Pentaho and Hitachi Insight Group

  Hitachi combined HDS with Pentaho and Hitachi Insight Group to create Hitachi Vantara, integrating storage, analytics, and industrial digital capabilities.

  M&A
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• 2015Hitachi Data Systems acquires Pentaho

  HDS completed its acquisition of Pentaho, extending the business from storage infrastructure into data integration, big-data processing, and analytics.

  M&AProduct launch
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• 2011Hitachi Data Systems acquires BlueArc

  The acquisition added BlueArc's clustered network-attached storage technology to HDS's enterprise-storage portfolio.

  M&A
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• 2007Hitachi Data Systems acquires Archivas

  HDS acquired Archivas to expand its digital-archiving and content-management capabilities.

  M&A
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• 2000Hitachi Data Systems reorganizes around storage

  HDS announced a reorganization that moved the company’s emphasis away from mainframes and toward enterprise storage systems.

  Other
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• 1999Hitachi acquires Electronic Data Systems' stake in Hitachi Data Systems

  Hitachi announced that it would acquire EDS's interest in HDS, making the storage and systems company a wholly owned Hitachi subsidiary and appointing Jun Naruse as chief executive.

  M&ALeadership change
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• 1999Hitachi takes full ownership of Hitachi Data Systems

  Hitachi announced that it would acquire EDS’s remaining interest in HDS, making the storage company a wholly owned Hitachi subsidiary.

  M&ALeadership change
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• 1989Hitachi and EDS acquire National Advanced Systems and establish Hitachi Data Systems

  Hitachi and Electronic Data Systems agreed to acquire National Advanced Systems from National Semiconductor and renamed the business Hitachi Data Systems.

  M&A
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1. Hitachi Data Systems
2. Hitachi Vantara official website