Data Isn’t just Information; It’s the Currency of Innovation

Says: Hemant Tiwari, Managing Director – India, Hitachi Vantara: Embracing data-driven decisions is not just a choice; it’s the compass guiding businesses toward a future of unparalleled success and innovation.

In an interview with Hemant Tiwari, Managing Director of Hitachi Vantara India, we discussed the forefront of data management, analytics, and digital transformation. Hitachi Vantara stands at the crossroads of innovation, committed to not only protecting sensitive data but also unleashing its transformative power for businesses. Tiwari expounds on the pivotal role played by Hitachi Vantara in safeguarding confidential information, enabling IoT-driven insights, and charting the course for a data-driven future. The conversation also sheds light on the challenges and opportunities that businesses encounter in their digital transformation journeys, and how Hitachi Vantara’s cutting-edge solutions are poised to address the unique needs of its diverse clientele. Moreover, Tiwari paints a vivid picture of a future where data-driven decisions reign supreme, driven by real-time insights, predictive analytics, and democratized access to information across the organization. This interview offers a compelling glimpse into the evolving landscape of data-driven innovation and the pivotal role played by Hitachi Vantara in shaping the future of businesses through data.

Could you share how you ensure the protection of sensitive data while enabling organizations to harness its full potential?

We understand the potential of data and are committed to safeguarding sensitive information. We provide services and solutions designed to expedite enterprise innovation and facilitate a seamless transition into a data-driven paradigm. Our solutions encompass data governance, data protection, and data intelligence designed to keep confidential data secure.

Our cutting-edge analytics and Machine Learning capabilities equip organizations to distill insights from their data repositories, thereby facilitating thoughtful decision-making. Also, with more than a thousand global data science experts and a cohort of four-and-a-half-thousand data and analytics specialists, we assist organizations in conceiving and implementing strategies powered by data. Together, the technology coupled with the expertise of our data scientists allows enterprises to fully leverage the latent capacities of their data, all the while ensuring its invulnerability and alignment with rigorous regulatory benchmarks.

How does Hitachi Vantara enable organizations to extract actionable insights from IoT data? What industries do you see benefitting the most from these capabilities?

We are leading in IoT innovation, bringing together more than 60 years of IT and 110 years of OT expertise. We develop innovative IoT solutions to leverage our data management and analytics technology and engineer data-driven business outcomes for areas like manufacturing, smart spaces, transportation, and energy and utilities.

Our IoT solutions and services include Lumada DataOps capabilities for automated, AI-driven data operations for all our enterprise customers, as well as Lumada Industrial DataOps, which provides advanced analytics capabilities for industrial use cases. These solutions help us engineer the path from data to decisions in critical industries.

We enable organizations to extract actionable insights from IoT data by leveraging our data management capabilities and analytics to manage, assess, and provide insights from data in a matter of seconds. The industries that could benefit the most from these capabilities include manufacturing, smart spaces, transportation, energy, and utilities.

More than a thousand global data science experts and a cohort of four-and-a-half-thousand data and analytics specialists, we assist organizations in conceiving and implementing strategies powered by data.

How has the landscape of data management and analytics evolved? What role does Hitachi Vantara play in this transformation?

We understand the pivotal role of data in driving modern economies and shaping our digital strategies. Ensuring the possession of the appropriate hybrid cloud infrastructure is pivotal, as it provides the means to seamlessly consolidate data from diverse environments. This smooth integration establishes the bedrock for thorough analysis, enabling the extraction of invaluable insights. Consequently, the translation of these insights into actionable strategies unfolds seamlessly, guaranteeing the most effective utilization of your resources.

Our portfolio equips us to expedite data-fuelled innovation for our customers, effectively tackling their most pressing challenges across infrastructure and operations, cloud and data management, as well as application development and management. We seamlessly integrate these capabilities. It sets us apart in the market and empowers us to guide clients from the inception of an idea to its execution.

Could you elaborate on the challenges and opportunities you see for businesses adopting digital transformation strategies in the current market?

Digital transformation is an intricate and ongoing process, involving the integration of fresh technologies, processes, and business models to foster innovation and enhance business outcomes. While this journey presents numerous prospects, it’s accompanied by several challenges that businesses must navigate to succeed.

A significant hurdle lies in managing and analyzing substantial data volumes from diverse sources. It is worth emphasizing that the landscape of data and analytics is undergoing rapid expansion due to companies generating more data each day. This expansion is further magnified by emerging technologies such as generative AI, which are adding extra strain to the existing cloud infrastructure. It necessitates advanced analytics, machine learning capabilities, and robust data governance and protection strategies to ensure the security and compliance of sensitive information. Integrating new technologies and processes with existing systems poses another challenge, requiring careful planning for maximum value and minimal operational disruption.

Also, businesses must cultivate the agility to adapt to market changes and evolving customer preferences. It requires fostering an innovative culture and encouraging experimentation. Despite these challenges, digital transformation offers numerous opportunities. Businesses can leverage technology to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and innovate products and services. Data analytics offers insights into customer behavior and helps identify market gaps.

We believe in managing these challenges to enable businesses to thrive. Our data management and analytics solutions are designed to expedite digital transformation journeys.

What innovative solutions or technologies is Hitachi Vantara bringing to address the unique needs?

Hitachi Vantara is a leader in powering global, mission-critical, digital, and industrial environments. Hitachi Vantara delivers a broad portfolio of data management systems, applications, and services to help customers navigate the complex world of hybrid cloud and gain strategic value from data. Hitachi Vantara is committed to providing innovative solutions and technologies to address the unique needs of its customers.

Some of the innovative solutions and technologies that Hitachi Vantara is offering to address the unique needs of its customers include scalable and secure unstructured data management through Hitachi Content Platform (HCP) and high-performance storage via Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) for data storage solutions, AI-driven data operations through DataOps, production and quality optimization for manufacturers with Manufacturing Insights, lifecycles management for assets and equipment through Asset Management, and unified management of IT infrastructure and operations via Ops Centre.

Hitachi Vantara envisions an era where businesses fundamentally rely on decisions rooted in data insights. We believe that data serves as the linchpin, unlocking priceless insights, propelling innovation, and ultimately improving business outcomes.

How do you envision the future of data-driven decision-making for businesses?

Hitachi Vantara envisions an era where businesses fundamentally rely on decisions rooted in data insights. We believe that data serves as the linchpin, unlocking priceless insights, propelling innovation, and ultimately improving business outcomes.

In today’s world, the up-to-date data infrastructure should also align with the growing ethical and regulatory demand for businesses to enhance the sustainability and energy efficiency of their data center operations. In addition, it should empower them to scale their operations in a more precise manner. Concurrently, it’s crucial to ensure the safeguarding and reliable backup of crucial data, making sure it’s always accessible when needed.

According to our Modern Data Infrastructure Dynamics Report, the right data infrastructure is a lifeline for organizations drowning in an ocean of data. More than one-quarter (29%) of the organizations surveyed say their infrastructure is not equipped to handle the current volume of data. With average data storage needs for large organizations set to pass 60 petabytes in the next two years, business leaders need to ask themselves if their current solutions can scale that far without introducing more frustrations for their users.

Notably, decision-makers are placing even more emphasis on hybrid cloud solutions due to concerns about security and the intricacies of managing data across various platforms. 22% of those surveyed in our study admitted important data isn’t being backed up. An additional 18% cited not being able to access data in the past two years because it was corrupted. This underscores the importance of contemporary data infrastructure, which includes hybrid cloud solutions, as a pivotal avenue for businesses to address their needs for scalability, sustainability, and data protection.

Adaptability is key when considering data storage solutions because the types of data currently being collected, managed, and processed bear little resemblance to traditional data sources. Organizations that tap the potential of semi-structured and unstructured data can accelerate their digital transformation journeys. Integrating and making all your data accessible, no matter the source will have a huge impact on how well organizations can meet the challenges of the future. One important factor of successful data infrastructure is a single access point for all the data in your platform. Comprehensive access brings the full value of all your data sources to your fingertips.

In the future, Hitachi Vantara envisions a data-driven landscape characterized by swift access to real-time insights, enabling businesses to make informed decisions. Predictive analytics will empower businesses to anticipate trends and take proactive measures. Integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning will further enhance decision-making processes. Data democratization will promote accessibility across organizations, fostering collaboration and enabling well-informed choices. Additionally, cloud-based data management will revolutionize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of data storage, management, and analysis.

Hitachi Vantara envisions a future where businesses flourish with data-driven decisions. The vision is characterized by real-time insights, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data democratization, and cloud-based data management.