Hitachi Dives Deeper into IoT with Formation of Hitachi Insight Group

Hitachi is getting serious about the Internet of Things (IoT) space following the formation of the Hitachi Insight Group, the company announced on Tuesday. Although Hitachi has previously offered a number of IoT solutions prior to the formation of the group, the news marks the first time that the company is bringing together both its digital and IoT solutions and services businesses under a single roof.

Currently, Hitachi’s IoT play has been centered around connected sensors and solutions typically utilized in smart cities, but the company is clearly hungry for a larger share of the market than the niche it currently occupies. As such, Hitachi has pledged to focus primarily on Smart City, Smart Energy, Smart Healthcare and Smart Industry initiatives going forward, according to the announcement.

And to prove how serious they are about cementing themselves as a major player in the IoT space, Hitachi also announced the creation of a new IoT core platform, called Lumada, which features open software architecture.

The new group will be led by Keiji Kojima, Ph.D, who also serves as senior vice president and executive officer at Hitachi.

”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, general manager for the Americas, Hitachi Insight Group. “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.”