SNIA Elects Hitachi Data Systems Executive Co-Chair of Security Group

Respected Industry Association Elects Art Edmonds Co-Chair of Technical Working Group

Santa Clara, California - March 12th, 2003 - Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), today announced that Arthur B. Edmonds, Jr., senior director of Data Networking Technologies in the Office of the CTO at Hitachi Data Systems, has been elected Co-Chair of the Storage Networking Industry Association's (SNIA) Security Technical Working Group (TWG.) Edmonds adds this role to his current work on the Board of Directors for the Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA.)

The SNIA Security TWG provides architectures and frameworks for the establishment of information security capabilities within the storage networking industry. The mission of the SNIA Security TWG is to define methods for increasing the security of information residing within, or transiting through, heterogeneous storage networks, as well as information relating to the management of those networks. Its goal is to help vendors and customers improve the information security of their products and configurations.

The SNIA is an international organization dedicated to delivering storage networking architectures, education, and solutions for the IT community. Hitachi Data Systems is an active participant in the work of the SNIA at many levels, including support for the Storage Management Initiative (SMI) Forum and its focus on strategic Common Information Model (CIM) initiatives.

Art Edmonds brings over 21 years experience in higher-speed networking, network management, and network & storage security to the SNIA. His current duties at Hitachi Data Systems include extending data storage and acquisition over secure networks using Fibre Channel technology and the Internet, and Storage Management.

"I am honored to be elected to this position and welcome this new responsibility and opportunity to bring my experience, along with Hitachi Data Systems commitment to open standards and technology innovation to the SNIA," said Art Edmonds, senior director of Data Networking Technologies, Hitachi Data Systems.

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not-for-profit organization, made up of over 300 companies and individuals spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA members share a common goal: to set the pace of the industry by ensuring that storage networks become efficient, complete, and trusted solutions across the IT community. To this end the SNIA is uniquely committed to delivering standards, education and services that will propel open storage networking solutions into the broader market. For information, contact the SNIA at 650-949-6720 or via e-mail at executivedirector@snia.org, or visit the SNIA web site at http://www.snia.org.

Hitachi Data Systems enables organizations worldwide to exploit the full potential of information. Adhering to our TrueNorth™ vision and strategy, we provide customers with a broad range of storage solutions to simplify, protect and optimize their information infrastructures. Our offerings include centralized and distributed storage solutions complemented by best-of-breed products from channel partners and industry alliances.

With 2,700 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries and regions. Our customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information please visit our Web site at www.hds.com.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2001 (ended March 31, 2002) consolidated sales totaled 7,994 billion yen ($60.1 billion*). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://global.hitachi.com.


Contacts: PR

Jodi Reinman, Hitachi Data Systems, (408) 970-1050, jodi.reinman@hds.com

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