Considering Hitachi Data Systems
Solutions for Mobility and Cloud
HDS has brought to market a variety of cloud services options designed to enable organizations to implement cloud solutions based on their specific needs and at their own pace. Fulfilling the vision of its “Enable-Deliver-Partner” cloud strategy, HDS now has solutions that allow organizations to choose one or more cloud delivery models, including private, public, and hybrid clouds.
HDS recently announced the general availability of Hitachi Cloud Platform (HCP) 6.0, which is the key solution for all the company’s cloud services. HCP is the object store and cloud repository that supports a variety of capabilities including a metadata model that enables better data access control and more effective data lifecycle management; REST API support for integration with cloud applications without sacrificing SLAs and security; and virtualization capabilities that support multi-tenancy, enabling thousands of unique workloads to exist within a single cluster.
HDS also recently announced the general availability of HCP Anywhere, an option for Hitachi Content Platform that provides a fully integrated, on-premises solution for safe, secure file synchronization and sharing. HCP Anywhere is enterprise and Internet ready and uses the HCP object store to store, protect, share, sync, secure and manage data in an efficient, scalable and high-density object storage platform.
Hitachi Data Systems’ Cloud Strategy
Hitachi Cloud Services is an HDS owned and hosted enterprise level public and enterprise-to-cloud solution covering all cloud delivery models and provides both a set of cloud storage services as well as REST API support for supporting enterprise applications. HDS manages an organization’s data in an offsite datacenter using HDS hardware, software and personnel, while organizations retain access to data regardless of user location. The solution can be customized based on an organization’s application archiving and content requirements, and includes such value-added content services as index and search across multiple data types. Hitachi Cloud Services is available in the United States; geographic expansion is planned.
Hitachi Cloud Services Connection is a white-label program that enables channel partners to deliver a comprehensive cloud service catalog, based on HDS technology deployed in-country and managed by HDS remotely, to complement their existing HDS product offerings. In this way, channel partners are able to solve their customer business challenges with a combination of on-premise HDS systems and cloud services using HDS technology. Hitachi Cloud Services Connection is offered to channel partners in a variety of Asia/Pacific countries; geographic expansion to EMEA is under way.
HDS cloud solutions provided via MSS deliver integrated, fully managed, usage-based services that move legacy or lower value unstructured data into a cloud storage environment located within the organization’s datacenter. The organization only pays for the storage that is used on a monthly subscription basis; maintaining the data within the organization’s environment ensures that existing security methodologies are followed.
Challenges
HCP Anywhere is Hitachi Data Systems first product that directly touches the end user. With products traditionally focused on the IT infrastructure, marketing HCP Anywhere could prove challenging. The company will also be competing with the perceived low cost options that public cloud-based solutions can offer. HDS is expanding its offerings to include public cloud offerings, delivered by HDS and through partners. This represents a new direction for HDS, and may take some customers time to think of HDS as a cloud service provider – many customers see HDS solely as a vendor of storage products.
