Hitachi announced a three-year, multi-billion-dollar partnership with Mircrosoft aiming at developing industry solutions for transformative outcomes.
On Tuesday, Japanese tech-giant Hitachi announced a collaboration with Microsoft. The three-year, multi-billion-dollar partnership aims to create innovative AI-based solutions for businesses.
As part of the agreement, Hitachi plans to boost its business growth, aiming for revenue of 2.65 trillion yen (18.9 billion USD) by FY2024. Simultaneously, it aims to improve operational efficiency and productivity for its 270 thousand employees. It plans to train professionals in advanced AI skills, with Microsoft’s assistance as well.
The company has stressed upon three clauses of the deal- Hitachi’s business transformation, developing innovative solutions and strengthening digital skill development.
Hitachi will embed Microsoft’s cloud services, Azure Open AI Service, Dynamics 365, Copilot for Microsoft 365, and GitHub Copilot into its own data platform Lumada solutions. According to the official statement, this collaboration aims to offer joint solutions for industries like energy and mobility, aiming for improved outcomes for businesses and society.
The solutions involve bolstering cloud services, fortifying security, and mitigating the environmental footprint of data centers, in line with the growing adoption of generative AI. This effort encompasses the utilisation of Microsoft’s Generative AI for JP1 Cloud Services, which expedites response times for IT departments, financial institutions, and public entities.
The company claimed that the collaboration aims to reduce downtime and increase profitability in the energy sector, leveraging Hitachi Energy’s Enterprise Software Solutions technology and Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure.
Hitachi also plans to educate over 50 thousand GenAI professionals. It will integrate training on advanced software development skills using GitHub Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service as part of the partnership. This effort seeks to develop professionals who can assist customers in their AI-driven transformations.
Keiji Kojima, President and CEO of Hitachi, mentioned that Hitachi had been using AI to boost productivity across the company and plans to invest 300 billion yen (2.1 billion USD) in GenAI in FY2024. He also stated that Hitachi and Microsoft had collaborated on various co-creation projects, including developing digital solutions for manufacturing and logistics, as well as a field-extended metaverse on Microsoft Teams.
Kojima also highlighted the application of generative AI to enhance frontline workers’ productivity. Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, has assured that the partnership combining Microsoft’s Cloud capabilities and Hitachi’s industry knowledge will benefit Hitachi employees to tackle major customers’ challenges.
