Hitachi Digital Services AR Event Underscores Role Of Services In Industrial Digital Transformation Initiatives

Hitachi Digital Services AR Event Underscores Role Of Services In Industrial Digital Transformation Initiatives

Hitachi Digital Services (HDS) held its first EMEA-focused analyst and advisor day on 11^th September, 2024 in London, UK. Spun off from Hitachi Vantara in late 2023, HDS primarily offers services across IT and OT (operational technology) integration, data management, cloud computing and enterprise AI solutions. Its event was designed to showcase the range of services the provider offers, supported by customer case studies across the energy, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare and financial services industries.

The event highlighted three key focus areas for both HDS and the wider digital services market:

• IT/OT integration is top of mind.
  Legacy systems, differing communication protocols, inconsistent data and cyber security are all common challenges faced by industrial firms when attempting to connect their IT and OT systems and create a unified data layer to unlock more accurate analytics and insights. The 2024 Verdantix operational excellence global survey on industrial operations and maintenance services indicates that, over the next 12 months, a quarter of industrial firms (25%) are planning to increase spend on third-party consultants for IT/OT integration projects to abate these challenges. HDS helped a Swedish engineering firm combine and analyse thousands of plant data points across operations, improving predictability of remaining useful life (RUL) by 75% and reducing maintenance costs.
  
  
• Consultants will continue supporting strategy development and implementation of asset maintenance and performance solutions.
  Of the industrial firms that responded to our operational excellence global corporate survey, 93% report that they are still undergoing digital transformation. With its heritage in OT, HDS draws on decades of experience with development and implementation of AI-enabled applications for asset condition monitoring, anomaly detection, process optimization, product lifecycle management and supply chain optimization. Its 'OneHitachi' approach also means that HDS can leverage solutions and expertise from other Hitachi Group firms - such as Lumada EAM and APM from Hitachi Energy - to accelerate development and delivery of its services. The Bengalla Mining Company worked with HDS to ingest data from mobile and fixed assets across its operations and develop asset performance, process optimization and production management analytics. This increased product quality and yield, resulting in increased processing and $500,000 in cost savings.
  
  
• Services firms will accelerate development of key use cases for generative AI.
  Almost half of decision-makers at industrial firms perceive GenAI to have a greater impact on their operations than simply streamlining administrative tasks. Organizations are seeking the help of third-party consultants and service providers to cut through the hype and effectively deploy GenAI to improve their operations and processes. GenAI emerged as the top area of increasing spend on third-party consultants for the executives interviewed in the operational excellence services survey. Recognizing this trend, HDS is focusing on domain-specific and quantized federated AI models, while also prioritizing safety and reliability with its R2O2.ai (responsible, reliable, observable and optimal) approach. The consultancy has set up GenAI Centres of Excellence (CoE) and has partnered with AI firms such as Anthropic, Snorkel and Zeblok to further develop safe and trustworthy AI.

Industrial organizations seeking to achieve more efficient, reliable and sustainable operations will greatly benefit from engaging with services providers such as HDS. Leveraging its longstanding legacy in manufacturing and global footprint, the firm is well positioned to support organizations with their digital transformation journeys.