Hitachi Vantara, the data storage, infrastructure, and hybrid cloud management subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), has announced the Hitachi iQ M Series, the latest addition to the Hitachi iQ portfolio of AI-ready infrastructure solutions. This new solution offers a lower entry cost with built-in adaptability and scalability as customer needs evolve. By integrating accelerated computing platforms with robust networking, the Hitachi iQ M Series combines Hitachi Vantara Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One) storage, integrated file system choices, and optional NVIDIA AI Enterprise software into a scalable, adaptable, cost-effective AI infrastructure solution.
The rise of generative AI and the surge in data processing power are accelerating the pace of change. As more businesses adopt AI, the rapid increase in training costs and data management presents significant challenges. The Hitachi iQ M Series allows for a choice of NVIDIA-accelerated computing platforms, enabling businesses to select the most suitable GPU for specific workloads and ensuring optimal performance across different AI applications. This solution allows for the independent scaling of compute and storage, offering the flexibility to adapt to diverse and fluctuating data sizes, data types, and workloads. This means businesses can allocate resources efficiently, scaling compute or storage as needed rather than overprovisioning, thereby reducing unnecessary expenses.
Additionally, Hitachi iQ is integrating the NVIDIA AI Data Platform reference design, created to power the era of enterprise agentic AI. By using this design, Hitachi Vantara will integrate its best-in-class enterprise storage with NVIDIA’s accelerated computing, networking, and AI software to enable AI agents with near real-time business insights. This ensures that Hitachi Vantara customers benefit from the highest standard of performance and reliability, seamlessly powering their most critical AI applications and transforming their data into actionable insights. Through its continued collaboration with NVIDIA, Hitachi Vantara aims to reshape how organisations manage and use data, bridging the gap between AI agents and business knowledge.
“We’re on a mission to help customers from all industries harness the power of AI, regardless of the market they’re in,” said Jason Hardy, Chief Technology Officer for Artificial Intelligence at Hitachi Vantara. “With the expansion of computing power from the Hitachi iQ M Series and the high-performance and reliability standards inherent in the NVIDIA AI Data Platform, we have created a unique opportunity for businesses to innovate, revamp user experiences, streamline operations, and optimise costs. This enables businesses to capitalise on AI without overburdening their teams or their bottom line.”
As part of the Hitachi iQ portfolio, the M Series features flexible configurations using NVIDIA-accelerated computing and a choice of a high-performance file system or a global namespace file system. An optional object storage repository is also available within the Hitachi iQ portfolio. As a result, the M Series can handle various data types, sizes, and workload demands, making it ideal for businesses operating in dynamic and data-intensive environments.
“Enterprises generate and store vast amounts of data, much of it unstructured and inaccessible to modern AI-driven applications,” said Bob Pette, Vice President of Enterprise Platforms at NVIDIA. “With the AI Data Platform reference design, stored data is accessible in real time on Hitachi iQ, giving applications full knowledge of the business and providing invaluable insights that strategically accelerate AI initiatives.”
Hitachi iQ Powered By Hammerspace And VSP One
To further enhance the data orchestration power of Hitachi iQ, Hitachi Vantara has entered into a strategic resell agreement with Hammerspace, a fast-growing software company that is revolutionising data usage and preservation. Through this agreement, Hitachi Vantara has integrated Hammerspace software with the VSP One storage platform, expanding Hitachi iQ’s capabilities to address various data management requirements, including dataset creation, processing, governance, and protection. The combined VSP One and Hammerspace solution ensures that distributed data is easily and transparently accessible from anywhere for GenAI workloads. As a result, Hitachi iQ represents a complete infrastructure solution for AI, GenAI, analytics, and data lake environments across a range of industry-specific use cases.
The Hitachi iQ portfolio of AI-ready infrastructure, solutions, and services is among the most comprehensive end-to-end AI enablement tools available today. The portfolio includes an AI Discovery Service designed to help customers identify the most valuable AI use cases, assess their data readiness, determine ROI, and create a strategic roadmap for successful AI implementation.
