As businesses increasingly adopt AI technologies, the volume of data and the cost of training AI models are rising sharply
Hitachi Vantara, the data storage and hybrid cloud management arm of Hitachi, Ltd., has unveiled its latest offering—the Hitachi iQ M Series. Designed to meet the growing demands of generative AI (GenAI) and industry-specific workloads, the new solution promises scalable, flexible, and cost-efficient infrastructure to support AI-driven innovations.
The Hitachi iQ M Series is the latest addition to the company’s AI-ready Hitachi iQ portfolio. It combines the Hitachi Vantara Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One) storage system with integrated file system options and NVIDIA AI Enterprise software. This modular design allows organisations to scale compute and storage independently, enabling them to handle varied data types and workloads without the risk of overprovisioning or incurring unnecessary costs.
As businesses increasingly adopt AI technologies, the volume of data and the cost of training AI models are rising sharply. The Hitachi iQ M Series addresses these challenges by offering flexibility in selecting NVIDIA accelerated computing platforms, ensuring the most suitable GPU can be chosen for each specific workload. This tailored approach helps businesses optimise performance while keeping expenses in check.
Adding further value, Hitachi iQ is integrating the NVIDIA AI Data Platform reference design, aimed at delivering near real-time business insights through AI agents. By combining its enterprise-grade storage with NVIDIA’s accelerated computing, networking, and AI software, Hitachi Vantara seeks to provide customers with a reliable, high-performance platform for their critical AI applications. This integration supports the rapid transformation of data into actionable intelligence, helping organisations derive tangible business benefits from their AI initiatives.
“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 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 cost. This enables businesses to capitalise on AI without overburdening their teams or their bottom line.”
The M Series also features flexible configurations, offering customers a choice between a high-performance file system or a global namespace file system. For businesses with specific storage needs, an optional object storage repository is available within the broader Hitachi iQ portfolio. This makes the solution well-suited for dynamic, data-intensive environments that require adaptability to various data sizes, types, and workloads.
Commenting on the partnership, Bob Pette, vice president of enterprise platforms at NVIDIA, said, “Enterprises generate and store vast amounts of data, much of it unstructured and inaccessible to modern AI-driven applications. With the AI Data Platform reference design, stored data is accessible in real time on Hitachi iQ, giving applications access to full knowledge of the business and providing invaluable insights that strategically accelerate AI initiatives.”
Further strengthening its data orchestration capabilities, Hitachi Vantara has entered into a strategic agreement with Hammerspace, an emerging software company redefining data usage and preservation. Through this partnership, Hammerspace software is now integrated with the VSP One storage platform. This integration ensures that distributed data is easily and transparently accessible, particularly for GenAI workloads. It also addresses key data management needs such as dataset creation, processing, governance, and protection.
Hitachi Vantara positions the Hitachi iQ M Series as a comprehensive infrastructure solution for AI, GenAI, analytics, and data lake environments across various industries. The broader Hitachi iQ portfolio includes AI-ready solutions, services, and an AI Discovery Service designed to help customers identify valuable AI use cases, assess data readiness, determine return on investment, and develop a strategic roadmap for successful AI implementation.
