Hitachi commits $1.25 billion to Aussie social innovation division
Hitachi is showing commitment to its Australian Social Innovation business by investing AU$1.25 billion over the next three years. It also expects to triple its revenue to reach $3.75 billion by 2020, with the ultimate goal of improving Australians' quality of life.
Toshiaki Higashihara, Hitachi's President and CEO delivered a speech at the company's Social Innovation Forum 2016 Sydney event. He detailed how the company will use social innovation and digital technologies to help address quality of life.
The forecast $3.75 billion revenue boom will be largely due to its security, healthcare, agriculture, mining and railway business. The company says that urbanisation, dated infrastructure and a demand for smart technologies is boosting the drive toward Internet of Things and Industrie 4.0. In addition, the government's cyber security strategy and increased security measures have prompted Hitachi to to invest in change.
Earlier this year, the company launched a new R-D facility in Sydney, which will help the company work with Australian partners to leverage its expertise.
According to Hitachi, its ultimate goal is to become an innovation partner as the IoT era develops. This year the company launched its 'Lumada' IoT platform, which supports collaborative creation including idea generation, analysis, visualisation, design, testing, simulation and service provision.
The company will partner with Australian organisations to help 'accelerate collaborative creation'. It will promote proof of concept and other solutions to the mining and agriculture businesses. This, according to Hitachi, will help differentiate its market position.
The company will be working to develop IT for healthcare organisations, while its security business consists of video monitoring, finger vein authentication and cybersecurity.
