Hitachi Vantara and Cisco sign two new global partnership agreements

Hitachi Vantara has announced two new global partnership agreements with Cisco. The agreements bring Hitachi Vantara into Cisco's Service Provider and Solution Technology Integrator (STI) partner programs, respectively, enabling Hitachi Vantara to seamlessly integrate Cisco technologies with its storage products and position the company as a leading data centre infrastructure and hybrid cloud managed services provider.

According to Hitachi Vantara, many businesses are grappling with the complexities of data management and intelligence as they manage their expanding hybrid cloud footprints. IDC finds, 40% of companies will depend on multi-partner technology agreements by 2024 to address these concerns.

Coinciding with the STI agreement, Hitachi Vantara now includes the Cisco UCS X-Series servers in its offerings to deliver a complete converged infrastructure (CI) solution.

The server line becomes part of the Cisco and Hitachi Adaptive Solutions portfolio which pairs Cisco compute and networking with Hitachi Vantara's Energy Star-certified Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) to offer customers a reliable, resilient and environmentally friendly IT infrastructure solution. The solution is now available for Hitachi Vantara customers, helping address a growing market need for converged data centre infrastructure, the company states.

As a member of Cisco's Service Provider program, Hitachi Vantara offers consumption-based managed services to Cisco customers looking for data centre and hybrid cloud services. The services can help address a critical shortage of skilled workers in the IT industry, enabling enterprises to adopt new and emerging technologies more effectively and rely on Hitachi Vantara to streamline hybrid cloud operations, the company states.

Kimberly King, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partners and Alliances at Hitachi Vantara, comments, "Hitachi Vantara and Cisco have been trusted partners for more than two decades, and these agreements are important additions to the innovative relationship these global technology leaders have built.

"Successful partners adjust to meet customers needs, both for today and for the future, and these developments do just that by offering the data-driven solutions and services they need the most."

Nick Holden, Vice President of Global Strategic Partners and Co-sell at Cisco, also commented on the announcement, saying, "As customers seek to simplify their data centre operations, providing converged infrastructure solutions with managed services capabilities from two trusted global vendors can help them reduce risk and optimise their business outcomes.

"Together, Hitachi Vantara and Cisco make it easier for customers to navigate complex hybrid data centre and storage solutions."

Steve White, Vice President of Channels & Alliances, IDC, concludes, "We're seeing a clear shift in market dynamics and consumer preferences that calls for integrated solutions, particularly from industry leaders like Hitachi Vantara and Cisco.

"These types of alliances are crucial to address a growing list of enterprise challenges that include sustainable practices, solution complexities, governance and supply chain issues, among others."