Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
September 30, 2013
Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), announced that it was selected by eResearch SA to foster research innovation with a high capacity, high performance infrastructure platform for the state's storage node. The project helps form 1 of 6 primary nodes established under the Research Data Storage Infrastructure (RDSI) scheme that will create a national network of infrastructure to support data intensive research and collaboration. eResearch SA's node with its storage capacity of 4.3 petabytes makes it the largest research data storage capability in South Australia.
eResearch SA is a non-incorporated joint venture that represents South Australia's national e-research interests. It was founded by the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia, and Flinders University, each of which have full membership of the organisation. Having secured funding from the RDSI scheme, eResearch SA set out to significantly boost its ability to hold and process high data volumes, providing world-class storage and access services to the Higher education and research sector in South Australia.
The RDSI project is an AU$50 million federal government investment to strengthen Australia's capability to support researchers who conduct data intensive research and collaboration. For Australian researchers, the RDSI project will provide world-class data storage services that are safe, secure, robust, easily shared and accessible. The South Australian node will support researchers at the University of Adelaide, University of South Australia, Flinders University and the state government by hosting and supporting research data collections and their active use and retention. Academic projects that will benefit range from protecting Australia's unique biodiversity and cataloguing cultural treasures to research supporting the agricultural sector.
eResearch SA selected Hitachi Data Systems from a panel of vendors as the most complete and technically superior data storage hardware infrastructure solution. HDS will provide an end-to-end infrastructure portfolio that encompasses Hitachi Unified Storage-VM (HUS VM) with clustered file modules, Hitachi Content Platform (HCP) comprising 24 nodes and 2 HUS systems as well as a Spectra Logic T950 library with Hitachi Data Protection Suite software. Starting with a storage capacity of 4.3 petabytes (PB), the South Australian research node is expected to expand to at least 10PB over the next 5 years as eResearch SA expands its user base and range of cloud services. Providing large capacity per square metre and low power consumption per terabyte, the Hitachi platform delivers this performance from a sustainable data centre infrastructure that contributes to a low environmental footprint.
Mary Hobson, executive director, eResearch SA said: "We chose Hitachi Data Systems because of the team's comprehensive understanding of our requirements and the company's proven ability to deliver performance and scale as a trusted infrastructure partner over a long-term engagement period. The South Australian storage node, with its fast, high capacity networks will bring unprecedented collaboration to the academic sector, with methodologies and capabilities that can be applied in all research disciplines, not just those with a traditional affiliation with high-performance computing."
"This infrastructure will improve research efficiency by providing South Australian researchers with the capability to collaborate more extensively. They will manage, move and share data volumes well beyond current capacities, use and manipulate significant collections of data that have been previously unavailable or difficult to access, and improve the availability of quality research data for sharing and re-use," she added.
Neil Evans, vice president and country manager for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands at Hitachi Data Systems said: "eResearch SA's infrastructure project exemplifies the innovation that technology can bring to the research sector, and society as a whole. Connecting researchers in South Australia with Australia's national RDSI infrastructure opens up unprecedented opportunities for data intensive research and collaboration."
RDSI is the largest investment for research storage infrastructure in Australia's history, and per-capita one of the world's largest. Hitachi Data Systems has also been selected to build the New South Wales node of the RDSI network.
Hitachi Data Systems provides information technologies, services and solutions that help companies improve IT costs and agility, and innovate with information to make a difference in the world. Our customers gain compelling return on investment (ROI), unmatched return on assets (ROA), and demonstrable business impact. With approximately 6,300 employees worldwide, Hitachi Data Systems does business in more than 100 countries and regions. Our products, services and solutions are trusted by the world's leading enterprises, including more than 70% of the Fortune 100 and more than 80% of the Fortune Global 100. Visit us at www.hds.com/anz/.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 326,000 employees worldwide. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2012 (ended March 31, 2013) totaled 9,041 billion yen ($96.1 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, power systems, construction machinery, high functional material & components, automotive systems and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi Data Systems
Isabel Wagner
(+61) 2 9325 3365
isabel.wagner@hds.com
