Hitachi Data Systems kickstarts IT Inspiration Awards

Constituted for the first time, the awards honour inspiring technology solutions from across enterprises in the Asia Pacific region

KUALA LUMPUR, September 9, 2008 — Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) and the only provider of Services Oriented Storage Solutions today launched the first annual IT Inspiration Awards that recognize and reward the best in technology deployment from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The awards commenced in August this year and the public voting for the award recipients starts today and closes on October 17, 2008. The winners will be selected through a mix of public voting and a judging panel comprising of qualified judges from Hitachi Data Systems, IDC and Gartner. Voters can cast their vote for each of the categories online at the specially-created website to support the awards.

Designed to inspire and reward the next generation of enterprises, the ‘Hitachi Data Systems Asia Pacific IT Inspiration Awards 2008’ reflects the changes sweeping into technology industry today. The four industry award categories of Best Green Strategy for a Data Center, Most Innovative Use of Technology, Most Efficient Use of Technology and Best Virtualization Strategy aim to showcase the best in technology adoption leading to sound and tangible business results.

The CIO of the Year award has been created to acknowledge the ground breaking-work of visionary CIO’s. The award will honor the best CIOs from different countries across the Asia Pacific region, who has displayed exemplary thought leadership, a thorough understanding of the business and technology environment and effective leadership skills to combat business challenges and drive results.

”Fierce competition, pressure to drive revenues without escalating costs marks the current corporate landscape. Technology is a differentiator and if aligned with an organization’s business strategy, it has the power to boost business efficiency, productivity and streamline operations.

The IT Inspiration Awards is an opportunity to showcase technology innovations, solutions and applications in a unique and challenging environment that will inspire peers, competitors and customers,” said Vivekanand Venugopal, Vice President, Solutions and Products Group, APAC, Hitachi Data Systems.

About Hitachi Data Systems Asia Pacific IT Inspiration Awards 2008
The contest was initiated in August 2008 to recognise, honour and celebrate enterprises who have achieved outstanding success with Hitachi Data Systems solutions. Entries meeting the eligibility criteria were judged by a panel of qualified judges from Hitachi Data Systems, IDC and Gartner. The award finalists are posted on the IT Inspiration Award Website and public voting for the winners in each category starts on Tuesday, 9 September, 2008 and closes on October 17, 2008.

By casting their votes, members of the public will stand a chance to win a Hitachi Ultra-Thin 42” LCD TV. The public votes will help in defining the next wave of inspiring technology that can set a benchmark in the industry.

Based upon the results of public voting and the judging panel, the award recipients will be announced on November 6, 2008 at the IT Inspiration Awards Prize Presentation Ceremony at Cebu, Philippines held in conjunction with the Hitachi Data Systems APAC CIO Summit themed ‘Inspire and Innovate – Best Practices for Managing the Explosive Growth of Data to Yield Business Results.

The voting website is www.hds.com/apac/itia