Hitachi Digital is actively leveraging its established presence in India, acknowledging the immense potential residing in the country's skilled talent pool and dynamic market. In a recent interview with DIGITIMES Asia at the concluded Zinnov Confluence, Jun Taniguchi, CEO of Hitachi Digital, discussed the company's strategic plans for India and shared his perspective on the overall market trajectory.
"We aim to link our Indian engineering resources with our other talent pools in regions such as Eastern Europe or Latin America," Taniguchi stated. "Each of these regions brings distinct areas of expertise, and we hope to benefit mutually from technology exchange. We also aspire to equip our engineering resources with cutting-edge technologies like generative AI."
Taniguchi asserts that India's well-educated engineers and their agile learning culture make the country an ideal location for their development. Hitachi aspires to connect Indian engineers with groundbreaking technology from Silicon Valley.
Opportunity for green infrastructure
Hitachi Digital was established to speed up digitalization across both IT systems and services and OT-type businesses. Two years ago, Hitachi purchased Global Logic, based in Silicon Valley, which provides design and engineering solutions. Nearly half of Global Logic's engineering resources are located in India, and we perceive India as both an engineering resource platform and an ecosystem market.
"India presents a significant opportunity to improve green social infrastructure," Taniguchi conveyed. "We offer green energy solutions and green transportation systems, including control systems. Hence, we are eager to collaborate with the Indian market and engineers to enhance these sectors and contribute to a greener society in India."
All countries and regions are driving initiatives to be greener. For instance, renewable energy represents a substantial opportunity. However, challenges exist, such as the high productivity of solar and wind power, making grid automation and control crucial for maximizing green energy usage and providing stable power resources. The fusion of green energy solutions with digital technology is vital, and this is an area where we excel at Hitachi.
"The Indian government is eager to improve green energy distribution and resources," Taniguchi added. "However, the deployment of grid automation and orchestration using digital technology is crucial for societal impact."
Challenges to overcome
Of course, any company entering such a segment in India faces numerous challenges. First, there are many stakeholders, including government, energy, power producers, grid management companies, manufacturing industries, and general consumers.
"So, we must engage each of these stakeholders in the process of green energy or green transformation," Taniguchi asserted. "Some stakeholders might find this challenging. Internally, cultural differences exist between OT (operational technology) or product-type business personnel and digital business personnel. The timelines for their businesses can vary significantly, which may pose a challenge."
Taniguchi added that his personal career had prepared him for these challenges, having started in IT sales, akin to digital business, then transitioning to the OT world and product domain.
"This allows me to understand both processes," Taniguchi expressed. "Once we've reached consensus on the importance of collaboration between OT and digital technology for green energy technology, it becomes easier to work together."
Work culture and cultural differences
One of the significant concerns for overseas companies entering business in India is the disparity in work culture. Some companies have even ceased their operations after a series of disagreements between employees and management. Does Hitachi Digital see this as a challenge?
According to Taniguchi, work culture is certainly a priority. One of their challenges has been the competitiveness of the engineering resources. Despite the recent economic downturn, the Indian market is booming, and demand for high-value talent remains high.
"We have over 20,000 engineers in India, and their skill sets and motivation are extremely high," Taniguchi answered. "They possess a diverse range of technological expertise. However, the market for engineering resources in India is highly competitive, and we've encountered difficulties retaining skilled engineers. But overall, the level of education and the speed at which they adopt new technologies in India are very high, and that excites me."
Long-term vision
In a country like India, the implementation of renewable and green technologies is a long-term process because they are related to social infrastructure and require significant investments. It's necessary to involve all stakeholders, including the government and the general public. Taniguchi suggested that bringing all of this together and working towards the best results is a long-term plan.
The global momentum is toward sustainable transformation, which includes India. The pace of investment may vary by region, but the direction is the same. And given India's large population and power requirements, the company views India as one of the biggest potential markets for green transformation.
