Hitachi Consulting and Living PlanIT announce strategic alliance

Hitachi Consulting and Living PlanIT announce strategic alliance to drive next-generation urban developments based on Living PlanIT’s “Urban Operating System™”

Tokyo and London – 10th November 2011

Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd. (Head office: Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroshi Ashibe) (“Hitachi Consulting Japan”) and Living PlanIT SA (Head office: Nyon, Switzerland; CEO: Steve Lewis) (“Living PlanIT”), the urban technology specialist, have today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which heralds a significant formal partnership that will address the opportunities and challenges of innovative next-generation urban development projects in Asia, the U.S., and Europe. The foundation of this new global approach is Living PlanIT’s “Urban Operating System™” (“UOS™”).

Hitachi Consulting Japan currently supports projects in next-generation urban development by combining its strategy and IT consulting expertise with the Hitachi group of companies with the extensive urban design experience of its global corporate partner network. In Living PlanIT, Hitachi Consulting Japan has found a new partner whose ”UOS™” is becoming the de facto standard for the industrialization of the internet, and one which takes a global view of opportunities in smart and efficient urban environments around the world. Together with their respective partner ecosystems, the companies will accelerate progress and plan to significantly expand share in the global next-generation urban development market, whose growth reflects both increasing population pressures and the wider global distribution of wealth.

In next-generation urban development, an integrated technology platform is required to complement and centrally manage the diverse range of data collected from activities monitored within a city, in order to make social infrastructure more efficient, environmentally friendly, and to provide a greater range of information and services to enterprises and citizens. Living PlanIT’s UOS™, based on a sensor network distributed at significant scale, orchestrates all manner of intelligent devices, from those embedded in the very fabric of buildings, to those managing energy, water, waste, education, transportation, medical and interactive surfaces. It provides the platform that centrally manages the enormous amount of data collected within a city, enabling the rapid development and provisioning of applications that utilize this large volume of data (“Big Data”) to provide new urban management tools and citizen services. Living PlanIT is working with real estate developers and technology partners to deploy the UOS™ and was recently named by the World Economic Forum as Global Technology Pioneer for 2012.

By deploying a unifying platform across urban environments it is possible to ensure the smooth, real-time, transfer of data between devices which, in the age of M2M communication, is a prerequisite for sustainable development and operation of smart cities.

Hitachi Consulting Japan and Living PlanIT will work together with their other partners to expand their combined ecosystems and enable next generation city development in Asia, Europe, the U.S. and beyond.

Executive Quotes

Hiroshi Ashibe President, Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd.

“Society and urban life are becoming more globalized and complex. To use resources effectively in such a society, we must have an accurate, up-to-date understanding of the state of the real world and use that knowledge to devise a system where people and machines can make smarter decisions and act with greater insight. However, such a system cannot be realised by just one company. Many companies with a range of experience, know-how, and technology must join forces and make a scalable and replicable system. The Urban Operating System™ marketed by Living PlanIT, and Living PlanIT’s innovative business model and extensive partnerships, are all organically connected to form an IT-based “ecosystem,” which is essential for environmentally friendly urban management and the reshaping of corporate activities and personal lifestyles.

At Hitachi Consulting Japan, we use our project management, solutions, and business development skills, as well as our extensive network, which have been nurtured in fields such as strategic development and IT, to promote the creation of next-generation cities. Through our business ties with Living PlanIT, we will contribute to society by accelerating the creation of new cities and innovations”.

Steve Lewis CEO, Living PlanIT SA

“In Hitachi we have found a partner with a truly clear and strategic view of what is required to deliver the kinds of places where people want to live, work and play in the 21st Century. Living PlanIT is delighted to begin work with such a widely respected business both in their home markets across Asia and in support of their accelerating activities in the U.S. and Europe. In bringing together Hitachi Consulting Japan’s project management and solutions capabilities, with their leading edge technologies and our combined ecosystem of partners, all integrated with the Urban Operating System™, we have today formed a strategic alliance of global significance”.

Notes to Editors

Hitachi Consulting Japan is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and is one of the companies that make up the Information & Telecommunication Systems segment at Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi Consulting Japan is also a core enterprise of the Hitachi Consulting group, which boasts 4,000 employees across the globe. Hitachi Consulting Japan utilizes its project management, solutions and business development abilities, and its extensive network, which it has cultivated in fields such as strategies and IT for enterprises and administrative bodies, for the purpose of next-generation urban developments and innovations.

Information about Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd. can be found at www.hitachiconsulting.co.jp/.

Living PlanIT S.A. focuses on developing innovative and sustainable city-scale technologies. Its approach is to bring together corporations, educational institutions and people, as partners, to stimulate, accelerate and incubate the technological innovation that is essential to provide better city living, and to bring these solutions to the world market.

Information about Living PlanIT can be found at www.living-planit.com.

Hitachi Consulting Japan Press Contacts
Yukako Nuki or Takashi Arai
Marketing & Communications Division
info@hitachiconsulting.co.jp

Press Contact
Media
media@living-planit.com