Singtel, a Singapore-based communications technology group, and Hitachi Digital, a Japan-based end-to-end digital transformation services and technology firm, have announced a new collaboration that will pair Hitachi’s deep artificial intelligence (AI) expertise with Singtel’s Paragon platform, the all-in-one orchestration platform for 5G, edge computing and cloud.
Singtel said in a statement on last Thursday that Hitachi Digital will deploy Paragon at the Hitachi Americas’ Santa Clara research and development (R&D) Labs, followed by a pilot in a United States factory for Industry 4.0 use cases.
The pilot will aim to validate the interoperability of Hitachi AI applications on quality assurance, workplace safety, immersive training and pre-emptive maintenance on Paragon.
The trial will also enable the integration of Paragon with Hitachi industry cloud applications and digital services to enable enterprises to transcend the limitations of complex, low-latency connectivity and productivity experiences.
Hitachi’s pre-built Industrial AI applications together with the Paragon platform’s network and multi-cloud orchestration capabilities will be used to create multiple Paragon-related offerings to help clients improve and accelerate their cloud operations.
Subsequently, Hitachi Digital Services will go to market with these offerings as a Singtel Paragon authorized System Integrator – presenting a unique value proposition to enterprise customers looking to leverage multiple network protocols in delivering digital transformation in industrial settings.
“Enterprises in the fast-growing Industry 4.0 sector depend on high quality, reliable connectivity to ensure smooth operations,
“We are pleased to collaborate with Hitachi Digital, leveraging Paragon to manage its connectivity and cloud needs across Hitachi’s manufacturing facilities,” said Bill Chang, Chief Executive Officer of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo.
According to him, integrating Hitachi’s advanced AI applications with Paragon’s ecosystem will enhance their suite of solutions for manufacturing enterprises and enable them to seamlessly transform their operations powered by AI.
Frank Antonysamy, Chief Growth Officer, Hitachi Digital, said that Hitachi has invested heavily in combining decades of digital, data, cloud, AI, cybersecurity, and connectivity expertise to establish transformative solutions for industry cloud deployments.
“Our applications and consulting services in this area have been an integral part of the digitalization movement impacting businesses around the world,
“We anticipate that this partnership with Singtel will enable us to once again increase the capabilities of next gen technologies in enterprise environments, enabling a new level of productivity for customers,” he added.
It is noted that organizations have often struggled with industrial 5G deployments because of complex and fragmented solutions.
AI has added a new layer of complexity to this equation as organizations now also attempt to accelerate AI adoption in these scenarios.
Singtel Paragon is a comprehensive solution that enables them to connect with the 5G network and securely deploy edge computing and AI rapidly on telco infrastructure, thus reducing time-to-market and shortening the innovation curve.
The collaboration between Singtel and Hitachi will bring together interoperable solutions with expert delivery services, which will greatly benefit organizations seeking to address industrial AI complexity, said the statement.