Hitachi merges subsidiaries

Two subsidiaries of Hitachi Data Systems announced Tuesday that have merged into one entity that will provide front- and back-office solutions across a range of vertical markets.

IT systems builder Hitachi Innovative Solutions (HISC) and e-business solutions vendor Virtualogic will merge into one company, retaining the HISC name. With about 250 employees, HISC will focus on the banking, insurance, telecommunications, and hospitality industries.

HISC will market its portolio under the name Virtualogic Results Driven Solutions, according to Jim Budkie, vice president of strategic marketing.

"We'll have revenues in the range of US$30 million annually," Budkie said. "Also, we'll continue our growth plan, which will be balanced between organic growth and acquisitions."

The merger positions HISC as a systems integrator for an array of needs, including CRM (customer relationship management), data warehousing, data mining, business intelligence, e-commerce Web applications, networking and security, ERP (enterprise resource planning) and management, and enterprise application integration, Budkie said.

HISC President and COO William Bray will remain as the new, larger company's president and COO. Budkie said HISC would use Virtualogic's Bethesda, Maryland headquarters as the base for its East Coast operations. HISC is based in Santa Clara, California.