Hitachi develops IoT platform for ‘new normal’ buildings

Hitachi, Ltd. announced that it has developed an IoT platform that brings to buildings the high added value required for the new normal, including high efficiency of building management and improved comfort for building users.
Hitachi will launch the IoT platform in 2020 as a new Lumada(1) solution in the field of buildings, in Japan.

Hitachi’s IoT platform for buildings was developed using Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Dynamics 365, two cloud platforms of Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.. Moving forward, Hitachi will deepen its Collaborative Creation with Microsoft Japan under its newly commenced partnership system, the Lumada Alliance Program(2) to develop solutions in the field of buildings and accelerate the overseas expansion of these solutions.

In recent years, continuous supplies of large office buildings in urban areas cause intensification of competition for gaining tenants. In addition to this, workstyle reform has progressed due to the spread of COVID-19 infection. These changes surrounding buildings have accelerated the moves to improve the high added value of buildings and realize smart buildings by leveraging digital technologies to achieve the increased efficiency and sophistication of operations in buildings and to provide greater comfort to office workers and other building users.

Based on this background, in April 2020 Hitachi and Hitachi Building Systems Co., Ltd. systematized touchless solutions that enable building users to move and live without touching in buildings and have been gradually expanding these lineup(3). Hitachi has also developed a service platform for developers, which provides office workers the new experience of working and living using a smartphone app(4). With these and other moves, Hitachi has continued to enhance its digital solutions in the field of buildings, to meet the needs of the new normal.

Hitachi and Microsoft are strengthening their cooperation in many industrial fields. For example, in June 2020 the companies formed a strategic alliance related to next-generation digital solutions for manufacturing and logistics(5). Moreover, Microsoft endorsed the Lumada Alliance Program, Hitachi’s partnership system newly commenced on November 4, 2020. This time, in the field of buildings, Hitachi has developed the IoT platform for buildings as the new Lumada solution, by utilizing Azure, Dynamics 365, and other technologies.

The IoT platform for buildings is a solution for developers that enables comprehensive remote monitoring and analysis of the operating status of building equipment, including elevators, escalators, and air-conditioning systems. Intended mainly for large buildings, it also enables users to simultaneously monitor and analyze multiple buildings. In addition, it combines and analyzes data about building equipment and the flow of people, including the crowdedness of each area of a building. Thus, it improves building management efficiency and building users’ comfort, and it maintains and improves the quality of building operations.