HCL to build new digital foundation for Hitachi ABB Power Grids

Homegrown IT (information technology) services major HCL has entered into a multi-year contract with digital energy solutions firm Hitachi ABB Power Grids to build a new greenfield digital foundation. 

HCL will help Hitachi ABB Power Grids establish a new, efficient and modern independent IT organisation, according to a statement. It will support the Zurich, Switzerland-based company to reduce dependency on the historic ABB IT services infrastructure.  

Hitachi ABB Power Grids was formed in 2020 as a joint venture between Japanese multinational conglomerate Hitachi and Switzerland-based ABB to create a power and digital technologies company. 

HCL will provide hybrid cloud services, digital workplace services, network services, unified service management and cybersecurity services to power the venture’s new digital foundation. It will leverage HCL’s cloud smart offerings, which will offer Hitachi ABB Power Grids an adaptive portfolio with innovative cloud services, intelligent automation and a powerful partner ecosystem, the statement added.  

These capabilities are expected to enhance the company’s operations in over 90 countries and improve end-user experiences for its 36,000 employees worldwide. 

As part of the new digital foundation, HCL will establish strategic digital platforms, global standardization of IT services and futureproof solutions to drive simplicity, speed and scalability throughout Hitachi ABB’s global operations. 

“As a pioneering technology leader, we’re digitalizing the entire energy value chain to make the world’s power grids stronger, smarter and greener. It’s crucial that this transformation also includes our internal operations, as well as the solutions we create for our clients,” Michael Loechle, CIO, Hitachi ABB Power Grids, said. 

“We knew we needed to break away from the historic IT organization we’d inherited, and HCL was the perfect strategic partner to help us create a next-generation operating model. We were particularly impressed by HCL’s ability to create high quality and end user-focused solutions for our employees and offer an end-to-end model to ensure seamless execution,” he added. 

The Noida headquartered IT services company announced a number of new business contracts last month.  It secured a multi-year, integrated application development contract from Illinois based automotive parts manufacturer Tenneco; signed a multimillion-dollar digital transformation and hybrid cloud contract with Japanese vehicle manufacturer UD Trucks; and formed a partnership with IBM to streamline threat management for clients through a modernised security operation center (SOC) platform.