Hitachi Vantara Expands Hitachi iQ Capabilities to Help Enterprises Advance Responsible Agentic AI

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Mar 16, 2026, 16:31 ET

Expanded AI blueprints, infrastructure capabilities and intelligent data integration strengthen the Hitachi iQ portfolio for secure, on-prem production AI

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hitachi Vantara, the data storage, infrastructure and hybrid cloud management subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. (TSE: 6501), today announced new capabilities across the Hitachi iQ portfolio, including enhanced AI blueprints and multi-agent coordination in Hitachi iQ Studio, expanded NVIDIA AI infrastructure options, and deeper data integration to support agentic AI in on-premises and virtualized environments. Together, these enhancements position Hitachi iQ as a comprehensive, enterprise-ready AI solution, enabling customers to build and manage AI agents within their own environments.

For more information about Hitachi iQ, please visit:
https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/solutions/ai-analytics/hitachi-iq

As organizations move from AI experimentation to scaled deployment, many are facing growing challenges tied to data complexity, AI sovereignty and evolving governance and security requirements. According to a recent report, in the U.S. and Canada, only 42% of organizations are considered data-mature, and 84% of those organizations report measurable AI ROI, compared with just 48% of organizations with weaker data foundations. As AI moves into production, the ability to pair strong data practices with secure, well-governed infrastructure is becoming a critical differentiator. The Hitachi iQ portfolio is designed to help close that gap by bringing together AI-ready infrastructure, integrated agent capabilities and enterprise-grade oversight and compliance controls designed for responsible enterprise AI deployments.

"AI is moving into production faster than many organizations' data foundations are ready to support," said Octavian Tanase, chief product officer, Hitachi Vantara. "With these latest enhancements to the Hitachi iQ portfolio, we are expanding across software innovation, high-performance infrastructure and intelligent data integration to give customers greater flexibility and control as they move agentic AI from pilot to production."

New Accelerated Computing Options for Modern AI Workloads
Hitachi iQ is designed to help enterprises deploy and operate AI infrastructure with predictable performance and reliability, built on Hitachi Vantara's Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One) data platform and supporting HMAX by Hitachi, a suite of next-generation solutions that brings the power of AI to social infrastructure. Hitachi iQ now supports NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs (air-cooled), NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs (air-cooled and liquid-cooled) and a 2U NVIDIA MGX-based system with up to four NVIDIA RTX PRO ™6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs. Hitachi iQ also plans to support the newly announced NVIDIA RTX PRO ™ 4500 Blackwell Server Edition GPU. These options give customers greater flexibility to align compute with their AI workloads – from model development and fine-tuning to inference and agentic applications – while supporting diverse form factors that address cooling, power and space constraints and meet enterprise requirements for security, resilience and production readiness.

Hitachi iQ integrates accelerated computing, networking and storage into a validated infrastructure stack. It is built to keep data close to compute, helping improve utilization and efficiency for data-intensive AI workloads.

New AI Blueprints and Data Orchestration in Hitachi iQ Studio
Hitachi iQ Studio, the AI software component of the Hitachi iQ portfolio, enables organizations to design, deploy and govern AI agents within secure enterprise environments. Built on the NVIDIA AI Data Platform reference design, it now includes expanded AI blueprints and multi-agent coordination capabilities that help teams move from prototype to production with greater clarity and control.

The new blueprints introduce defined agent roles, including supervisor and worker models. Worker agents execute tasks while supervisor agents coordinate multi-agent workflows and adapt based on outcomes. This structured orchestration helps organizations automate complex processes while maintaining visibility, efficiency and governance.

Hitachi iQ Studio also expands support for NVIDIA Nemotron models, large language models designed to power advanced, tool-using agentic AI systems, and introduces time machine capabilities that enable AI systems to navigate historical datasets with context and speed. This time-aware intelligence strengthens explainability and supports industries that rely on long-term data patterns to inform decisions.

"As enterprises continue to scale AI, the ability to combine accelerated computing with consistent software and trusted data becomes essential," said Jason Hardy, vice president of storage technologies, NVIDIA. "Full-stack AI infrastructure optimized for enterprise demand enables organizations to support a wider range of AI outcomes while maintaining the performance, governance, and operational consistency enterprises require."

Expanded Hammerspace Capabilities to Simplify, Automate and Accelerate Data Access
Building on their strategic partnership, Hitachi iQ delivers tighter integration between Hitachi iQ Studio and Hammerspace to streamline data access for agent-driven workflows. With this expanded capability, data managed by Hammerspace can be accessed directly within Hitachi iQ Studio using Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard that allows AI systems to securely connect to external data sources.

This enables customers to build AI agents in Hitachi iQ Studio that can securely work with and help manage their Hammerspace data environments, extending automation and insight directly to distributed data without requiring relocation. Data remains governed and protected within VSP One, helping maintain availability and consistent performance as agents operate across environments.

This deeper integration improves data observability and simplifies access to distributed datasets without adding infrastructure complexity, allowing AI agents to work with in-place data across environments without unnecessary data movement. The result is a stronger connection between data orchestration and agent coordination, supported by VSP One Block infrastructure to deliver consistent performance and 100% data availability while preserving hybrid cloud flexibility for enterprise AI.

Accelerating AI Storage
Hitachi Vantara will also be supporting the newly announced NVIDIA STX reference architecture to develop AI-native storage solutions powered by NVIDIA Vera Rubin, BlueField-4, Spectrum-X networking, and NVIDIA AI software.

Hitachi Vantara will showcase Hitachi iQ and Hitachi iQ Studio at NVIDIA GTC 2026, taking place March 16-19 in San Jose, California. Attendees can explore how Hitachi iQ simplifies and advances agentic AI development across industries. Learn more about the One Hitachi presence at GTC 2026 at https://hitachidigital.com/hitachi-at-gtc-2026/.

For more information on Hitachi iQ Studio, please visit: https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/solutions/ai-analytics/hitachi-iq-studio.

Additional Resources

Press Release: Hitachi Vantara Unveils Hitachi iQ Studio to Simplify and Accelerate Agentic AI Development
eBook: From Data Chaos to AI Clarity: Data Readiness and the Modern Lakehouse
Press Release: Hitachi Vantara Collaborates with Supermicro to Deliver Superior Performance and Scale for Mission-Critical Applications and Enterprise AI
Blog: Operationalizing Agentic AI with Hitachi iQ Studio and NVIDIA Nemotron 3
Product Brief: Top 10 Reasons Why: Hitachi iQ

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About Hitachi Vantara
Hitachi Vantara is transforming the way data fuels innovation. A wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Vantara provides the data foundation the world's leading innovators rely on. Through data storage, infrastructure systems, cloud management and digital expertise, the company helps customers build the foundation for sustainable business growth. To learn more, visit www.hitachivantara.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products, Hitachi contributes to a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing and economic growth are in balance. Hitachi operates globally in four sectors – Digital Systems & Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries – and the Strategic SIB Business Unit for new growth businesses. With Lumada at its core, Hitachi generates value from integrating data, technology and domain knowledge to solve customer and social challenges. Revenues for FY2024 (ended March 31, 2025) totaled 9,783.3 billion yen, with 618 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 280,000 employees worldwide. Visit us at www.hitachi.com.

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