Hitachi Data Systems Announces Expansion of Global Sales Operation.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Scott Genereux to Lead Expanded Direct and Channel Sales Organizations across the Americas, APAC, and EMEA, Focused on Aggressively Increasing Revenues and Market Share

Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), today announced the expansion of its global sales operation under the leadership of Scott Genereux, executive vice president and general manager, Worldwide Sales, Channels, and Support. Mr. Genereux, who most recently held the position of senior vice president, Global Marketing and Global Channels at Hitachi Data Systems, will report to Dave Roberson, president and chief operating officer. Mr. Genereux will manage the newly formed Worldwide Sales, Channels, and Support organization, encompassing direct and channel sales functions in the Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific (APAC). The appointment of a single global sales executive along with the formation of a worldwide sales organization represent significant reinforcements that the company believes will lead to increased sales opportunities.

During 2005, the worldwide sales team will be expanded with sales representatives and systems engineers who will be focused in the key markets representing the greatest growth opportunities for Hitachi Data Systems, such as New York, Germany, India, and China.

"HDS is currently at a compelling inflection point," said Dave Roberson, president and chief operating officer, Hitachi Data Systems. "We have first mover advantage with the revolutionary controller-based virtualization capabilities of the TagmaStore(TM) Universal Storage Platform and a solutions-focused organization delivering on our Application Optimized Storage(TM) strategy. The appointment of Scott Genereux and the strategic expansion of our global sales operations will enable us to capitalize on this opportunity across the globe."

A 15-year veteran at Hitachi Data Systems, Scott Genereux joined the company as a systems engineer and was quickly promoted through the ranks for outstanding performance -- holding a series of positions with increasing responsibility in product management, marketing, channels and U.S. sales management and operations -- where he succeeded in growing revenues by over 20 percent. Mr. Genereux will continue to act as the interim EMEA sales operation lead.

"With these improvements, we are materially strengthening Hitachi's overall market coverage and positioning the company to accelerate sales of current and future storage solutions," said Genereux. "Taking market share will be priority number one. Highly innovative products from Hitachi, like the Universal Storage Platform, are the foundation for a new set of Application Optimized Storage solutions that are radically changing the way customers manage their information infrastructure. I am very excited to lead a worldwide sales team maximized to penetrate high-growth areas and take full advantage of our enviable market opportunity."

The Americas sales organization, covering North, Central, and South American countries, will be led by Curt Wittich, vice president, Americas, Hitachi Data Systems. Mr. Wittich has held a series of sales, systems engineering, and sales management positions since joining the company in 1989. Most recently, as vice president of sales and service for the Americas sales organization, Mr. Wittich played a key role in helping to bring together Canadian, U.S., and Latin American sales and support teams to form the Americas sales team.

The Asia Pacific sales organization will be run by newly appointed David Yuen, senior vice president, Asia Pacific. Most recently he served as corporate vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific at Portal Software, Inc. Mr. Yuen brings excellent knowledge of the storage solution sector, gained while designing a variety of multimedia production, storage and distribution systems for various clients while general manager of e-Business at Oracle Corp., in its South Asia region.

Commenting on today's announcement, Shinjiro Iwata, CEO, Hitachi Data Systems, said, "Hitachi Data Systems is strongly positioned for 2005, and the improvements we are making to our sales organization, coupled with forthcoming new NAS products -- will enable us to accelerate revenue growth and drive market share."

About Hitachi Data Systems

Hitachi Data Systems leverages global R&D resources to develop storage solutions built on industry-leading technology with the performance, availability and scalability to maximize customers' ROI and minimize their risk. By focusing on the customer's perspective as we apply the best hardware, software, and services from Hitachi and our partners, we uniquely satisfy our customers' business needs.

With 2,900 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts business through direct and indirect channels in the public, government and private sectors in over 170 countries. Its customers include more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.hds.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 326,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2003 (ended March 31, 2004) consolidated sales totaled 8,632.4 billion yen ($81.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.hitachi.com.

(C) 2005, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation. Hitachi Data Systems is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark and service mark of Hitachi, Ltd. TagmaStore, Universal Star Network and Application Optimized Storage, are trademarks of Hitachi Data Systems Corporation. All other trade names, trademarks, and service marks used herein are the rightful property of their respective owners.