Hitachi Europe and Frost & Sullivan Host Social Innovation Forum

LONDON, Oct. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hitachi Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) and Frost & Sullivan today announced they will jointly host the Social Innovation Forum in Berlin on 15th October 2014. The Forum will examine the impact that Social Innovation will have on businesses, governments, societies and, ultimately, on our lives. It will take place at the Adlon Kempinski Hotel, in a year that marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Hitachi Europe will host the Forum in Germany for the first time, following successful Forums in Poland and Turkey. This year, ten Hitachi Group Companies will take part in the event, which will incorporate four live panels as well as an exhibition of Hitachi's leading-edge technologies and products including ultrasound systems, optical topography devices and its latest data storage platforms.

As part of the Keynote agenda, attendees will be able to hear more from Hitachi and its focus on Social Innovation Business. Frost & Sullivan will also discuss the types of global Mega Trends which are arising in today's society and the impact this will have on the future.

The Forum will introduce European customers and business partners to Hitachi Group's wide-range solutions and technologies, including Information and Telecommunication Systems, Infrastructure Systems, Construction Machinery, High Functional Materials & Components,  Automotive Systems and Healthcare. It will bring together global and local companies, government leaders and authorities for a day of insight, thought leadership and technology trends.

There will be four live panel discussions, followed by interactive debates.

Panel 1 - Industry 4.0: IoT, Smart Manufacturing, Big Data & Connected Infrastructure
We are at the brink of witnessing yet another major instalment of industrial revolution wherein there is a real time convergence of digital worlds with the industrial manufacturing segment and this is driven by innovation and information technology. This revolution is Industry 4.0. The key facets will leave a decisive impact across all sections of the manufacturing value chain. Understanding the idea of Industry 4.0 and mapping its relevance across specific contexts related to Social Innovation, will be an inevitable necessity for companies in future.

Panel 2 - Urban Mobility: The Future of Mobility
The global surge in urbanization and the development of megacities continue to strain resources. Personal urban mobility is one of the major challenges which needs to be addressed by both the public and private sector because of its impact on the economy, environment and quality of life. For these reasons, the mobility sector is on the brink of a paradigm shift. Conventional thinking is increasingly losing its relevance within this rapidly changing context.

Panel 3 - Cities 3.0: Energy Efficiency for a Smarter Age
With more than 60 percent of the world population expected to live in urban cities by 2025, cities will consume more goods, resources and energy, and create more waste and pollution. However, convergences among energy and cities will become reality as new information technologies emerge to enable a more efficient and sustainable delivery of services consumed in this urban setting. Cities 3.0 represents the next step in urbanization with efficient, intelligent power consumption and management driven by innovation and information technology.

Panel 4 - Connected Health: The Future of Health , Wellness & Well Being
One of the greatest challenges facing humanity is how to deliver quality healthcare to every patient globally in a sustainably affordable way. The world is aging rapidly and most countries are not prepared to support their growing numbers of elderly people. New thinking about innovation will be crucial to meeting this great challenge. With smarter drugs, virtual hospitals, and cyber documents, the healthcare industry is poised for a radical change, with information technology taking the forefront in research and development, diagnostics, and monitoring. In this panel, we will discuss a new type of social innovation ideally suited to address these global challenges.

Hitachi's global business development is centred on its expertise in Social Innovation, providing market-leading infrastructure solutions underpinned by highly reliable and highly efficient information and telecommunications technology. Hitachi aspires to drive innovation together with all of its stakeholders in ways that make positive contributions to society and seeks to inspire a world that provides safety, comfort and convenience to people throughout the planet, as well as for future generations.

About Hitachi Europe Ltd.
Hitachi Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., is headquartered in Maidenhead, UK. The company is focused on its Social Innovation Business - delivering innovations that answer society's challenges. Hitachi Europe and its subsidiary companies offers a broad range of information & telecommunication systems; rail systems, power and industrial systems; industrial components & equipment; automotive systems, financial services; digital media & consumer products and others with operations and research & development Laboratories across EMEA. For more information, visit http://www.hitachi.eu.

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2013 (ended March 31, 2014) totaled 9,616 billion yen ($93.4 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, power systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?