Overview Read how Hitachi Data Systems uses Saba for their learning, distance education, and virtual classroom programs and established an academy that improved global learning. Business Challenge Hitachi Data Systems wanted to consolidate global learning needs under one learning organization to better serve their employees, partners, and customers worldwide. Business Benefits -Dramatically increase consistency and efficiency of the Hitachi Data Systems learning process around the globe -Support innovative technology-driven learning such as WBT, virtual ILT, and video learning -Refine and expand the company’s compliance and certification program -Use sophisticated learning metrics to monitor revenues and expenses, plan for learning needs, and evaluate training effectiveness

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Among the drawbacks:
• Content varied greatly from region to region and
was often not tied to company initiatives
• Training was 95% instructor-led
• Learner registration was tracked on spreadsheets
in Asia and parts of Europe, and used inadequate
Learning Management Systems elsewhere
• Training was difficult to find and access for many
partners and customers
To address these shortcomings, the Hitachi Data
Systems Academy was established, chartered with
the consolidation of global learning needs under a single
organization, and with bringing a more strategic focus to
learning — to help drive superior business results worldwide.
Meeting a World of Training Requirements
The Hitachi Data Systems Academy manages all
learning activities — from traditional instructor-led
training (ILT) to Web-based training (WBT) — for all
employees, partners, and customers. The Academy
established technical training centers in North America,
Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, staffed by
highly qualified trainers and training partners.
Case Study
Industry: High Technology
Use Case: Learning Management
We recognize that learning
and development are closely
linked to attracting and retaining
the talent necessary for success.
The Saba platform is helping
us optimize our efforts in
corporate learning, and
paying good returns for
Hitachi Data Systems.
Nick Howe
Vice President
Hitachi Data Systems
Challenge
Consolidate global learning needs under one learning
organization to better serve Hitachi Data Systems’
employees, partners, and customers worldwide.
Benefits
• Dramatically increase consistency and efficiency of
the Hitachi Data Systems learning process around
the globe
• Support innovative technology-driven learning such
as WBT, virtual ILT, and video learning
• Refine and expand the company’s compliance and
certification program
Hitachi Data Systems is a leading supplier of storage
hardware, software, and services. With more than
3,800 employees, Hitachi Data Systems conducts
business directly and with the help of valued partners
in more than 170 countries and regions worldwide.
Until late 2004, the company met its learning needs
through a number of loosely connected learning
organizations worldwide. This resulted in a global
education environment that was too often
inconsistent, inefficient, and ineffective.
Hitachi Data Systems establishes academy and selects Saba to improve global learning.

2. Case Study Hitachi Data Systems
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• Refining the company’s certification program and
rolling out job-task analyses for critical roles in
record time
• Standardizing business processes globally, resulting
in significant savings through improved efficiency
• Using sophisticated learning metrics to measure
education revenues and expenses, forecast
learning needs, and gauge training effectiveness —
eliminating waste and helping Hitachi Data
Systems evaluate partner readiness and
competency-based training
There has also been a 10-fold increase in the use
of e-learning created by the Hitachi Data Systems
Academy — supported in part by the establishment
of the Saba Knowledge Center, which offers recorded
content for convenient playback by a variety of
means, including podcasts.
“We recognize that learning and development are
closely linked to attracting and retaining the talent
necessary for success,” remarked Howe. “The
Saba platform is helping optimize our efforts in
corporate learning, and paying good returns for
Hitachi Data Systems.”
The Academy also recently introduced innovative
virtual instructor-led training (vILT), which relies on
computer-based Web conferencing to bring students
and instructors together, and a video learning system
(VLS), on which employees view Web-delivered video in
addition to using printed workbooks.
“We were able to quickly build on the company’s
reputation for excellent technical training that has
made us a leader in a global customer satisfaction
survey three years in a row,” said Nick Howe, vice
president of Hitachi Data Systems. “While we continue
to be known for our market-leading technologies, we
now also focus on better understanding customer
challenges and providing solutions that deliver
measurable customer value.”
An Ideal Learning Platform
To better manage the learning process and support
technology-based innovations such as WBT, vILT, and
VLS, the Hitachi Data Systems Academy selected
the Saba Learning Suite. The Academy uses the
Saba platform to automate both learner registration
and tracking, as well as to streamline the design,
development, and delivery of learning content. The
newer Web-driven learning types have helped greatly
decrease employee time spent out of the field or office,
and make it much easier for employees, managers,
partners, and customers to fit required learning into
their busy schedules.
The Hitachi Data Systems Academy draws on a mixed
funding model for its operations, acting as a cost
center for internal learning, but employing a revenue
and profit approach for learning provided to partners
and customers.
“The Saba platform is very flexible, supporting content
in seven languages, so the Academy can meet the
needs of those we serve in their own languages
worldwide,” Howe explained. “In addition, revenue-
based learning for partners and customers can be
priced in multiple currencies.”
Delivering Key Benefits
Hitachi Data Systems has received a number of
benefits from centralizing the learning function and
using Saba as its learning technology platform.
These include:
• Teaching more than 20,000 days of training annually
• Registering 15,000 WBT course completions in the
first 18 months
• Making over 100 e-learning courses available
through Saba Learning
• Enabling employees, partners, and customers to
easily self-register for needed courses — increasing
course attendance without increasing staff