Background
The Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM) Janus MAT (Machinery Autonomous Transformation) Project is an initiative aimed at advancing the automation and electrification of construction machinery. Key objectives of the Janus MAT Project include implementing autonomous driving and operation technologies to improve safety and efficiency and collaborating with various partners to co-create solutions and accelerate technological advancements.
The Challenge
Hitachi Construction and Machinery (HCM) faced significant challenges in delivering products and services to support the Janus MAT Project at the speed demanded by the ever-evolving market. Their existing software development and operations processes were characterized by silos, manual interventions, and a lack of collaboration between development and operations teams. This resulted in delayed releases, increased errors, and a failure to meet customer expectations.
Key Objectives
The primary objectives of the project were to:
- Accelerate Time-to-Market: Reduce the time it takes to go from idea to deployment, ensuring quicker delivery of new features and enhancements.
- Enhance Quality and Reliability: Improve software quality and reliability by implementing automated testing, continuous integration, and continuous deployment practices.
- Increase Collaboration: Facilitate collaboration between development and operations teams to eliminate silos, foster better communication, and enhance overall efficiency.
- Improve Scalability: Provide a scalable solution that could handle the growing complexity of HCM’s applications and infrastructure.
The Solution
HCM partnered with Aliva, DevOps experts, to implement a comprehensive transformation strategy. The key components of the solution included:
- Automation and Orchestration: Implemented automation tools for code deployment, testing, and infrastructure provisioning to eliminate manual errors and enhance repeatability.
- Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Established CI/CD pipelines to automate the build, test, and deployment processes, ensuring rapid and reliable releases.
- Collaboration Tools: Introduced collaboration tools such as Slack, Jira, and Confluence to improve communication and coordination among development, operations, and other stakeholders.
- Containerization and Orchestration: Adopted containerization using Docker and orchestration with Kubernetes to enhance scalability, portability, and resource efficiency.
- Monitoring and Logging: Implemented robust monitoring and logging solutions to proactively identify and address issues, ensuring the reliability of applications in production.
- Training and Cultural Shift: Conducted training sessions to upskill the workforce on DevOps principles and fostered a culture of collaboration, shared responsibility, and continuous improvement.
Additional Development for Azure Stack HCI
The platform, initially built in Azure, has been extended to support Azure Stack HCI. This development ensures that the platform is now available in Azure Stack HCI, providing enhanced flexibility and scalability for on-premises environments, a common requirement for HCM Customers. The integration with Azure Stack HCI allows for seamless hybrid cloud capabilities, enabling users to leverage the benefits of both Azure and on-premises infrastructure.
The Outcome
The implementation of the DevOps platform led to several positive outcomes:
- Reduced Time-to-Market: The implementation of DevOps practices resulted in a significant reduction in the time it takes to deliver new features and enhancements, enabling HCM to respond swiftly to market demands.
- Improved Quality and Reliability: The adoption of automated testing and CI/CD pipelines led to a decrease in software defects, improved reliability, and enhanced overall product quality.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Silos were dismantled, and collaboration between development and operations teams improved, leading to faster issue resolution and more efficient resource utilization.
- Scalability: The use of containerization and orchestration allowed HCM to easily scale its applications and infrastructure, accommodating the growth in demand seamlessly.
- Cost Savings: By reducing manual interventions and minimizing errors, the company experienced cost savings related to debugging, downtime, and post-release support.
HCM’s migration to a contemporary DevOps platform proved to be a strategic move in achieving their business objectives. The adoption of automation, collaboration tools, and modern infrastructure practices not only addressed immediate challenges but positioned the company for sustained innovation and growth in an increasingly competitive market. The success of this DevOps transformation underscores the importance of embracing a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration in today’s fast-paced technology landscape.
Client Feedback
“We are extremely pleased with the results of the JANUS MAT Azure environment project.
The collaboration with Aliva has been seamless, and their expertise in DevOps and cloud solutions has significantly enhanced our operational efficiency.
The implementation of automated processes and continuous integration has reduced our time-to-market and improved the quality of our products. Aliva’s commitment to excellence and their proactive approach to addressing challenges have been instrumental in the success of this project.
We look forward to continuing our partnership and achieving even greater milestones together.”
– Jose Perez, Project Manager, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd
Why Aliva?
- ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified for quality and security assurance
- Deep experience managing IT in regulated, high-demand environments
- Transparent reporting, expert support, and a partnership-driven approach
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