Hitachi Data Systems to acquire big data firm Pentaho as part of Internet of Things push

Deal expected to be closed by June

Hitachi Data Systems Corporation has announced plans to buy big data and business analytics firm Pentaho Corporation as it strives to tap more potential from big data and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The deal - which is expected to close in June - will represent the largest private big data acquisition to date. The purchase is designed to help Hitachi make inroads into IoT and benefit from the amount of data that connected devices are set to produce.

"We are pleased to join the Hitachi Data Systems family and truly believe our complementary set of solutions will accelerate the adoption of big data deployments and IoT applications," said Quentin Gallivan, chairman and chief executive officer at Pentaho.

"The broad resources, expertise and global presence of Hitachi Data Systems, as well as Hitachi Ltd, help ensure a strong foundation for Pentaho to continue to accelerate our big data analytics and data orchestration capabilities; bring new innovations to market; and expand support for current and future customers," he added.

Kevin Eggleston, senior vice president for social innovation and global industries at Hitachi Data Systems, welcomed the acquisition.

"Data remains an untapped resource for many organisations and businesses, with the realisation of the value of that data remaining a challenge," he said.

"The combination of Hitachi's broad industry expertise, advanced information technologies, and now Pentaho software and the talented team of experts, will enable us to give customers a more complete solution to manage their data - allowing them to leverage the power of big data and IoT in a quicker and simpler way," Eggleston concluded.

As part of the agreement, Pentaho will still operate independently, but as a Hitachi Data Systems company. Official figures about the deal have not been released but it is rumoured the acquisition will cost Hitachi about $500m (£327m).

Pentaho was recently confirmed as a sponsor of Computing's Big Data and Analytics Summit, to be held on 26 March. The event will take place in London, and is free to attend.