New API customization capabilities make this HDS platform easier for developers to use in end-to-end digital workplace solutions, while the UI and usability features have been enhanced.
Paul Lewis, Chief Technology Officer for the Americas at HDS
Hitachi Data Systems has announced the release of a new version of its Hitachi Content Platform (HCP) offering. The enhanced HCP Anywhere is much improved as a development platform, and adds additional collaboration, usability and data protection abilities.
HCP Anywhere originally began in 2013 as a pure sync ‘n’ share variant of its HCP platform aimed at the BYOD market, allowing collaboration and the secure sharing of files or folders across any device. While it retains that focus, its functionality and use cases have been consistently expanded since then, as its market presence has grown. Today HCP Anywhere has almost a million paid enterprise users, and has doubled its revenue growth over the previous fiscal year.
“Today we refer to it more as a digital workplace product,” said Paul Lewis, Chief Technology Officer for the Americas at HDS. “The difference is that it is an enabler of what we refer to as data mobility – to make data broadly available to people, places and things. This includes the ability to use APIs, to connect to digital workflow, and data protection, as well as sync and share.”
Similarly, while the original HCP Anywhere was originally targeted at Box and Dropbox customers – and that remains a significant part of the HDS go-to-market strategy with the platform – it now is designed to be much more useful to application developers.
“While the typical customer has not changed as the product has evolved, the way that they use it has,” Lewis said. “Originally it was a more secure version of Dropbox. Now, with the focus on digital workflow, its utility has been extended to application developers, so that it can be made a part of an end-to-end application workflow, and not be limited just to end user collaboration.”
Lewis also emphasized that because the original Hitachi Content Platform is under HCP Anywhere, HCP Anywhere is able to make use of its object storage capabilities.
“They provide the ability to mobilize all of your unstructured data, not just your desktop data,” he said. It allows the user to do government and compliance for all their unstructured data, and also allows self-service recovery for data protection.”
This new version of the platform significantly increases the API customization options
“It is now a much richer development platform, so that developers can customize for different workflows and user roles, and even develop new applications,” Lewis said.
Usability features have also been enhanced.
“All files and folders can now be synced selectively – in the cloud, or locally,” Lewis said. “You can also now search both online and offline.”
The user interface has been modernized and made more intuitive, and device support has been expanded.
“We had added a new Android application, with a UI to support that,” Lewis said.
Lewis said that the consistent expansion of HCP Anywhere’s capabilities has also increased its usefulness to HDS channel partners.
“It broadens the base,” he said. “It was originally focused on solving one very important problem. It now allows partners to address more than one issue, and deal with all the issues around the digital workplace.”
