Hitachi Data Systems and CGI announced a significant milestone in their strategic agreement to provide clients with enterprise-grade cloud services powered by Hitachi Data Systems. As part of its portfolio of Digital Transformation services, CGI can now offer clients a number of secure cloud storage solutions that enable access to business critical data from mobile devices and traditional desktops. These solutions give clients peace of mind knowing that their data is safe and uncompromised. These solutions are already in use by Foresters, an international financial services provider committed to family well-being with over one million members in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Based on Hitachi Data Systems' most advanced cloud technology, the solutions can be hosted within CGI's global data centers or in a customer's data center in a private cloud model -- offering unparalleled flexibility, security and choice to clients. Highlights and key facts: CGI is the first global systems integrator to offer consistent block, file and object solutions using the Hitachi Cloud Service Provider program throughout North America and EMEA. HDS will leverage CGI's data centers to offer hosted cloud services "in country," starting in Canada, the United States, Sweden, Norway and Portugal, with additional sites to follow.

The initial technologies to be launched include: Storage as a service, Data vaulting, Disaster recovery as a service, Archiving as a service from Microsoft® Exchange, SharePoint®, databases, network attached storage (NAS), and other environments, Bottomless edge to core storage (using Hitachi Content Platform and Hitachi Data Ingestor), and File sync and share as a service (using Hitachi Content Platform Anywhere). CGI is part of Global Systems Integrator Partner Program by Hitachi Data Systems and is an active global cloud service provider certified by Hitachi Data Systems.