adesso and Hitachi Digital Services Partner to Accelerate AI-Led Enterprise Transformation; India Emerges as a Strategic Innovation Hub

Bengaluru: German technology consulting and IT services company adesso SE and Hitachi Digital Services have announced a strategic partnership aimed at helping global enterprises accelerate digital transformation through artificial intelligence (AI), cloud modernization, digital engineering, and IT/OT convergence. The collaboration is expected to strengthen enterprise modernization initiatives across manufacturing, energy, utilities, transportation, healthcare, financial services, and other industrial sectors.

The announcement was made during “Hitachi Hour with adesso & Hitachi Digital Services”, where senior leaders from both organizations shared their vision for enabling enterprises to navigate increasingly complex digital transformation journeys by combining consulting expertise, industrial knowledge, and advanced technology capabilities.

Partnership Focuses on Industry-Led Digital Transformation

The alliance brings together adesso’s expertise in enterprise consulting, software engineering, and cloud transformation with Hitachi Digital Services’ strengths in industrial digital solutions, operational technology, and AI-driven innovation.

Together, the companies aim to help organizations modernize legacy systems, accelerate AI adoption, improve operational efficiency, and build resilient digital infrastructures capable of supporting next-generation business models.

The partnership will primarily target industries including manufacturing, automotive, energy, utilities, transportation, financial services, and healthcare—sectors currently undergoing rapid digital transformation driven by automation, connected systems, and intelligent data platforms.

People Remain at the Centre of Innovation

Addressing the gathering virtually, Mark Lohweber, CEO of adesso SE, said that while technology continues to evolve rapidly, successful digital transformation ultimately depends on people and collaboration.

Reflecting on adesso’s growth journey, Lohweber said the company has consistently prioritized its people-first culture, believing that meaningful customer outcomes are created by empowered teams working together rather than technology alone.

He noted that successful projects are always built on strong communication, trust, and collaboration, whereas projects often struggle when teams fail to communicate effectively.

Tracing adesso’s origins to Germany’s industrial Ruhr region, Lohweber explained how the company has grown alongside the country’s transformation from traditional heavy industries into one of Europe’s leading technology ecosystems. Today, adesso has established itself as one of Germany’s leading IT service providers while steadily expanding its international footprint.

India Plays a Critical Role in adesso’s Global Growth

Lohweber described India as an important milestone in adesso’s international expansion strategy.

Rather than treating India solely as an offshore delivery centre, he emphasized that the company is building a deeply integrated global engineering model where Indian teams collaborate closely with their European counterparts through continuous knowledge exchange and cross-border project execution.

He praised India’s technological expertise and modern engineering capabilities, describing the country’s talent pool as an important asset for the company’s future growth.

Global Business Line Exclusive: Building Bridges Between Indian Startups and Europe

In an exclusive interaction with Global Business Line, Pramod Muralidharan, Managing Director and Country Manager, adesso India, shared the company’s broader vision for India, highlighting that adesso aims to position the country not just as a delivery centre but as an innovation and collaboration hub.

According to Muralidharan, adesso is actively exploring initiatives that would help Indian startups access European markets through industry mentorship, research communities, and innovation ecosystems.

“We want Indian startups to have access to the European market by connecting them with industry experts who understand real customer challenges,” he told Global Business Line.

He explained that many startups develop technically impressive products but often lack direct exposure to market realities and customer expectations in Europe.

To bridge that gap, adesso is exploring programs that would:

• Connect startups with automotive, manufacturing, mobility, and industrial experts across Europe.
• Provide access to research and market-focused communities.
• Establish collaborative innovation hubs where startups can incubate ideas, demonstrate solutions, and engage with enterprise customers.
• Support founders with industry insights that help transform innovative ideas into commercially viable products.

Muralidharan said these initiatives could significantly improve the global readiness of Indian startups while strengthening technology collaboration between India and Europe.

Immediate Focus Remains on German Enterprises Operating in India

While India represents a significant strategic market, Muralidharan clarified that adesso’s immediate business focus is supporting European customers and German multinational corporations operating in India.

He identified the company’s primary industry focus areas as:

• Automotive
• Manufacturing
• Pharmaceuticals
• Banking and Financial Services
• Insurance
• Select Retail segments

He explained that adesso currently leverages India’s engineering capabilities primarily for serving European customers while also supporting several Global Capability Centres (GCCs) operating in the country.

Healthcare and Industrial Innovation Present Significant Opportunities

Speaking about future opportunities, Muralidharan said healthcare remains one of the most promising sectors for collaboration.

Rather than attempting to replicate European healthcare systems in India, he believes innovation around medical devices, digital health technologies, and value-based care offers greater opportunities for cross-border collaboration.

He also acknowledged India’s rapidly growing fintech ecosystem but noted that financial services remain highly regulated and differ significantly across regions, requiring careful localization before European solutions can be deployed successfully.

Compliance and Trust Are Core to Global Expansion

As enterprises increasingly adopt AI and cloud technologies, regulatory compliance continues to become a competitive differentiator.

Muralidharan said adesso has already implemented comprehensive governance frameworks to comply with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and is actively preparing for India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.

He added that financial sector customers are also requesting compliance with frameworks such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), reinforcing the importance of cybersecurity and operational resilience in digital transformation initiatives.

Why India Now?

Responding to a question from Global Business Line on why adesso entered India later than many global IT companies, Muralidharan explained that the company’s expansion has followed a carefully planned, organic evolution.

Historically, adesso relied on nearshore delivery centres across Europe, particularly in countries with strong German-speaking engineering talent. As customer engagements became increasingly global and enterprise transformation projects grew larger in scale, India naturally emerged as a strategic extension of its global delivery network.

“It wasn’t simply about entering a new market—it was about ensuring the organization was fully prepared to integrate India into our global operating model,” he said.

India to Support APAC and Middle East Expansion

Looking beyond Europe, adesso also sees India as a strategic gateway for expansion across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

According to Muralidharan, India will play a key role in supporting enterprise transformation initiatives across emerging markets, combining engineering excellence with regional delivery capabilities.

The company believes India’s growing innovation ecosystem positions it well to serve customers beyond Europe while strengthening global technology collaboration.

Hitachi Digital Services Brings Industrial Expertise

Through the partnership, Hitachi Digital Services will contribute its deep expertise in industrial technology, digital engineering, AI-powered analytics, cloud services, and operational technology integration.

The combined capabilities of both organizations are expected to help enterprises modernize infrastructure, integrate intelligent automation, improve operational resilience, and accelerate digital innovation across mission-critical industries.

As organizations increasingly seek unified transformation partners capable of delivering consulting, engineering, AI, cloud, and industrial technology under one ecosystem, the adesso–Hitachi Digital Services alliance reflects a broader shift toward collaborative digital transformation models.

Market Outlook

Global spending on digital transformation continues to rise as enterprises invest heavily in artificial intelligence, cloud-native platforms, industrial IoT, cybersecurity, automation, and intelligent manufacturing. Industries such as manufacturing, energy, utilities, transportation, and healthcare are rapidly embracing AI-driven operations to improve productivity, reduce costs, and build resilient digital ecosystems.

The strategic partnership between adesso and Hitachi Digital Services aligns with this market evolution, combining European engineering expertise with industrial digital capabilities to help enterprises modernize at scale. With India emerging as a key engineering and innovation hub, the collaboration also highlights the country’s growing importance in shaping the future of global enterprise technology and cross-border innovation.

Hitachi Sees Partnership as a Strategic Gateway to Europe

Beyond the formal discussions at the event, senior members of the Hitachi Digital Services leadership team, in conversations with Global Business Line, highlighted the broader strategic significance of the partnership.

According to the executives, adesso’s strong presence across Germany and the wider European market makes it a valuable strategic partner for Hitachi Digital Services as the company continues expanding its enterprise digital transformation business across Europe.

They noted that while Hitachi Digital Services already has an established business presence in Europe, partnering with adesso significantly strengthens its regional reach by combining Hitachi’s industrial technology, digital engineering, and AI capabilities with adesso’s deep customer relationships, consulting expertise, and local market understanding.

The executives described the collaboration as more than a technology alliance, calling it a market-enablement partnership that creates opportunities to jointly address enterprise modernization projects across Germany and other European countries.

“The partnership allows both organizations to leverage complementary strengths—Hitachi Digital Services brings deep expertise in industrial digital transformation and engineering, while adesso contributes strong regional customer relationships and consulting capabilities across Germany and Europe,” they said during an interaction with Global Business Line.

This complementary positioning is expected to help both organizations pursue larger digital transformation engagements across manufacturing, energy, transportation, utilities, and industrial enterprises, where demand for AI-driven modernization, cloud adoption, and IT/OT convergence continues to grow.

A Partnership Beyond Technology

During the panel discussion and Q&A session, Vijay Srinivasan, Chief Growth Officer, Hitachi Digital Services, highlighted that the strategic partnership with adesso goes beyond a conventional technology alliance and is built on complementary strengths that will help accelerate enterprise transformation across Europe.

He noted that adesso’s strong presence across Germany and the wider European market, along with its established customer relationships and consulting expertise, makes it a strategic partner for Hitachi Digital Services. While Hitachi Digital Services already has an established business presence in Europe, the partnership enables both organizations to jointly pursue larger enterprise transformation opportunities by combining their respective capabilities.

Srinivasan explained that the collaboration brings together Hitachi Digital Services’ expertise in AI, cloud transformation, digital engineering, industrial modernization, and IT/OT convergence with adesso’s deep regional market knowledge, consulting capabilities, and enterprise customer network. This combination, he said, will help organizations modernize legacy systems, accelerate AI adoption, and deliver digital transformation initiatives across manufacturing, energy, utilities, transportation, and other industrial sectors.

He emphasized that the partnership is designed not only to strengthen the companies’ presence in the European market but also to deliver greater value to customers by combining global technology expertise with local market understanding and execution capabilities, enabling enterprises to undertake complex digital transformation programs with greater speed and confidence.