DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hitachi Consulting has been named a consulting firm to watch in CRM magazine’s 2008 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Market Awards as announced in the September issue. This is the seventh year the trade magazine has ranked market winners, influential leaders, rising stars and elite companies active in CRM solutions, software, and engagements, including consulting.

"CRM magazine is pleased to present the 2008 CRM Market Awards to those companies and individuals who are raising the bar in their customer relationship initiatives. These efforts are helping companies streamline business processes, maximize profitability, and provide more value to customers," said David Myron, editorial director of CRM magazine. "Congratulations to this year's award recipients. May they continue to raise the standard of CRM excellence."

It’s Hitachi Consulting’s first appearance in the rankings, entering as “One to Watch” in the CRM consultancy category. In describing Hitachi Consulting, the magazine quoted analysts from Forrester Research, and Gartner Research who described the firm’s solutions as a “good fit for small, focused initiatives.”

“The honor of being selected as one of only seven elite consulting firms recognized by CRM magazine serves as a further proof point that our innovative CRM solutions and experienced team of CRM consultants are having an impact in the marketplace and, more importantly, genuinely benefitting our clients’ businesses,” said Brian R. Johnson, Hitachi Consulting managing vice president, Customer & Channel Solutions

CRM magazine determines its consultancy ratings based on customer satisfaction, services offered, and the ability to execute its programs. Others listed in the consultancy group included Deloitte, Accenture, Capgemini, IBM Global Services, and Tata Consultancy Services. To read the complete issue, go to www.destinationCRM.com.

"As the CRM industry matures, the demands placed on consultancies catering to the CRM community are actually growing more complex—and specialists such as Hitachi Consulting are finding fertile ground," said Joshua Weinberger, managing editor of CRM. "Respondents told us they were impressed with Hitachi Consulting's penetration into the Fortune 100, and with its particular strength in Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementations; with Microsoft's ever-expanding role in CRM, that's one reason we made Hitachi Consulting a One to Watch for the year."

Hitachi Consulting’s CRM practice has extensive experience in helping clients develop customer and channel strategies, architect advanced technology solutions, plan for complex global implementations, and manage the process and organizational change required to successfully transform themselves into customer-centric organizations. Hitachi Consulting has deep experience and strategic alliances with leading CRM vendors Aprimo, Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, and Salesforce.com.

About Hitachi Consulting Corporation

As Hitachi, Ltd.'s (NYSE: HIT) global consulting company, with operations in the United States, Europe and Asia, Hitachi Consulting is a recognized leader in delivering proven business and IT strategies and solutions to Global 2000 companies across many industries. With a balanced view of strategy, people, process and technology, we work with companies to understand their unique business needs, and to develop and implement practical business strategies and technology solutions. From business strategy development through application deployment, our consultants are committed to helping clients quickly realize measurable business value and achieve sustainable ROI.

Hitachi Consulting's client base includes 25 percent of the Global 100 as well as many leading mid-market companies. We offer a client-focused, collaborative approach and transfer knowledge throughout each engagement.

For more information, call 1.877.664.0010 or visit www.hitachiconsulting.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 384,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2006 (ended March 31, 2007) consolidated revenues totaled 10,247 billion yen ($86.8 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.hitachi.com.

About CRM magazine

CRM magazine is the leading publication of the customer relationship management industry, covering sales, marketing, customer service, and strategy. The magazine also administers and hosts the annual destinationCRM conference. Each of these properties is designed to serve customer-centric business initiatives, and leaders who recognize CRM as a key strategy for creating enhanced customer value in any industry. For more information about the magazine, its editorial calendar, or CRM in general, please visit us on the Web at http://www.destinationCRM.com. The monthly magazine and the destinationCRM Web site (which is updated daily) are properties of CRM Media, a division of Information Today, Inc.

Hitachi Consulting
Jim Budkie, 513-939-0312
Managing Vice President, Marketing
jbudkie@hitachiconsulting.com