Hitachi Data Systems says is restructuring its sales and service organisations into two groups. The company will now operate as HDS Europe and HDS International, and the first consists of all operations in Europe, the Far East and any future activities in Eastern Europe. The international group comprises the US, Canada as well as the Asia Pacific and Latin America division. For the moment, HDS Europe will continue to report into US headquarters, but Brian Walker, promoted to executive vice president of HDS Europe, is now a fully-fledged board member. Commentators have noted that the reorganisation comes just after Hitachi’s other European distributor, Comparex Informationssysteme GmbH, has announced that it is now wholly-owned by BASF. Consequently, the two companies seem to be structured in such a way that a merger is now possible. The logic of such a move is unarguable, but given the animosity that still exists between the two, whether that will happen with good grace and how it will come into effect remains to be seen.
