Asia Airfreight Terminal Deploys Hitachi Vantara Infrastructure to Ensure Zero Downtime and Enhance Cold Chain Logistics

Hitachi Vantara, the storage, infrastructure, and hybrid cloud management subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., announced that Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT), a key operator at Hong Kong International Airport, has modernized its IT backbone with Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One) to deliver uninterrupted cold chain logistics. Since the deployment, AAT has reported zero downtime, a threefold increase in storage capacity, and over 50% improvement in energy efficiency, strengthening resilience and sustainability in 24/7 air cargo operations.

Operating at the world’s largest international air cargo hub, AAT manages cargo handling across two terminals, including the award-winning COOLPORT facility for temperature-sensitive goods like pharmaceuticals and perishables. Any infrastructure disruption could jeopardize compliance with International Air Transport Association (IATA) standards and compromise time-critical shipments.

“Asia Airfreight Terminal is a 24/7/365 business, and we have zero tolerance for downtime,” said Chris Chow, IT infrastructure manager, AAT. “Hitachi Vantara’s active-active architecture gives us a guarantee of 100% data availability, helping us ensure uninterrupted operations. Performance has improved dramatically, and with Hitachi’s data management platform, we’ve seen a 70% reduction in storage management workload and much faster response times for our mission-critical systems, including those supporting real-time cold chain logistics. We now have a highly resilient, sustainable infrastructure that meets both our operational demands and long-term growth.”

To replace aging infrastructure, AAT selected Hitachi Vantara, in partnership with Rainbow Tech Information, to deploy Hitachi VSP One Block with built-in global-active device (GAD) replication across dual data centers. Since GAD is built into the VSP One storage arrays, it doesn’t require a separate appliance to manage replication, which provides AAT with a simpler architecture that reduces complexity in hardware setup, configuration and maintenance. The platform also supports seamless failover, real-time de-dupe and compression, and immutable backups for ransomware resilience. This streamlined architecture has reduced AAT’s rack footprint by 75% and enabled significant operational efficiency gains.

“Hitachi Vantara is proud to support AAT in delivering unbroken cold chain logistics and setting new benchmarks for operational resilience,” said Valerie Yuen, GM, Hong Kong and Macau, Hitachi Vantara. “With zero unplanned downtime, triple the storage capacity, and more than 50% gains in energy efficiency, this deployment is a powerful example of how the right infrastructure can support always-on operations while meeting sustainability goals. As digital transformation reshapes logistics, our focus remains on enabling intelligent, data-driven decision-making across the supply chain.”

Hitachi Vantara continues to lead in energy-efficient storage, with the VSP One portfolio earning top ENERGY STAR certifications, including the top two spots held by VSP One Block. Its AI-powered data management platform now enables customers to reduce IT overhead by up to 70%, while delivering the reliability and scalability modern enterprises demand.

“Sustainability is high on the agenda throughout the aviation sector,” said Chow. “Having a more energy-efficient infrastructure is important for industry standards such as the IATA Environmental Assessment.”