Schneider Electric’s Software Global Customer Conference Focuses on Merged Capabilities

Summary

ARC Advisory Group attended Schneider Electric's 2014 Software Global Customer Conference in Orlando, FL. The company estimated that more than 1,000 customers, partners, and exhibitors attended the conference, which had the theme, "Game Changer." Over 150 presentations were delivered, categorized by general software type and new product releases from the company's Citect, Ampla, Avantis, SimSci, and Wonderware product lines. Schneider Electric's new Global Solutions, Software business used the conference to unveil a lineup of new capabilities available from the recently acquired Invensys software units combined with the company's existing offerings.  Over 23 partners demonstrated their solutions alongside 40 Schneider Electric demos in the exhibit space.

The merged software offerings create synergies for energy automation, industrial automation, and process automation. Going into the conference, many Invensys customers had questions around how well their legacy software investments will be protected and how Schneider Electric will position and use these products going forward. Invensys' large client base wanted to hear specific answers to these questions before moving forward and extending their commitments to the newly merged organization.

Enhancements to HMI and MES Software

To demonstrate the full commitment to the Wonderware brand, which will be Schneider Electric's company's flagship HMI software, the company released its new InTouch 2014 R2 HMI and System Platform 2014 R2 SCADA products. Product enhancements focused on both functional upgrades and ease of use. An expanded set of symbols and wizards in the situational awareness libraries were designed to make it easier to drag and drop informational and HMI displays. The intention here was to improve standards, reduce engineering time, and improve training for operators and other users. New alarm features and capabilities were designed to make it easier for users to manage large-scale events. New editor improvements and tools to convert legacy graphics using a simple point-and-click approach should help customers preserve their investments in existing systems while leveraging the latest capabilities.

Schneider Electric also released its Wonderware MES 2014 offering with a new web-based client and line performance monitoring, as well as advanced recipe and formulation management capabilities. According to the company, integration with Wonderware Skelta BPM workflow software helps enable model-driven MES, enforce production rules and manufacturing procedures, enhance knowledge management, and drive collaboration across the workforce. To help reduce data management and reporting costs, Wonderware Online adds a suite of Big Data features in a SaaS package, plus mobile and web-based clients for on-demand analysis. Additionally, to address the demand for new packaging, more SKUs, new formulas and complex recipes from its food and beverage customers; the company's new Recipe Manager Plus product is designed to help reduce the cost and complexity associated with new product introductions and help improve food safety, quality, and compliance-related activities.

Schneider Electric will continue to enhance its OASyS, Citect, and Ampla and other software in areas where they have vertical strength and large installed bases. For example, Ampla MES 2014 software is the company's integrated planning and optimization solution for the metals and mining industry. Ampla MES 2014 is designed to help optimize the mining supply chain, from resource to market, and, according to the company, can help improve productivity by up to 20 percent. Ampla MES 2014 includes production and inventory accounting, delay accounting, energy management, and conformance-to-plan metrics. Citect SCADA customers will also continue to see new features as well as increased access to the Wonderware portfolio, integrated for improved historical archiving and information management.

Schneider Electric's OASyS DNA SCADA platform is designed to interface with existing data, control systems, and enterprise business processes; accessing information intelligence based on continuous real-time and historical data monitoring, analysis, and management. Its purpose is to optimize operations performance and asset management, business data, and customer service, and help improve regulatory compliance. OASyS DNA will continue to serve as an enterprise SCADA platform with additional functionality geared towards oil & gas pipelines and gas distribution networks for control room management and communications (using O&G-specific protocols).

SimSci Process Design, Simulation, and Optimization

To demonstrate the full commitment to the SimSci brand, which will be Schneider Electric's flagship design, simulation and optimization software; the company released its new SimSci Suite 2014 software. SimSci Suite 2014 includes PRO/II 9.3 with updated sequencing and focused improvements to de-pressuring; DYNSIM 5.2 with enhanced usability and commercialization of a metals, mining and minerals model library; and ROMeo 6.2 with enhancements to the existing information stream functionality and integration to third-party refinery reactor models. SimSci Suite 2014 software supports the full plant lifecycle, from process design to operator training to process optimization.

Supply Chain Solutions for Hydrocarbon Processing

Schneider Electric also introduced a unified supply chain management solution, which it believes is the first in the hydrocarbon processing industry. Built on its SimSci Spiral Suite platform, the new offering can help close the gaps left by poorly integrated legacy spreadsheet tools. According to the company, by improving collaboration across the refinery, Spiral Suite software helps traders, planners, and schedulers make better decisions, manage risks, and ultimately increase refinery profitability.

Spiral Suite users can contribute to and add value to one another's decisions without the risk of overwriting data or causing downstream processing issues at the plant. With more intuitive visualizations, others can view, understand and respond to incidents. All refinery activities are supported within a single intuitive environment to make accurate, up-to-date information available across the business.

According to the company, Spiral Suite's SaaS deployment model, off-the-shelf integration, and designed ease of use make it faster and easier for users to learn the application. Legacy point solutions are designed to be replaced without incurring the cost of implementing or maintaining data transfer. Inadequate, unsupported integration bridges are removed, as are the need for application experts and extensive training courses, which lowers total cost of ownership. Data from in-house and external systems can be made available automatically within workflows, and people from across the business can work in parallel to build the supply chain model quicker, without needing to know matrix math.

Avantis Enterprise Asset and Condition Management

Schneider Electric also announced that Avantis will be the company's flagship enterprise asset and condition management platform. The company's key products for asset management include the Avantis Enterprise Asset Management solution, which forms the core of the solution set for real-time maintenance execution. It provides work order management, spares and inventory management, and procurement functionality.

Avantis Condition Manager collects real-time diagnostics from plant production assets, performs analysis, and generates an alert when needed. Dialog boxes make it easier to configure diagnostic algorithms and alerts that drive the appropriate actions by maintenance, operations, and engineering.

PRiSM software, from the recent acquisition of InStep Software, complements the Avantis solutions by providing predictive analytics for continuous real-time asset performance monitoring. PRiSM uses predictive algorithms to identify subtle changes in system behavior that are often the early warning signs of equipment performance and health problems. The software can use all existing equipment sensors integrated with historian or plant control and monitoring systems.

The company also announced new and updated features to Avantis for extending usability, knowledge management, and collaboration for more comprehensive and predictive asset management. Wonderware Skelta BPM integration brings new workflow functionality with closed-loop work process management, along with escalation and system-of-record capture of processes, procedures and activities. A plug-in for ESRI's geographic information system allows customers to view Avantis.PRO information in a map and manage work based on physical locations. To meet the need for lower cost of ownership and deployment, Avantis.PRO software has also been qualified to operate on virtual machines hosted within the Microsoft Azure environment using the Platform-as-a-Service hosting model.

Implementation methodology is a key for success, and Avantis uses its Industrial Rapid Implementation Methodology (InRIM) project framework. InRIM has predefined business processes and best practices follow a preformatted, repeatable structure that helps reduce time and risk.

InStep Software Acquisition to Add Predictive Analytics

Schneider Electric also announced it entered into an agreement to acquire Instep Software, a provider of real-time performance management and predictive asset analytics software and solutions. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014. Founded in 1995, InStep provides real-time performance management and predictive analytics software solutions. The InStep software products are designed to manage and analyze real-time operational and machinery asset-health-related information. The company's offering includes PRiSM predictive analytics software; eDNA historian software, which collects, stores, analyzes, displays and reports on real-time operational and machinery sensor data; and EBS energy management software, which helps universities reduce their utility costs by analyzing energy consumption and streamlining the utility billing, cost allocation, and reporting processes. InStep Software will continue to be managed by its existing executive team, adding about 70 employees to Schneider Electric's operations in the US.

Conclusion

From ARC's perspective, Schneider Electric's acquisition of Invensys is a positive development for both companies' customers. Invensys' legacy software brands of Avantis, SimSci, and Wonderware are assuming flagship status, while Schneider Electric's existing software brands of Citect, Ampla and OASyS will remain key vertical and geographic solutions. The conference did a good job of ensuring attendees that their existing investments will remain key parts of the portfolio moving forward.

ARC believes that Invensys software solutions were a key reason why Schneider Electric acquired Invensys. The joint entity is in a strong position to supply synergistic solutions in key areas such as energy automation, factory automation, and process automation.

The action item for Schneider Electric is to convey this same message to the current and potential customers who did not attend the conference. ARC recommends that customers of both companies actively participate in the company's upcoming customer conferences, looking to leverage the best of this new combined software portfolio to enhance their company's own productivity and profitability.

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Keywords: Software, HMI, MES, Enterprise Asset Management, Condition Monitoring.