Schneider Electric Launches Next Generation of EcoStruxure, and Announces New Community Established as Part of Launch

Schneider Electric Launches Next Generation of EcoStruxure, an Architecture and Platform for End-to-End IoT-Enabled Solutions at Scale
Schneider Electric announced the launch of its next generation EcoStruxure architecture and platform to deliver IoT-enabled solutions at scale for building, grid, industry, and data center customers. The enhanced architecture and platform is more open, scalable, and interoperable, connecting the three core layers of Schneider Electric's technology stack, from connected products, to edge control, to applications, analytics, and services. This next generation EcoStruxure helps to deliver enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and connectivity of IoT-enabled operations.

Next Generation EcoStruxure Delivers Added Value
EcoStruxure enables Schneider Electric, its partners and end-user customers to develop scalable and converged IT/OT solutions. Leveraging connectivity and data to create controls and actionable business insights, with the combined power of analytics and closed-loop applications, Schneider Electric helps to empower customers and partners to augment operations to help enhance operational efficiency, sustainability, asset performance and people productivity. EcoStruxure helps to foster open innovation and interoperability and is developed in partnership with major standards organizations and technology providers.

Delivering to the Technology Stack
EcoStruxure is designed to provide a comprehensive portfolio of interoperable and cloud-connected and/or on-premise technologies organized around its three layers of technology:

• The first layer builds on Schneider Electric's experience in developing connected products with embedded intelligence, such as sensors, medium and low voltage breakers, drives and actuators.
• The Edge Control layer gives organizations the capability to manage their operations on-premise as well as from the cloud depending on their needs. This includes connected control platforms with remote access, advanced automation and operator override capabilities. Local control and firewall protection is included to help maximize the benefits, especially for mission-critical applications.
• Schneider Electric's focused investment in R&D and product development in the areas of software, analytics and services, coupled with the integration of recent acquisitions such as Invensys, Telvent and Summit Energy, forms the third layer of the stack, a portfolio of apps, analytics and services. EcoStruxure enables a breadth of vendor-agnostic apps, analytics and services on open IP protocols in order to work with multiple hardware, systems, and controls.

Delivering Advanced Platform Capabilities
EcoStruxure is designed to meet the challenge of implementing IoT solutions in a more seamless, cost-effective and scaleable fashion. The redefined IoT platform helps to bridge the IT/OT gap and connects the three core layers of Schneider Electric's technology stack to help maximize value for customers.

The launch of the EcoStruxure platform provides a more secure, IoT-enabled technology backbone with three core technology capabilities:

• Embedded connectivity and intelligence that helps to enable smart sensing, embedded computing, IP networking and edge analytics
• A foundation for smart operations to serve as the building blocks for control, management, automaton and optimization
• The infrastructure for cloud-connected digital services that enables the delivery of cloud-based connected apps, analytics, services, control and monitoring

Future-proof Reference Architectures
Schneider Electric delivers efficiency and sustainability solutions to customers through a set of core reference architectures. The architectures build on the company's domain knowledge and portfolio and have been tested, validated and tailored for its core end markets of Buildings, Grid, Industry and Data Centers, with specific architectures available for industrial plants, industrial machines, and power distribution. The architectures give customers access to documented and standardized system reference designs that can be used in the implementation of interoperable, sustainable, efficient and connected systems.

Schneider Electric Announces New Community Established as Part of EcoStruxure Next Generation Architecture Launch
As part of this launch, the company also announced that it is establishing a new community with technology and consortium leaders to better maximize the benefits its customers receive of an IoT-enabled operation.

Technology and Consortium Collaboration
Technology companies enabling the next generation of EcoStruxure include:

• Microsoft: Schneider Electric leverages the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to deliver its digital services, apps and analytics. Azure is the cloud backbone for EcoStruxure, helping to ease technology development on the platform. One such digital service. Conext 2 Advisor, is a more secure monitoring and control solution for better managing and optimizing the performance of solar power plants, and is delivered as an Azure cloud-based service, accessible on computers or mobile devices.
• Intel: Schneider Electric leverages Intel's smart Field Programmable Gateway Arrays (FPGA) devices to power its sensors and devices, networks and the cloud. Intel's FPGAs helps to enhance the performance, power and flexibility of the EcoStruxure architecture to enable smarter operations.

New partnerships are also emerging with specialized technology providers, such as Zuora, and global industry providers, such as the company's recently announced partnership with Panasonic, both of which further enable the delivery of new technology, new services, new business models, and more service-oriented value for customers.

Keywords: Industrial Plants, Industrial Machines, Power Distribution, IoT Platform, Mobility, Sensing, Cloud, Analytics, Cybersecurity, ARC Advisory Group.