Schneider Electric, Cisco in Handshake to Build Resilient Control System Networks

Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, on Thursday announced a partnership with worldwide leader in networking, Cisco, to bring advanced networking and control system technologies to its customers.

Cisco is focused on helping transform industrial customers by connecting people, processes, data and things.

Schneider Electric will leverage the proven technologies from Cisco to help deliver its enhanced industrial automation solutions.

Welcoming Cisco to the Schneider Electric Collaborative Automation Partner Program (CAPP) provides the platform needed to offer the company’s state-of-the-art industrial networking technology to Schneider Electric customers in more than 200 countries.

Schneider Electric and Cisco both share the philosophy of driving technological solutions to address specific customer challenges, and both companies welcome the benefits of this partnership.

The superior value delivered to common industrial customers by this partnership can be demonstrated in a recent customer case.

A major metallurgical coal miner located in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, Australia, selected Schneider Electric to supply an advanced technology solution for a new operation that produces metallurgical coal for the steel industry.

Commissioned in late 2014, and constructed to be one of the most productive, sustainable and highly performing metallurgical coal mines in the world, the company’s operation relies on a substantial foundation of technologies from Cisco and Schneider Electric – control of the fixed plant is entrusted to Schneider Electric systems, while the process control network depends on proven technologies from Cisco.

The Schneider Electric CAP Program Deployment Director, Loic Regnier, said “Superlative technology partner companies like Cisco, recognized in the industry by analysts and customers alike, bring advanced capabilities to our customers and contribute to helping us build complete and robust solutions for those customers.”

Many Schneider Electric customers already use Cisco technology. In fact, some IT departments require the implementation of Cisco technology as a standard across the enterprise, including the industrial network.

Companies who rely on Cisco for industrial network connectivity can achieve network resiliency using Cisco technologies including rapid ring recovery, link redundancy, link aggregation and rapid failover.

“Complementing our advanced core offer with best-in-class partners like Cisco is the next step in our commitment to helping our customers operate high performance networks and systems,” said Fabrice Jadot, senior vice president, Innovation & Technology and CTO, Industry Business, Schneider Electric.

“Cisco is pleased to join the Schneider Electric Collaborative Automation Partner Program to develop and validate joint industrial solutions for our customers,” said Sébastien Collignon, Business Development Director, Industry Solutions Group, EMEAR, Cisco. “The program will enable us to help customers in a variety of industries minimize risk and reduce implementation time at operational sites, thereby improving business value.”

In line with this new collaboration, a joint Schneider Electric/ Cisco event is being held in Lagos, at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island.

Schneider Electric’s Collaborative Automation Partner Program (CAPP) is a dedicated program to manage our technology partners who contribute to our solutions for Industry end users.

Together with its CAPP partners the Company has been able to build complete solutions for its mutual customers, integrating Schneider Electric and technology partner offers and products.

Schneider Electric’s solutions are built on an open system designed to integrate smoothly with external technologies developed by our CAPP technology partners.

These products serve to compliment and complete Schneider Electric’s technology or architectures.

Today the program features more than 40 partner companies, with presence in 130 countries and more than 200 partner products which are accepted in the program and integrated with Schneider Electric’s automation solutions. ‎