Schneider enhances operations management software portfolio

Daniel Doimo, executive vice president of Schneider Electric's global solutions business, says: "Acquiring Invensys technology and people has reinvigorated and strengthened Schneider Electric's position in the industrial automation and operations management software market. Bringing Schneider Electric and Invensys technology together enables the delivery of proven innovation, world-leading brands and powerful new solutions that improve efficiency, manage risk and drive higher levels of customer value. We will continue to take the lead on providing the game-changing technology our customers need today."

For Avantis, SimSci and Wonderware software customers, the combined company means stronger innovation, development and delivery capabilities and a broader network of industry partners that will enable new systems, applications and technologies to be brought to market faster. Schneider Electric customers will benefit from a comprehensive portfolio of operations management software that spans the entire value chain of manufacturing and industrial plants. New mobility, next-gen visualisation and next-gen simulation offerings will provide the agility, context and assurance users need to navigate changing business demands, as well as the ability to manage the increasing volume and complexity of their industrial operations.

Ravi Gopinath, PhD, executive vice president, Schneider Electric software business, says: "Combining existing Schneider Electric software offerings with newly acquired Avantis, SimSci and Wonderware software offerings allows us to deliver the broadest, richest and most flexible set of industrial software solutions on the market today, one that spans the design, commissioning and ongoing operations of manufacturing and industrial plants. For example, we now offer a fit-for-purpose operations management software portfolio for greater historical archiving, increased mobility, stronger analytics, better reporting and improved workflow, and we're also able to provide end-to-end value chain solutions for the oil and gas, M3 and food and beverage industries. Together with our stronger, broader partner network, we will be offering a wider, richer portfolio of scalable solutions that empower our customers to manage the increasing volume and complexity of their industrial operations, while tapping the power of the Cloud, Big Data, the Internet of Things and other emerging trends."

Proofs of concept

The company will demonstrate several "proofs of concept" at its annual Software Global Customer Conference, designed to illustrate the value and power of a stronger software portfolio. Examples of these proofs of concept include:

• SimSci operator training simulators and optimisation software will help customers in the metals, mining & minerals, power and utilities industries reduce operating costs and improve risk management
• Wonderware System Platform software, combined with Schneider Electric's Aquis advanced decision-support software, will improve water network behaviour forecasts, water quality, what-if scenarios and information integrity between measured points for customers operating water distribution networks
• Wonderware Corporate Energy Management software combined with Schneider Electric Power Monitoring Expert software will improve reporting coverage for a broad range of users within any manufacturing enterprise

Other portfolio synergies on display include:

• Expanded Equipment Maintenance Services with Remote Electrical Asset Monitoring utilising Wonderware Historian software, which will help customers manage data collection. That data can then be leveraged with Avantis Enterprise Asset Management and Avantis Condition Manager Software to improve asset performance, analytics and failure prediction, as well as to optimise field service operations and improve uptime
• Wonderware Historian software expanded into the company's Citect, ClearSCADA and Wonderware InduSoft HMI SCADA systems improves historical archiving capability
• The Wonderware Alarm Adviser application from the Citect development team helps Wonderware customers optimise alarms for larger SCADA applications
• New connectivity between both Citect and ClearSCADA and Wonderware System Platform software unlocks the full value of the legacy Invensys software portfolio for the existing installed Schneider Electric base. The Wonderware System Platform integrates other applications including Wonderware Skelta BPM and Avantis Enterprise Asset Management

Gopinath says: "All of this is truly game-changing technology, and it's an exciting time for our customers, partners and employees. With a dedicated, focused Software business and more robust development and delivery capabilities, we will continue to provide a hardware-agnostic approach to meeting our customers' needs, no matter where they are in the business and operation. Since we're not tied to any specific system, our customers will more easily unify their islands of automation and create next-gen operations management systems for enterprise-wide visibility and standardisation. Our mission is to empower our customers for success, and we look forward to helping them achieve new levels of value, performance and profitability."

To learn more go to www.schneider-electric.com/us, and for further information about Schneider's software portfolio, visit www.software.invensys.com.