Schneider Electric seeks to transform Indian business landscape with Internet of Things solutions

Schneider Electric  is seeking to leverage its Internet of Things (IoT)-driven competencies to bring about process efficiency across businesses in India. IoT is an emerging industry in India and is expected to cross $15 billion by 2020. To support this industry, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) has come out with a draft IoT policy that aims at building an entire ecosystem around IoT and to incentivise the players in the ecosystem. Home and building, manufacturing, consumer electronics, retail, power, transportation and healthcare are some of the key sectors which are likely to see major spendings on IoT.

One of the hottest technology trends across industries, IoT solutions are bringing unprecedented levels of connectivity, efficiency, sustainability, reliability and safety in various operations. IoT technologies are driving new business models that facilitate a service-oriented culture, with new revenue streams being created.

As an important player in this segment, SE is facilitating a faster transition to an IoT-enabled world. For instance, in many industries operators struggle to process IoT-driven higher volumes of information and need to select operating options from an increased set of alternatives. But the new generation of workers rely less on experience and more on information at their fingertips, provided in a way familiar to newer ‘digital natives’ who depend upon smart phones, tablets, and wearables to communicate. These changes force plants to be more user-centric and less machine-centric.

To address the above situation, SE has developed operator training simulators (OTS) that leverage IoT technologies so that knowledge can be transferred and skills developed in months – not years. OTS allows workers to experience and respond to simulated high-risk control room situations in a risk-free virtual-reality environment. Similar to how airline pilots or astronauts train, simulators throw various ‘failure issues’ and problems at trainees to ensure they can cope with malfunctions and upset conditions.

With India going strong on technology-driven growth – be it the Smart City Vision, Digital India programme or energy management – Schneider Electric considers it a big opportunity to leverage its IoT experience in the Indian market. SE recently concluded its ‘Life Is On’ brand campaign launch with the theme, ‘Internet of Things’. The event focussed on industry trends, future aspects and the Company’s approach for IoT with special reference to the role of IoT in commercial buildings, utility, process automation, data centres and residential buildings.

Speaking about the importance of IoT,  Anil Chaudhry, Country President and Managing Director- Schneider Electric India, said: “Even before the term ‘Internet of Things’ became a global buzzword, Schneider Electric’s award-winning technologies and innovative solutions were contributing to the IoT’s rise. As India seeks to create a roadmap for its Smart Cities’ mission, SE’s IoT solutions will be well-placed to facilitate the long-term success of this initiative.”

Schneider Electric plays a key role in helping industry stakeholders leverage operational intelligence that allows for successful process execution. The Company services physical infrastructure through remote monitoring and offers new levels of service. SE has the following five core IoT-driven competencies:

• Business process efficiency (higher productivity and profitability)
• High asset availability and performance (predictive and condition-based maintenance)
• Risk mitigation and safety (embedding safety into product designs)
• Enablement of faster time-to-market (securing both centralised and edge applications)
• Sustainable growth (low CO₂ emissions products and systems).

Schneider Electric delivers solutions at each architectural layer: the core of connected field devices (sensors, drives, meters, PLCs, controls, switchgear), the platform layer (Cloud services, middleware, physical infrastructure architectures), and the on-premise central control layer (remote monitoring, predictive analysis, simulation, and Cloud analytics). All the elements are designed within a balanced envelope of security (physical security and cyber security), and open protocols/open connectivity. These IoT competencies have been developed over time from massive investments in Research and Development as well as innovation.