Industrial Enterprises to Achieve Step Change Operational Improvements with New Category of Software-centric Automation System

Schneider Electric introduces EcoStruxure Automation Expert, world’s first software-centric industrial automation system

Calls on industry to embrace “universal automation” through widespread adoption of open standards in order to unleash innovation and boost efficiency, resilience, productivity, agility and sustainability

Plug-and-produce approach to system engineering drives greater return-on-investment for automation platforms

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has accelerated its drive to help customers unlock the full potential of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).  Promising to unleash a new wave of innovation by championing the widespread adoption of open automation standards, Schneider Electric unveiled its vision for universal automation and the first of its kind EcoStruxure Automation Expert, a new category of software-centric industrial automation system.

Industrial operations are undergoing a game-changing transformation. Advances in machine learning, augmented reality, real-time analytics and the IIoT hold great promise for industrial enterprises and manufacturers to meet the demands of today’s agile and digital world.

However, realizing this promise is limited by closed and proprietary automation platforms that restrict the adoption of best-of-class technologies, present challenges to integrate third-party components and are expensive to upgrade and maintain. While information technology has adopted open platforms and is rapidly evolving, the same cannot be said for industrial technology. Industry has suffered from a lack of adaptability, modularization and interoperability, which is stunting innovation.

Schneider Electric believes the time is right for a bold move in industrial automation and is calling on industrial users, vendors, OEMs, systems integrators and EPCs across industry to embrace universal automation.

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Universal automation

Universal automation is the world of plug-and-produce automation software components based on the IEC61499 standard that solve specific customer problems in a proven way. Adoption of an IEC61499-based standardized automation layer, common across vendors, will provide limitless opportunities for growth and modernization across industry.

By greatly extending the capabilities of existing IEC61131-based systems and enabling an app-store-like model for automation software components, Schneider Electric believes that the advancements possible in the Industrial internet of Things will be fully realized. As its benefits become visible, Schneider Electric believes other vendors will adopt the universal automation approach, and end users will soon begin to demand it from their automation suppliers and ecosystem.

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EcoStruxure Automation Expert: Transforming industrial operations

Schneider Electric delivers on the universal automation vision with the release of EcoStruxure Automation Expert. The first universal automation offering based on the IEC61499 standard begins a new era of software-centric, interoperable industrial automation.

“The IT world has realized the benefits of open operating platforms; now it’s industry’s turn,” said Andre Babineau, Automation Expert Solution Management Director, Schneider Electric. “Industrial automation architectures have done a good job of advancing industry to where we are today, but they are not capable of providing the agility and resilience that are paramount for modern industrial operations. To fully realize the promise of the Industrial Internet of Things, we need to reimagine our technology model by opening our platforms, decoupling software from hardware, and radically improving system agility and scalability.”

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