Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, has 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 CAPProgram 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. — SG
