Johannesburg, 31 Jan 2018
Schneider Electric presented two papers at the 26th Southern African Universities Power and Engineering Conference (SAUPEC 2018), hosted by the School of Electrical and Information Engineering of the University of the Witwatersrand, in conjunction with the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) from 24-26 January.
"As a Silver Sponsor, we were proud to be part of the proceedings of the event, which brought together academics and students in electrical engineering from the Southern African region," said Derek Gilmore, Director for the Specification and Training, Schneider Electric Anglophone Africa.
"Its theme, 'Power & energy in the context of the Internet of Things (IOT): the 4th Industrial Revolution', is particularly apt, as this is the area that Schneider Electric has at the forefront of its business drive, as the world becomes more connected. Today, the digital offering has made such advances that products connected to the Internet (IOT) account for 40% of our global turnover.
"Our presentation on 'Cloud and the future of industrial automation', unpacked the current usage in the cloud and the future of the hybrid data centre, as evinced by our EcoStruxure framework.
Globally, we are in the midst of the 4th industrial revolution where the cost of making something intelligent and innovative has inevitably come down to zero as technology is becoming ten times powerful every five years.
As cloud services are deployed from the cloud platforms that were used in 2008 to the transition of the 2017 cloud "edge", everything is now less centralised and will be distributed through the Edge Intelligence by 2020 as part of the "hybrid" cloud and the "next OS". The producers and consumers of the cloud are enticed by custom-built applications that they can access from either physically or from virtual servers on a pay-as-you-go services.
The South African government cloud journey has only just started and a clear strategy is required to ensure that the benefits of cloud are realised whilst minimising the risk and impacts of service delivery in our country.
EcoStruxure is an open, interoperable, IOT-enabled system architecture and platform. It delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and connectivity. EcoStruxure leverages advancements in IOT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics and cyber security to deliver innovation at every level. This includes connected products, edge control, and apps, analytics & services. It has been deployed in 450,000+ installations, with the support of 9 000 system integrators, connecting over 1 billion devices.
"At our stand, we unfolded Schneider Electric's Energy University, which offers over 200 free energy efficiency and Data Centre online courses certification, accessible 24/7, to further enhance the knowledge base of students. The eager uptake by the student is encouraging, as more student empower themselves through technology knowledge.
"Globally there is a high demand for technology professionals and the challenges facing this industry in terms of growth, infrastructure, and management underscore this certification's value. The Energy University provides a smart, convenient way to expand skill sets and improve on-the-job performance with certifications for professionals in industries such as data centre, energy management and more."
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