Schneider Electric, a global frontrunner in energy management and automation, recently hosted its Innovation Day in Pune, spotlighting the transformative potential of software-defined open automation within India’s industrial sector. The event, themed ‘Rethinking Industrial Automation: Embracing Open, Flexible, and Sustainable Solutions for the Data-Driven Future,’ showcased how open automation could serve as a vital foundation for developing agile, resilient, and future-ready industrial systems.
Central to this initiative is Schneider Electric’s nationwide Open Automation Movement, which aims to revolutionise the industrial landscape by moving away from traditional, hardware-bound, and vendor-dependent systems towards open, software-defined solutions. This strategic shift promotes interoperability and scalability, allowing industries to deploy flexible, vendor-agnostic architectures that enable seamless integration, improved collaboration, and enhanced data-driven innovation.
Arvind Kakru, Vice President – Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric India, described this evolution as not merely technological but a fundamental change in mindset. He highlighted the EcoStruxure™ Automation Expert platform, which empowers businesses to craft adaptable automation frameworks that are open and flexible. Complementing this, Rajat Abbi, Vice President – Marketing at Schneider Electric Greater India, articulated the broader impact of open automation as a game-changer for the entire industrial ecosystem. According to Abbi, this approach lays the groundwork for enterprises to embrace operational flexibility, drive efficiencies, and accelerate digital transformation amidst rapidly evolving market demands.
The Innovation Day featured a dynamic panel discussion where industry leaders shared their experiences in digital transformation. Among them, Amit Deshpande, Senior General Manager at Aquatech Systems Asia, offered practical insights from his company’s transition to open automation. He explained that replacing legacy, vendor-dependent systems with open, data-centric operations substantially reduced downtime, optimised resource utilisation, and supported sustainability goals—a testament to the tangible benefits of this approach.
Schneider Electric’s Open Automation Movement seeks to liberalise industrial automation by encouraging plug-and-play capabilities and seamless data flow. By fostering an ecosystem of industry bodies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), technology partners, engineers, and developers, the movement aims to raise awareness and accelerate adoption of open automation principles across India’s industrial sector. The goal is to empower organisations to respond swiftly to operational challenges, enhance performance and agility, and future-proof their operations through digital innovation.
This initiative aligns with Schneider Electric’s broader commitment to delivering integrated, end-to-end lifecycle solutions spanning electrification, automation, and digitisation. Serving sectors such as smart industries, resilient infrastructure, data centres, and intelligent homes, the company operates with a global workforce of 150,000 employees and a partner network exceeding one million. Their mission combines advancing digital transformation with a strong emphasis on sustainability, creating solutions that bridge progress with responsible resource management.
In essence, Schneider Electric’s push for open automation in India represents a pivotal moment for the industrial sector, offering a blueprint for building more agile, efficient, and sustainable industrial ecosystems. By challenging the constraints of legacy systems and championing flexibility and interoperability, the company is fostering a collaborative environment where innovation can thrive in response to the demands of a data-driven future.
Source: Noah Wire Services
