APC 2013 Annual Report Download - page 34

1OVERVIEW OF THE GROUP'S STRATEGY, MARKETS AND BUSINESSES
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Group-wide innovation programs 5.4
Under the umbrella of Operational Intelligence, several programs Large scale real time analytics
were defined to develop the base technical capabilities that will The sheer volume of data generated by these complex systems
support business solutions across a variety of industries. requires a high level of automation and/or support to manage
Pervasive sensing
these disruptions. Developing automated evaluation and
management of risks as well as the identification and resolution
of critical events is one of the priorities of Schneider Electric
Leveraging technologies known as “Internet of things”, specific Operational Intelligence program.
programs aim at developing self powered sensors for a wide As an illustration, the evaluation of the potential impact of
range of measurements that can be deployed on a large scale, extreme weather episodes, such as lightning strikes of storms,
from smart buildings to smart cities. To ease the deployment of allows to prepare the network and support crews for accelerated
such sensor networks, these research programs also focus on recovery. This evaluation will require the instant processing of
improving radio-frequency based connectivity. information coming from multiple systems to propose to
Water networks across the world actually lose 30% of the water operators a manageable number of risk-evaluated scenarios.
they are supposed to distribute due to difficulty to detect leaks
Cyber-security
and costly repair. Advances in long range networks have made
large scale deployment of pressure and flow sensors
economically viable. The resulting information allows to As the level of automation increases, the security of control
constantly adjust pressure in the network segments to actual systems will become even more critical. Secure development
demand, thus reducing leaks by up to 30%. practices have been deployed across all Schneider Electric R&D
Next generation control systems
entities, and cyber-security is a major area of joint development
with industry partners, such as network providers and security
specialists.
As Schneider Electric optimizes larger and larger systems, like The threat of cyber-security can only be managed with open
smart grids or smart cities, the level of disruption these systems collaboration within our industry and with the IT industry, and
are exposed to increases exponentially. The techniques used to Schneider Electric is fully committed to developing this
control and optimize fairly simple processes clearly will not cope collaboration.
with the level of dynamicity of a city or a grid.
Also, as the Group’s customers will increasingly require that
As suggested above, this will require control systems that Schneider Electric not only delivers secure products and
embark increasingly powerful analytical capabilities and are systems, but also help them manage the security of their
closely integrated with enterprise-wide Business Intelligence operations, security services are another area of investment and
applications. collaboration.
Market segment specific programs 5.5
The major effort started in the last years to develop segment In the context of the Operational Intelligence program, the Group
specific solutions that reduce the risk and lead time to implement has systematically identified segment specific business issues
Schneider Electric solutions, while providing accelerated ROI, where analytics can deliver superior value. A dedicated team of
remains a key priority. data analysts has been set up to support the businesses in the
development and deployment of the corresponding solutions.
Collaborative programs 5.6
In addition to peer-to-peer collaboration with universities, The Ambassador program
partners and suppliers, collaborative programs remain an Environmental challenges, population growth, and urbanization
efficient way of exploring new possibilities across industry are the main drivers for initiatives such as the Ambassador
boundaries. program.
Smart Cities, a domain where technology innovation will need to Cities are complex organizations that have to deal with
be combined with many other levers to deliver lasting benefits, is transportation, water, energy, education, housing, security,
a domain where we specifically focus. buildings, urbanism… all of which have very different time scales
as far as planning, design, construction and operations. No one
can claim mastering such a complex ecosystem where most
topics are coupled in some ways. Most of the players are willing
to play a role in the huge market of Smart Cities, but the truth is
that we all need to learn about smart cities, and in this sense,
partnerships are essential to succeed.
32 2013 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC