APC 2014 Annual Report Download - page 22

1OVERVIEW OF THE GROUP’S STRATEGY, MARKETS AND BUSINESSES
BUSINESSES, END-MARKETS AND CUSTOMER CHANNELS
Serving four attractive end markets 2.2
Schneider Electric serves customers in four principal markets: regulations, particularly those regarding demand response, and the
growing need for security, reliability, and real-time control. We
Non-residential & residential Buildings;
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believe these challenges provide long-term growth prospects. Our
Utilities and Infrastructures;
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main customers in this market include energy operators, water
Industries and Machine manufacturers;
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utilities, the owners and operators of transportation and oil & gas
infrastructure and municipalities.
Data Centers and Networks.
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Industries and machine manufacturers
Non-residential and residential buildings
Our energy solutions enable us to serve almost all segments of the
The non-residential buildings market includes public, commercial industries and machine manufacturers market, including mines,
and industrial buildings such as offices, hotels, hospitals, shopping cement plants, the food-processing industry and material handling
centers, schools, sports and cultural centers. Because this sector and packaging machines. With Invensys, we reinforce our
is energy intensive, energy efficiency is key and is subject to new presence in the Refining, Petrochemical and Oil & Gas Industries.
and demanding regulations. Specific requirements have to be met Energy efficiency is at the heart of the challenges facing these
in terms of occupant comfort, security and environmental industries, which include the reduction of production costs,
friendliness, as do the needs of owners and building managers compliance with new regulations, and the reduction of the
seeking to reduce investment costs and optimize maintenance and environmental impact of industrial activity. In addition, both the
operating costs. Schneider Electric’s non-residential customers rapid industrialization taking place in new economies and the need
include end-users, property developers, design firms, systems to modernize existing industrial facilities in mature economies
integrators, panel builders and installers, electrical equipment create significant opportunities for growth. Our customers include
distributors and building management companies. end users, engineering firms, systems integrators, OEMs,
In the context of single-family homes and apartment buildings, electro-intensive industries, panel builders and electrical
Schneider Electric’s market is driven both by renovation and distributors.
refurbishment needs, particularly in mature economies, as well as
Data centers and networks
by construction, particularly in new economies. Whether for
renovation or construction, the underlying challenge is to reconcile
technical constraints, local standards and regulations with
Data centers are secure, precision-cooled sites containing
consumer preferences. They not only desire comfort and
Information Technology (IT) equipment that processes and
aesthetics, but increasingly energy efficiency, connectivity, security
storesvery large quantities of digital data.These sites constitute
and monitoring services as well. Residential customers include
the central nervous systems of businesses and the public sector.
mainly electricians, architects and decorators, those involved in the
The expansion of data centers requires a significant increase in
home automation industry, lighting and security firms, construction
electricity to accommodate the IT equipment’s operation and
firms, contractors, electrical equipment distributors and large
cooling, as the energy needed to cool these rooms has become
do-it-yourself («DIY») stores, as well as end-users and home
comparable to the energy needed to operate the equipment itself.
owners.
Schneider Electric believes that data centers and networks are a
Utilities and infrastructures
high-potential market thanks to the growing digitalization of
professional and personal activities. With the development of web
giants and cloud computing, the physical infrastructure of
Current global challenges in the utilities and infrastructure market datacenters tends to be more and more the business of dedicated
include increasing energy demand, the need for increased energy players with high performance expectations.
efficiency to reduce environmental impact, and the expansion of
renewable energy. This market also faces the evolution of
20 2014 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC