Schneider Electric has organised a hybrid event on digital transformation for its partners with the theme “The New-Age Solution Provider: Channel Partners Transforming for a Digital — First World” to enhance their capabilities towards addressing the current unprecedented market dynamics and the intense competition they are spurring.
This is emanating from the Covid-19 propelled shift towards a digital economy as end-user organisations are ramping up digital transformation efforts to meet increasing demands, while embracing a digital-first approach to business and leveraging advanced technology to drive critical business outcomes.
“Clearly, digitization has become… I won’t say the new normal. It has always been there. I think the pandemic has accelerated it. It’s a reality. We clearly now need to move faster. So, we’re clearly working with all our partners from the alliance side to integrators of the ecosystem on embracing the impact on our customers,” said Ziad Youssef, Vice President, Secure Power Division in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Schneider Electric.
“Electrification is going to intensify further. There are lots of initiatives clearly that will drive more need for electricity. And today, we see it in technology, we see it with electrical vehicles, we see it with manufacturing that will be accelerating as well.
“Sustainability will be a major topic for us moving forward. We started that journey a few years ago with our operation going as efficiently as possible in terms of greener… reducing carbon footprint and that forms part of our supply chain to the products and solutions we deliver to our customers. That’s something very, very critical I think to our future, our planet, our kids, as part of maybe our mission statement as we move forward.”
Youssef noted that companies and organisations are developing their usage of technology. According to him, companies are investing in data analytics, AI, IoT, cloud, drones among others, and called on Schneider Electric partners to enhance their portfolios to take advantage of these opportunities.
“We like to say that digital is disrupting efficiency and sustainability. But honestly, it’s a good disruption if you think about it. We’ve all these sensors measuring how much our electricity uses; not only electricity. We’re looking at water usage, renovating a plant, renovating a building. Guess what? Once we’ve that data, we can look at it, we can optimize it, we can improve it, and that’s really efficiency and sustainability,” said Michel Arres, Vice President, IT Channel & Alliances, Secure Power International, Schneider Electric.
He noted that Schneider Electric and its partners are configuring about 80,000 data centres a year, around 70 gigawatts capacity configured. According to Arres, the company has lots of digital tools to help its partners create integrated solutions – whether it is a server, a power system, a cooling solution, or a complete data centre; adding that Schneider has a configurator that can help the partners to design these solutions.
Although there are about 39,000 data centres globally, Arres said that the challenge is the 7 million plus edge locations that need to be built. He encouraged Schneider Electric partners to take advantage of this opportunity, noting that the company is there to support them in this regard.
The event, which held in various cities across the world, including Lagos, provided a platform to discuss how Schneider Electric’s partners can create new revenue streams for themselves by leveraging the company’s vast portfolio of software and digital services for the edge. It also helped the partners discover the critical competencies that modern technology providers need to have at their disposal — including advanced tech-based portfolios, new engagement models, and deeper skills — to effectively address their customers’ digital needs.