Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, announced today the expansion of its IP and NEMA rated EcoStruxure™ Micro Data Center R-Series for rugged indoor environments. The new micro data centers offer a fast and simple way to deploy and manage edge computing infrastructure in challenging indoor spaces for industrial use. The six new models are available in 16U, 24U, and 42U sizes starting in December in the United States and Canada. They will be available in Europe early next year.
As industrial operators deploy Industry 4.0 technologies to increase productivity, safety, and automation, micro data centers are becoming essential to addressing everything from the convergence of IT and OT to the enabling of IIoT applications — making IT on the factory floor more reliable.
“Advanced automation technologies come with significant cost-saving, safety, and productivity benefits, but to reap the benefits, IT must be located closer to the end point — in spaces that weren’t built with IT in mind,” said Jean-Baptiste Plagne, Vice President Offer Management, Rack & Edge Systems, Energy Management, Schneider Electric. “To ensure reliability of IT networks on the factory floor, we are introducing the new IP and NEMA rated R-Series EcoStruxure Micro Data Center. These micro data centers provide a solution that’s simple-to-deploy and simple-to-manage for IT and industrial channels and for end users like manufacturers and distributors."
EcoStruxure Micro Data Center solutions reduce costs and get industrial systems to market faster
EcoStruxure Micro Data Center solutions are configurable, pre-packaged, enclosed rack systems that include power, cooling, security, and management. They save up to 40 percent in field engineering costs, get systems to market 20 percent faster, and reduce maintenance costs by 7 percent. Micro data centers take advantage of existing infrastructure and can potentially reduce capital expenses by 42 percent over a traditional build. The new R-Series reinforces these benefits and helps customers alleviate difficulties because it is:
- Built to withstand harsh indoor environments and applications. Industrial edge environments can be challenging with high levels of dust, moisture, and wide temperature variations.
- Managed remotely with Schneider Electric’s portfolio of software and services when there’s limited-to-no on-site IT staff. EcoStruxure IT, an open, vendor-agnostic platform, provides the power and flexibility for users to manage critical infrastructure on their own, with a partner, or to allow Schneider Electric's service engineers to manage the assets for them.
- Equipped with security features that allow it to go in unsecured locations.
- Able to standardize your design across multiple environments with a single, all-in-one-solution, which is easier to deploy and maintain than disparate systems.
Learn more about the new R-Series EcoStruxure Micro Data Center
The new R-Series is available through APC Channel Partners and Schneider Electric sales representatives. Visit this page for more information about Schneider Electric’s new IP and NEMA rated R-Series EcoStruxure Micro Data Center for rugged indoor environments.
What is Industrial Edge Computing?
For industrial operators to capture the benefits of increased automation, they cannot rely on cloud-technology alone to bring the resiliency and speed demanded by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other Industry 4.0 technologies. Local edge data centers are IT infrastructure enclosures/spaces/facilities distributed geographically to enable end points on the network. When in industrial environments, such as a manufacturing plant or distribution center, this application is referred to as "industrial edge computing." Analysts have identified the edge as becoming increasingly important.
About EcoStruxure
EcoStruxure™ is our open, interoperable, IoT-enabled system architecture and platform. EcoStruxure delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and connectivity for our customers. EcoStruxure leverages advancements in IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics, and cybersecurity to deliver Innovation at Every Level. This includes Connected Products, Edge Control, and Apps, Analytics & Services which are supported by Customer Lifecycle Software. EcoStruxure™ has been deployed in almost 500,000 sites with the support of 20,000+ developers, 650,000 service providers and partners, 3,000 utilities and connects over 2 million assets under management.
From energy and sustainability consulting to optimizing the life cycle of your operational systems, we have world-wide services to meet your business needs. As a customer-centric organization, Schneider Electric is your trusted advisor to help increase asset reliability, improve total cost of ownership and drive your enterprise’s digital transformation towards sustainability, efficiency and safety.
Related resources:
- EcoStruxure Micro Data Center
- The Secret Sauce for Industry 4.0 – the Micro Data Center at the Local Edge
- Industry 4.0: Minimizing Downtime Risk with Resilient Edge Computing
- White Paper 223: Cost Benefit Analysis of Edge Micro Data Center Deployments
