New platform to help companies manage their power systems

A French multinational, Schneider Electric, has introduced a smart power management platform in Kenya.

EcoStructure IT, to be offered as a subscription service running on Schneider Electric’s online portal, is a cloud-based solutions provider that generates information on performance of critical IT equipment based on their power device status.

This helps clients resolve detected problems before their IT platforms, on which their businesses run, collapses.

“Bringing this level of visibility and access to our customers will enable them to benchmark their entire IT ecosystem while providing trend analysis, intelligent maintenance and more, all while reducing risks and increasing efficiency,” said the firm’s IT Division Executive Vice President Dave Johnson.

EcoStructure IT offers a Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) as a service operating on the French conglomerate’s cloud platform. Clients will pay for the service based on their individual needs.

The facility is widely used in sectors such as banks, manufacturing, logistics and telcos, that require uninterrupted uptime to be in business.

The platform monitors critical IT Equipment from generators, machines, power distribution units, servers, computers and uninterrupted power supply units that are essential in running data centres and any environment that requires reliable power.

The company said in a statement that local companies taking up the product will benefit from Schneider Electric’s expertise that ensures their businesses enjoy “a healthy and available IT environment”.

Business using their individual log-ins and passwords will view status of their energy units via EcoStruture IT’s mobile App and Website where they will receive regular alerts through the open system collecting data sourced from their internal energy devices.

Schneider Electric’s Nairobi office said the platform can be integrated with any energy product made by rival firms where status reports will be regularly made enabling their clients to rectify any situation before they suffer downtimes.

Via the EcoStruxure IT Expert product, said Research Director (IDC) Jennifer Cooke said the software defined infrastructure facility enables clients to remotely monitor their IT equipment located in far flung locations.

While Schneider Electric will access a company’s system, said the statement all information collected will be held in confidence.

Schneider is also a big player in power, IT, building, machine, plant and grid environments.

“Data is the lifeblood of today’s connected world and the demand for reliable and accessible information continues to become more critical to any business. Ecostruxure IT seeks to harness the data generated from any environment – from distributed IT to the data centres – and uses it to deliver intelligent insights to support business decisions,” said Edouard Heripret, Schneider Electric General Manager, East Africa.