Schneider Electric and Cisco Unveil HyperFlex Edge Computing solution

Schneider Electric, the leader of digital transformation in energy management and automation, has today unveiled with Cisco a new edge computing solution, integrating Cisco’s HyperFlex Edge, hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) within Schneider Electric’s industry-first 6U Wall Mount EcoStruxure Micro Data Center™, bringing resilient, secure and localized computing capabilities closer to where the data is created, processed and stored. HyperFlexis a complete, engineered HCI solution built on the Cisco UCS platform, enabling customers to extend the power and simplicity of HCI from data centers to critical IT systems at the edge of the network.

EcoStruxure Ready™ and fully compatible with Schneider Electric's award-winning next generation Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software EcoStruxure IT™, the next evolution in the Cisco HyperFlex product set meets the edge computing challenges of connectivity, speed of deployment and space constraints, with simplified installation across remote and distributed locations, including retail, manufacturing, automotive and Telco environments.

Edge computing presents customers with a number of new challenges, including greater numbers of distributed systems deployed in environments not optimized for IT, which are often unstaffed, placingnew physical and cyber security demands on the solution. With live demonstrations at Cisco Live, Barcelona, 2020, the system will showcase new physical and cyber security features, including a high-performance image recognition application and the recent Device Security Vulnerability Assessmentnow available in EcoStruxure IT Expert™. 

Continued innovation for edge computing applications

“Cisco and Schneider Electric have been Alliance Partners for more than 15 years,” said Rob McKernan, Senior Vice President, Secure Power Europe. “As part of that collaboration, we continue to innovate and build on the integration capabilities between our companies. This helps partners todeliver best-in-class, pre-integrated systems, safe in the knowledge that the solution will work predictably, as planned from the minute it is operational. At the edge, reliability is essential, and with interoperability between EcoStruxure and Cisco Intersight, partners can manage multiple edge sites on behalf of their customers, whilst generating new service revenues.” 

Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Micro Data Center meets customer demands for manufacturers, suppliers and systems integrators to provide standardized, pre-tested and pre-integrated IT systemsthat reduce time to market and building complexity for IT Professionals. With greater interoperability between the IT and physical infrastructure, customers can specify their system utilizing components from different vendors with the reassurance it will work predictably as planned from the moment it is deployed.

Schneider Electric’s 6U Wall Mount is designed for edge computing environments where space is at a premium and reliability is a must. It allows large, heavy edge servers, networking equipment and UPS to be safely mounted on a wall. Consuming zero floor space, it is 60 percent less intrusive than traditional wall mount enclosures. Cisco certified shock packaging also enables channel partners andsystems integrators to pre-install IT for quick and standardized deployments, with secure, ruggedized options, perfect for light industrial environments. 

Cisco and Schneider Electric Drive Growth for Channel Partners

Cisco and Schneider Electric are committed to driving business through the channel. The management capabilities enabled via the integration between EcoStruxure IT and Intersight allows channel partners and Managed Service Providers (MSP’s) to monitor and service customer edge computing environments. This ensures the highest levels of reliability and availability via predictive monitoring, whilst reducing the risk of unplanned downtime via the EcoStruxure IT Expert application and its new cyber security features.

Cisco’s HyperFlex Edge with Schneider Electric 6U Wall Mount EcoStruxure Micro Data Center will become commercially available later this year. For more information, please join us at the Intel Café during Cisco Live, Barcelona, 2020.