Schneider Electric announced at Automate its new offering — Industrial Automation Modernization as a Service — designed to help industrial organizations modernize automation environments without disrupting production. The offering combines Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure™ Automation Expert (EAE), services, and lifecycle expertise with HPE SimpliVity hybrid cloud infrastructure and software, providing a flexible, resilient foundation for software-defined automation.
Industrial organizations are under increasing pressure to modernize aging control systems, strengthen cybersecurity, address workforce shortages, and prepare for AI-driven operations. Yet many modernization initiatives remain constrained by proprietary architectures, operational risk, and the cost of large-scale infrastructure replacement. Schneider Electric's Industrial Automation Modernization as a Service addresses these challenges by enabling organizations to modernize incrementally, preserve existing investments, and adopt open, software-defined automation at their own pace.
The solution is powered by Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure Automation Expert and supported by HPE infrastructure technologies, including HPE SimpliVity, providing enterprise-grade reliability, data protection, and operational resilience for mission-critical industrial environments.
Most industrial control systems were designed before cloud, AI, or modern cybersecurity frameworks existed. They lock organizations into single vendors, demand on-site specialists who are increasingly scarce, and create technical debt that makes every step toward modernization harder than it needs to be.
“For too long, industrial enterprises have been forced to choose between operational continuity and technological modernization. Together Schneider Electric and HPE are removing that trade-off entirely — giving customers a single, governed foundation to modernize at their own pace,” said Gwenaelle Huet, Executive Vice President, Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric.
“But this is about more than technology. Moving from CapEx to OpEx for industrial automation is a fundamental mindset shift for the industry — one that changes how automation is funded, consumed, and continuously improved. No more big upfront commitments that start aging on day one. Instead, an always-current service aligned to real operational needs. The industrial world is on an irreversible path toward AI: generative, agentic, and increasingly physical AI embedded directly in robotics and machines. Getting there requires open, software-defined infrastructure built on enterprise-grade hybrid cloud, and that's exactly what Schneider Electric and HPE are delivering,” added Huet.
Schneider Electric's Industrial Automation Modernization as a Service offering combines three complementary layers designed to simplify modernization and ongoing operations.
Infrastructure Foundation: HPE compute, storage, and data protection technologies that provide the secure, resilient platform for mission-critical industrial workloads.
Software and Control as a Service: Open, software-defined automation that can be deployed, updated, and governed centrally, across any compatible hardware, without touching physical assets.
People and Lifecycle Services: Expert services spanning assessment, migration, managed operations, cybersecurity, and continuous optimization.
What differentiates the offering is not only its capabilities, but the open standards on which it is built. Both Schneider Electric and HPE are active members of UniversalAutomation.org, the industry-led initiative that goes beyond virtualization — championing open, software-defined automation based on the IEC 61499 standard. This shared commitment means customers are never locked into a single vendor's roadmap or hardware generation: They can modernize incrementally, switch vendors without re-engineering, and adapt as technology evolves.
“Industrial enterprises are facing the same pressures that transformed enterprise IT a decade ago — rising complexity, skills scarcity, and demand for real-time intelligence at scale. EcoStruxure Automation Expert running on HPE SimpliVity and HPE software solutions gives organizations the unified foundation they need to meet these challenges head-on, with the governance, flexibility, and resilience to sustain modernization over time,” said Peter Groth, VP of OEM, Service Providers and Telcos, HPE. Automate Booth #2257
For more information, visit www.se.com/us/en .
