Schneider Electric has announced a “re-boost” of its Alliance Programme, which is branded “Alliance Partner Programme – SI Energise” for 2024 and comes with numerous and compelling additional benefits for participating partners.

The Alliance Programme for industrial automation system integrators (SIs) is a partnership with Schneider Electric with a specific focus on technology and segment certification. It enables partners to not only master Schneider Electric’s technologies but also become specialists in the different types of applications that the programme offers.

Furthermore, the re-boosted Alliance Programme will equip industrial automation SIs with the necessary tools and expertise to grow into industrial technology experts.

Oriel Soupen, Support Sales and SI Channel Manager at Schneider Electric South Africa, explains that the re-boosted programme introduces more benefits for partners. The Alliance Programme now refers to competencies rather than certifications and offers an increased number of 18 Schneider Electric competencies that focus on the EcoStruxure Plant and EcoStruxure Machine portfolios.

“Additionally, the programme now also offers 10 AVEVA industrial software competencies to industrial automation system integrators. Schneider Electric-owned AVEVA is the company’s industrial software hub,” says Soupen.

Industrial technology experts 

The Alliance Programme is a subscription-based partnership that runs for a year and consists of three different levels – from entry-level Registered Partners to Certified Partners and Master Partners. 

In South Africa, Schneider Electric currently has a total of 60 participating industrial automation SIs in the programme, of which two are Master Partners, 16 are Certified Partners and 42 are Registered Partners.

“Advancement within the Alliance Programme is based on four pillars - performance, loyalty, experience and competency. However, the requirements to move up the tiers vary based on the specialisation or the type of technology the partner is interested in,” says Soupen.

Specific requirements

“There are specific requirements for training in a given technology and because it is a business-driven programme, there is also sales commitment based on an agreement signed by Schneider Electric and the partner,” she adds

Participating SIs receive technical support, software packs, access to hardware and subject matter experts, product application engineers and system architects. This is all done to assist the partners and ensure that Schneider Electric stays top of mind. 

She explains that the Alliance Programme brings a unique value proposition to partners, namely increasing business cooperation between the SI and Schneider Electric to win more projects together. Furthermore, it improves the partner’s technical capabilities, so they can become more competitive in the market.

“Not only do SIs get trained on what Schneider Electric’s hardware does, they are trained on what our hardware is ultimately capable of doing with add-ons. However, it is not just about hardware, we want to throw in the software, the analytics and the services component as part of a full end-to-end solution,” concludes Soupen.