SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC – E-BUSINESS

Creating a versatile application development and portal platform that serves the full spectrum of business needs, from a software download center to a partner extranet.

www.schneider-electric.com

A World Leader in Energy Efficiency

Schneider Electric is the global specialist in energy management and automation. With revenues of ~$30 billion in FY2015, our 160,000+ employees serve customers in over 100 countries, helping them to manage their energy and process in ways that are safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable. From the simplest of switches to complex operational systems, our technology, software and services improve the way our customers manage and automate their operations. Our connected technologies reshape industries, transform cities and enrich lives. At Schneider Electric, we call this Life Is On.

Embracing a Modern User Experience

The E-Business department of the Buildings Business at Schneider Electric was looking for a versatile platform that could serve their diverse needs, ranging from a software download center to a partner extranet and more. Their immediate need was for a solution that would allow thousands of users around the world to search and download software, including files running into hundreds of megabytes. Instead of settling for a narrow solution, Schneider seized the opportunity to reimagine their entire information hub. Their roadmap included a partner extranet, a key public website, a marketing collateral mobile app, and various software tools for their customers, partners, and employees around the world. To accomplish this, they needed a platform that was agile and flexible, bringing together an array of services in a way that was easy to manage.

A Versatile Platform to Meet All Needs

Liferay, a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, was chosen by Schneider Electric for its low total cost of ownership (TCO), business ability, and rich out-of-the-box functionality, including a strong content management system, identity management capabilities, ability to leverage a public cloud infrastructure, and extensibility as a development platform.

Schneider Electric chose XTIVIA, winner of Liferay’s Partner of the Year award for three years in a row, for its proven leadership in the portal space and their ability to work with the E-Business team to implement its strategic vision.

The XTIVIA team worked closely with the E-Business team stakeholders to define the priorities for the Liferay-based Exchange application and setup the Liferay environments utilizing the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure. First, the team built an easy-to-navigate system and leveraged Liferay’s AUI framework for a responsive theme. Custom responsive layouts provided a clean, professional, and consistent look and feel to the site, optimizing the user experience for mobile devices and tablets.

“Our partnership with XTIVIA has been a fantastic experience. Utilizing their expertise with Liferay, the team developed a portal solution allowing our business to quickly move off an aging platform. In doing so, the end result is a robust and reliable solution with a far superior customer experience. The XTIVIA team continues to be a responsive and effective trusted advisor.”Brett Hopkins
Software Platform Manager – eCommerce, Schneider Electric

Next, XTIVIA used the workflow feature of Liferay for document and software package uploads and implemented an end-user oriented “document search” portlet that supported filters, continuous search results (infinite scroll), the ability to identify and show the related assets, and the ability to track searches and downloads. The XTIVIA team enhanced the core Liferay search capability with XTIVIA search innovations and a robust SolrCloud search infrastructure which greatly enhanced the performance of the search queries. XTIVIA also ensured that the Schneider E-Business staff were trained in managing and operating the portal on a day-to-day basis and had the ability to update the content as required to keep the site fresh.

To fortify security, the XTIVIA team implemented features that required users to be registered and verified before they had the ability to download assets from the Exchange system. The team also set up Single-Sign-On (SSO) between the Exchange system and multiple applications within the organization. And finally, XTIVIA worked together with the Schneider E-Business team to redesign and rebuild the user interface of the Exchange site by adding key functionality improvements in the search and presentation of assets for their target audience.

XTIVIA enjoys a successful partnership with the E-Business team and has helped build new applications based on the Liferay platform. The XTIVIA team successfully delivered the Transition Portal application that would promote upgrades to their existing customers with legacy systems and transition them to the new building automation platform.

XTIVIA also completed a project to integrate Schneider’s mobile marketing platform with the Liferay platform to provide a conduit for assets to be available to the internal Sales and Marketing teams in a professional and aesthetically pleasing manner on their marketing platform.

Exceptional Customer Experience that Continues to Evolve

The Exchange was launched by the E-Business team in the first quarter of 2014, and it quickly became the go-to resource for Schneider Electric’s partners and employees around the world. The Exchange provided users with the ability to search and filter the results based on specific keywords and the responsive web design ensured that the site was still functional when they were on the road at their respective client sites. Schneider received rave reviews from their customers, affirming that the new platform is providing a dynamic and enjoyable user experience. Even their own staff see day-to-day advantages as well as the workflow and content management enabled by Liferay helps increase productivity for both portal management and internal marketing efforts.

Liferay continues to provide value to the Schneider E-Business team as a complete application development platform and not just a Content Management System. XTIVIA and Schneider Electric are working together as a team on additional Liferay-based projects to continually improve the current platform.

The Liferay Difference

• A dramatically improved extranet for partners and employees that greatly enhances the image and brand of Schneider to their global audience.
• A scalable, cloud-based platform that can support long-term growth and flexibility.
• Versatility in meeting needs for security, content management, search, quickly developed applications and much more.
• Extensibility that enables core enhancements to satisfy Schneider electric business needs, and will continue to meet undefined needs in the future.
• Responsive design out-of-the-box that is crucial in today’s multiple device environment.

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