In a major push towards next-generation industrialisation, Schneider Electric India has announced the launch of the Open Automation Movement, a transformative initiative aimed at liberating industrial automation from legacy constraints through software-defined, vendor-agnostic solutions. The movement seeks to revolutionise how industrial systems are designed, integrated, and operated, enabling seamless interoperability, enhanced agility, and end-to-end digital transformation.
As industries increasingly demand flexible, scalable, and data-driven systems, Schneider Electric’s Open Automation framework delivers plug-and-play capabilities that eliminate single-vendor lock-in and complex maintenance. At the heart of this movement is the EcoStruxure™ Automation Expert (EAE) – a pioneering platform that decouples software from hardware, allowing for rapid integration, modular system design, and real-time data flow across the enterprise.
Deepak Sharma, Zone President – Greater India, MD & CEO of Schneider Electric India, emphasised the strategic significance of this initiative:
“The key to unlocking India’s Viksit Bharat potential lies in the bold shift towards intelligent, sustainable, and future-proof industrialisation. Our call for Software-defined Open Automation is more than a technological advancement; it’s an invitation for India Inc. to break free from legacy systems and embrace a new era of liberalised automation. By enabling robust data extraction and vendor independence, we’re laying the foundation for India’s Industries of the Future.”
The Open Automation Movement is a call to action for a wide range of stakeholders – from engineers and developers to policymakers and industry leaders. It aims to foster a collaborative ecosystem focused on innovation, efficiency, and sustainability. With a focus on interoperability and cloud-edge connectivity, the initiative supports India’s broader goals of economic transformation, energy efficiency, and manufacturing resilience.
Arvind Kakru, Vice President, Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric India, highlighted the disruptive potential of the movement:
“This isn’t an incremental improvement; it’s a fundamental revolution. EcoStruxure™ Automation Expert empowers industries to dismantle silos, bridge IT-OT gaps, and drive radical energy efficiency. Our open architecture simplifies complexity, enables faster engineering, and reduces total cost of ownership while aligning with global IT standards.”
As India’s industrial sector confronts the challenges of outdated infrastructure, Schneider Electric’s Open Automation Movement provides a future-ready path forward. By placing software at the centre of automation, the company aims to help Indian industries become more agile, resilient, and digitally empowered, setting a new benchmark in global industrial innovation.
