Schneider Electric, HPE Launch Hybrid Cloud Automation Service

Modernizing industrial automation without rip-and-replace

Schneider Electric and HPE have introduced an as-a-service model for industrial automation that allows manufacturers to modernize legacy control systems without wholesale replacement of existing infrastructure.

The Industrial Automation Modernisation as a Service offering pairs Schneider's EcoStruxure Automation Expert platform with HPE SimpliVity infrastructure, enabling operators to preserve investments in programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and distributed control systems (DCS) while adding software-defined automation capabilities.

According to Schneider, many industrial organizations remain locked into proprietary architectures that accumulate technical debt and limit operational flexibility. The new service addresses this by supporting incremental modernization with centralized management and updates.

Why it matters

This represents a fundamental shift from capital expenditure to operational expenditure models in industrial automation—a transition that mirrors what enterprise IT underwent a decade ago. For manufacturers facing skills shortages and aging infrastructure, the ability to modernize gradually while maintaining operational continuity removes a major barrier to digital transformation. The emphasis on open standards also challenges the vendor lock-in that has historically characterized industrial control systems.

Three-layer architecture for hybrid deployment

The service operates on a three-layer architecture. The foundation layer uses HPE compute, storage, and data protection technologies designed for mission-critical industrial workloads. The middle layer provides software-defined automation deployable across compatible hardware platforms. The top layer delivers migration support, cybersecurity, managed operations, and ongoing optimization services.

This structure makes operational data accessible whether workloads run at the edge, in private cloud environments, or across both. Schneider reports the model can standardize automation across multiple sites, accelerate deployment timelines, and reduce reliance on specialized personnel. In energy-intensive operations, optimization capabilities have demonstrated reductions of up to 40%.

Open standards over proprietary systems

Both companies are members of UniversalAutomation.org, which promotes software-defined automation based on the IEC 61499 standard. This commitment to open standards aims to prevent organizations from becoming dependent on a single vendor's hardware or technology roadmap.

"For too long, industrial enterprises have been forced to choose between operational continuity and technological modernisation," said Gwenaelle Huet, Executive Vice President of Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric. "Together, Schneider Electric and HPE are removing that trade-off entirely."

Peter Groth, VP of OEM, Service Providers and Telcos at HPE, noted that industrial enterprises face the same pressures that transformed enterprise IT: "rising complexity, skills scarcity and demand for real-time intelligence at scale."

Huet also positioned the offering as foundational for AI adoption in industrial settings: "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."

The solution was demonstrated at HPE Discover 2026 and is being showcased at Automate 2026 in Chicago, according to Data Centre Magazine, which first reported the details.