The TopIntegrator program is designed to support integrators working with the company across the nation. Members have access to a number of tools, including a dedicated Web site, free product samples, training modules, codes and standards support.
The program will give system integrators the freedom to affiliate with brands that offer them value and performance without tying them down to one line or another. Integrators are often forced by vendors to declare a specialty, which limits their opportunities for business.
There have also been instances where integrators find themselves competing against a manufacturer's in-house team of system integrators. But Schneider Electric says it isn't interested in competing with the system integrators who work with the company.
ARC Vice President Chantal Polsonetti says, "The combination of shrinking corporate engineering staffs, dwindling capital expenditure budgets, and increased technology standardization have led to an escalating role for system integrators in the automation marketplace."
"A recent ARC survey found that, while their influence varies by control type, both system integrators and OEMs expect their role in system specifications to increase in the near future," according to Polsonetti.
"This initiative by Schneider Electric is a logical response to this trend."
