Schneider Electric Secures $2.3 Billion in AI Data Center Deals as Partners Eye Massive Growth Opportunities

Partners See 'Huge' Schneider Electric AI Data Center, Edge Opportunity

'A data center without power and cooling is useless,' says Agilant Solutions Executive Vice President Mark Romanowski. 'Schneider Electric is the glue.' Mark Romanowski, executive vice president of Agilant Solutions, sees a "huge" opportunity to team with Schneider Electric to help his customers solve the perennial power and cooling problem in the AI era. "A data center without power and cooling is useless," said Romanowski in an interview this week with CRN at Schneider Electric's North America Innovation Summit. "Schneider Electric is the glue." Schneider Electric's critical role in helping deliver AI advances is driving growth and will continue to drive growth in Agilant's Schneider Electric business, he said. Romanowski is one of many partners attending the Innovation Summit in Las Vegas this week who is excited about the potential to drive big AI sales growth both in the data center and at the edge working hand in hand with Schneider Electric. Agilant, for its part, has built out its own AI-based Technology Order Gateway (TOGa) platform to provide real-time insight and data analytics to help customers succeed in the AI era. "TOGa is our differentiator," he said. Rich King, a vice president at Graybar, a leading North America distributor of electrical, industrial, automation and connectivity products, also sees a bright future working with longtime partner Schneider Electric to drive the AI industrial revolution forward. "With the explosion in technology and business with this new AI industrial revolution, when you can be partnered with someone like Schneider it really sets you above the rest," said King. "We are learning to do more of that partnering together as this ecosystem grows. Graybar and Schneider are both in a good position to capitalize down the road. It's just endless opportunities everywhere you go." King said he sees Schneider Electric's continual innovation as a huge advantage to drive power and cooling benefits in the AI era. To that point, he said, Schneider's acquisition of Motivair, an advanced liquid cooling innovator, is a big differentiator for customers. "They keep one-upping themselves and putting themselves in a leadership position in the market, which is what Graybar enjoys about our relationship with Schneider," he said. King, a 33-year technology distribution veteran, said that Schneider's advancements with the grid, power and electrification are critical in making sure the AI momentum is not disrupted. "If the business just keeps growing the way it is, the growth potential is just something we've never seen before," he said. John Mazur, president of Aerico, one of Schneider Electric's top data center partners, is already experiencing huge growth by teaming with Schneider Electric. Aerico expects to double its Schneider Electric sales this year in the wake of the increased demand for AI data centers. That includes data centers with hundreds of EcoStruxure racks, generating massive power and cooling requirements The gating factor to the AI data center buildout is the ability to bring the much-needed power into the facilities, said Mazur. "We can build it and supply the equipment, but you need to bring the raw power into the facility," he said. "Now they are starting to look at alternatives like nuclear, solar and all other kinds of different avenues." Schneider Electric is stepping up to help customers get the appropriate power into the data center facilities, said Mazur. "They've always been a great resource for us," he said. The cooling side of the business has become more critical with the rise in the heat generated by massive rack deployments in AI data centers, said Mazur. Mazur, a 20-year-plus industry veteran, said he has never seen an opportunity like AI. "This is huge," he said. "This is something that we have never seen before in our market." Brad Bailleaux, vice president of sales for Lockstep Technology Group, a top Schneider Electric partner, said he is looking forward to participating in the massive AI data center buildout working closely with Schneider Electric. "AI cannot continue without hundreds of data centers being built in the next five years," he said. "In the next three to five years, we expect our Schneider Electric business to grow tenfold. It has to happen. We're learning about what Schneider has to offer so we can be a one-stop shop for our customers." Bailleaux said Schneider Electric has done a good job staying ahead of the AI curve with power and cooling software solutions. That is helping fuel power managed services from Lockstep Technology Group, he said. "We have monitoring in place with people 24x7 ready to fix your problem, whether it is edge or data center," he said. "That's growing every day." In fact, Bailleaux said, Lockstep Technology Group's power managed services sales will be up about 20 percent this year with an expected 30 percent to 40 percent increase in 2026. "As an MSP we have to create a model that follows the software subscription path," he said. "Everything is going to software."

Schneider Electric Unveils AI- Powered EcoStruxure To Unify Energy, Power And Building Systems

'AI and software can now help clients determine the return on investment of EcoStruxure, including the wattage, usage and the return on the energy costs,' says Brad Bailleaux, vice president of sales for top Schneider Electric partner Lockstep Technology Group. Schneider Electric is introducing a new AI-powered version of its popular EcoStruxure platform that is designed for the first time to manage energy, power and building systems. The new EcoStruxure Foresight Operation platform was introduced on the first day of the company's North American Innovation Summit in Las Vegas. The $38 billion energy, power and cooling behemoth is touting the new platform -- which will be available to early adopter customers in the third quarter next year -- as a "transformative leap" forward in managing energy, power and building systems in the AI era. Through AI and what the company calls "built-in multi-domain applications," Schneider Electric said EcoStruxure Foresight Operation continuously learns, adapts and proactively resolves power and energy challenges before they arise. Schneider Electric also said the new platform boosts operational efficiency by up to 50 percent by taking a unified approach to managing energy, power and building systems. That unified approach provides what the company calls "unprecedented control, visibility and predictive insight." Schneider Electric Vice President of U.S. Channels Gordon Lord said the new EcoStruxure Foresight Operation platform is an example of the software prowess the company is bringing to partners as it transforms into an energy technology provider. "As Schneider transforms into an energy technology provider, we have to be software-defined," he said. "Software is what's going to get us to where we need to be with our customers." Schneider Electric partners, for their part, said they see the new EcoStruxure Foresight Operation platform as a major leap forward in unifying siloed energy, power and building systems. John Mazur, president of Aerico, one of Schneider Electric's top data center partners, told CRN that the new EcoStruxure Foresight Operation platform provides a major breakthrough in helping to manage all the complex disparate variables in a data center environment. "It's all siloed right now," said Mazur. "There are different systems and different ways of doing the management. Once this gets built out, it's going to provide big advantages [for data center operators]." Today, managing complex data center environments with multiple UPSes, power and cooling is a herculean task for data center operators, said Mazur. "The hardest thing is navigating all the different variables of the space, whether it is UPS, BMCs [Baseboard Management Controllers], the cooling -- all of that comes into play for the operators of the building," he said. "Nobody is a 100 percent expert. Having a platform like this is going to definitely help operators." Aerico expects to double its Schneider Electric sales this year in the wake of the increased demand for AI data centers. That includes data centers with hundreds of EcoStruxure racks, generating massive power and cooling requirements. "There is a lot of pressure," Mazur said. "They want it quick, and they want it right." The gating factor to the AI data center buildout is the ability to bring the much-needed power into the facilities, said Mazur. "We can build it and supply the equipment, but you need to bring the raw power into the facility," he said. "Now they are starting to look at alternatives like nuclear, solar and all other kinds of different avenues." Schneider Electric is stepping up to help customers get the appropriate power into the data center facilities, said Mazur. "They've always been a great resource for us," he said. Mazur said he is looking forward to seeing the latest and greatest innovation from Schneider Electric at the show. "I'm looking forward to seeing what's behind the curtain, so to speak," he said. Brad Bailleaux, vice president of sales for Lockstep Technology Group, a top Schneider Electric partner, called the new EcoStruxure Foresight Operation platform a "huge game-changer" for customers. "AI and software can now help clients determine the return on investment of EcoStruxure including the wattage, usage and the return on the energy costs," he said. "Today it takes three different individuals to create that report. Schneider is bringing it all together into one easy-to-use platform so one person can understand the data. Using AI to give you the ROI is huge." Bailleaux said the new EcoStruxure platform will appeal not only to Fortune 1000, but also midmarket customers. "Those midmarket customers don't have the resources to get this kind of information," he said. Bailleaux said he is looking forward to participating in the massive AI data center buildout working hand in hand with Schneider Electric. "AI cannot continue without hundreds of data centers being built in the next five years," he said. "In the next three to five years, we expect our Schneider Electric business to grow tenfold. It has to happen. We're learning about what Schneider has to offer so we can be a one-stop shop for our customers."

Schneider Electric seals US$2.3 billion in U.S. data centre deals to power AI boom

Schneider Electric said on Wednesday it had signed new deals worth almost US$2.3 billion with two U.S. data centre operators, as surging adoption of artificial intelligence boosts infrastructure demand. At an industry event in Las Vegas, the French industrial group announced a US$1.9 billion partnership with privately held tech firm Switch, covering power modules and cooling systems. The second agreement, valued at US$373 million and involving uninterruptible power supplies and switchgear, was signed with Texas-based Digital Realty DLR.N. Schneider, France's biggest energy company by market value, has emerged as a key data centre supplier, making server racks, cooling and power equipment that form the backbone of AI infrastructure. It is also working with chipmaker Nvidia to design cooling systems for its most powerful AI chips. Large-scale cloud service providers, also known as hyperscalers, are racing to build AI infrastructure. Amazon, Meta, Google and Microsoft are projected to spend more than US$360 billion in 2025, according to company filings. The deal with Switch is Schneider's largest cooling services agreement for data centers in North America to date. Schneider said the solution it is supplying should help scale AI capacity without proportionally increasing energy demand. U.S. utilities are struggling to keep pace with Big Tech's power-hungry AI data centers. Analysts from Morgan Stanley have estimated that global power demand from data centers will nearly triple in the next three years, intensifying the strain on already stretched U.S. power grids. The data center business accounts for nearly a quarter of Schneider's total revenue. Financial analysts are expecting it to unveil targets tied to AI development during its capital markets day in London on December 11.

Schneider Electric seals $2.3 billion in US data centre deals to power AI boom

(Reuters) -Schneider Electric said on Wednesday it had signed new deals worth almost $2.3 billion with two U.S. data centre operators, as surging adoption of artificial intelligence boosts infrastructure demand. At an industry event in Las Vegas, the French industrial group announced a $1.9 billion partnership with privately held tech firm Switch, covering power modules and cooling systems. The second agreement, valued at $373 million and involving uninterruptible power supplies and switchgear, was signed with Texas-based Digital Realty. Schneider, France's biggest energy company by market value, has emerged as a key data centre supplier, making server racks, cooling and power equipment that form the backbone of AI infrastructure. It is also working with chipmaker Nvidia to design cooling systems for its most powerful AI chips. Large-scale cloud service providers, also known as hyperscalers, are racing to build AI infrastructure. Amazon, Meta, Google and Microsoft are projected to spend more than $360 billion in 2025, according to company filings. AI RAMPS UP PRESSURE ON US ENERGY GRID The deal with Switch is Schneider's largest cooling services agreement for data centres in North America to date. Schneider said the solution it is supplying should help scale AI capacity without proportionally increasing energy demand. U.S. utilities are struggling to keep pace with Big Tech's power-hungry AI data centres. Analysts from Morgan Stanley have estimated that global power demand from data centres will nearly triple in the next three years, intensifying the strain on already stretched U.S. power grids. The data centre business accounts for nearly a quarter of Schneider's total revenue. Financial analysts are expecting it to unveil targets tied to AI development during its capital markets day in London on December 11. (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)