Who are Schneider Electric? The French multinational company can trace its history back to 1836 when it was founded by two brothers, Adolphe and Joseph Schneider. Developing primarily as a machinery and steel manufacturer this changed to working on infrastructure developments. In the 1980s and 1990s the company sold off parts of the business and focused on the energy sector.
The company has grown and developed through acquisition to become a global industrial technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in electrification, automation and digitisation to smart industries, resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centres, intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes.
One of the companies Schneider Electric acquired in 2007 was American Power Conversion Corporation (APC), which had been founded in 1981 and had developed a range of power management appliances, most notably uninterruptible power supply (UPS) appliances.
In 2005 APC had bought fellow US company, Netbotz, which had been founded in 1999, in Austin, Texas. This was a provider of web-based monitoring solutions that closed the gap between traditional physical security and cyber-security. At the time of APC’s acquisition Netbotz said over 2,700 organisations worldwide used its solution for active monitoring, early detection and instant alerts to protect critical assets from damaging physical and environmental conditions. APC has been a brand of Schneider Electric’s since 2011 and Netbotz continues to be the brand name for its server room monitors reflecting the recognition it had gained within the IT sector.
Our parent company, Worcestershire-based Ecl-ips, began its life as a provider of real-time and data centre monitoring before expanding its offer to include security solutions such as CCTV and access control due to customer demand. This means, since Ecl-ips brought Security Group five years ago and gained our intruder alarm experience we now have expertise in data centre, real-time and power monitoring.
APC NetBotz Appliances are designed to protect your hybrid IT infrastructure against environmental threats and unauthorised access risks that can cause unexpected downtime. There are now a greater range of APC Netbotz monitors, wireless sensors have been introduced and Schneider Electric’s Data Center Expert software has been developed out of the original Netbotz Central platform.
The main benefits of APC Netbotz appliances are that they are a completely scalable solution and you can group them together for easy management. Meanwhile, the software is installed through a web browser so is easy to set up and use.
The APC power management devices from Schneider Electric are invaluable in providing back up power in the event of power surges or outages as well as ensuring an even distribution across IT infrastructure. These appliances also ensure the smooth and reliable running of the security systems we supply.
The need for back-up power systems to provide business resilience and continuity was dramatically illustrated in March 2025 when a substation fire caused the shutdown of Heathrow Airport. While the airport had power back-up and switched to alternative substations it took most of a day before it reopened as the management said all the different systems needed to be tested to ensure they were safe.
If you are based in Bristol or elsewhere in south west England and want to know more about the benefits of Schneider Electric’s monitoring platforms, and APC monitoring and power management products, please get in touch.
