CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY:
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
Schneider Electric improves
security of online services for
a dozen B-to-B customers
with CA SiteMinder WAM.
Business Impact Summary
Customer Profile
Industry: Manufacturing
Company: Schneider Electric
Employees: 114,000
Revenues: €18 billion
Business:
As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries,
Schneider Electric offers a range of integrated solutions to its customers, which include
distributors, systems integrators and manufacturers. Schneider Electric has doubled in size
in five years, which includes organic growth, acquisitions and sales. It aims to sustain this
growth by focusing on improving the efficiency of its products.
Challenge:
Schneider Electric provides customers with access to a range of services and information
via several Extranet sites. Any unauthorised access to this information could impact
customer relationships. To maximise security and support future growth, Schneider Electric
wanted to migrate from its existing proprietary identity and access management tool for
Web-based applications to a proven industry solution.
Solution:
CA SiteMinder® Web Access Manager has enabled Schneider Electric to create a scalable
and standardised authentication and authorisation process, which is used by a dozen B-to-B
customers. The solution also enables single sign-on to more than 40 Web applications and
ensures that individuals can only access relevant content and transactional services.
Result:
Schneider Electric can ensure the security of confidential information while also making it
easier for customers to use its services and buy its products. By deploying a scalable
authentication model, the Group will also be able to more readily extend its use of the Web,
which will help improve customer services and reduce costs.
Business
Global player in energy management
Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, employs 114,000 people in more
than 100 countries. It offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including
energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation, data centres/networks,
and residential applications.
Schneider Electric has doubled in size in five years, which includes organic growth, acquisitions
and sales. It aims to sustain its growth and market leading position by focusing on improving
the efficiency of its energy products and solutions.
To help support its growth goals, the Group launched a strategic transformation programme at
the beginning of 2009. Schneider Electric’s transformational objectives include becoming a
single solution provider to its customers — which comprise of distributors, systems integrators
and manufacturers — giving priority to new economies and streamlining internal processes and
brands around the globe.
To help meet this unification objective, Schneider Electric is planning to centralise the
development and management of its many websites and expand the functionality and range of
online services available to its customers.
“As a lot of the information
available online is
commercially sensitive to
Schneider Electric and our
customers, we need to
apply strict access rights
for individual users to
prevent any possible
breaches of confidentiality.”
Yves Martelle
Manager, Web Infrastructures,
Schneider Electric
Challenge
Ensuring secure and reliable access to online customer services
The Internet has been a key customer channel for Schneider Electric for several years.
The Group’s websites and portals provide a range of information and e-commerce services to
customers, as Yves Martelle, Manager for Web Infrastructures at Schneider Electric, explains,
“Our portals provide detailed product information, exclusive pricing, order processing and
tracking capabilities and, in some cases, access to collaborative solutions, such as
IBM Lotus QuickR.”
With its user base including large companies, such as Renault, Peugeot and Danone, Schneider
Electric needs to provide access to personalised online content and services.
Any unauthorised access to such information could not only endanger customer relationships
but also have legal implications. Similarly, access to restricted portals by a malicious user could
lead to the loss of a company’s intellectual property or exploitation of its websites.
“As a lot of the information available online is commercially sensitive to Schneider Electric and
our customers, we need to apply strict access rights for individual users to prevent any possible
breaches of confidentiality,” comments Martelle.
2 CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY: SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
Previously Schneider Electric was using a tool developed in-house to provide secure access to
its Web applications but wanted to deploy a proven, market-leading Web security
management solution that would offer the levels of service, scalability and security it required
for ongoing expansion.
“Customer satisfaction is a key concern for us, so we must be able to prevent security
breaches on our websites,” explains Martelle. “In addition, we were keen to increase the
online functionality and services available to our customers, and wanted an identity
and access management solution that covered our current and future heterogeneous
IT infrastructure needs.”
Solution
“We selected CA SiteMinder
WAM because it is a
market-leading solution that
could virtually guarantee
secure and reliable online
access for our customers.”
Secure access to business-critical information
CA SiteMinder® Web Access Manager (WAM) was selected to provide user authentication
and single sign-on across a dozen B-to-B customer portals. With business-critical customer
information and services at stake, 100 percent reliability of the solution was essential.
“We selected CA SiteMinder WAM because it is a market-leading solution that could virtually
guarantee secure and reliable online access for our customers,” comments Martelle.
The solution was deployed in a matter of months by Schneider Electric’s IT partner, EdifiXio,
and went live in 2002. When first implemented, CA SiteMinder WAM was primarily used to
authenticate and authorise customers accessing Schneider Electric’s Web application for
placing and tracking orders.
Yves Martelle
Manager, Web Infrastructures,
Schneider Electric
Over time, more portals and applications have been integrated into the solution, including a
new extranet providing hundreds of users with access to collaboration tools, such as Domino,
Lotus Notes and IBM Lotus QuickPlace and QuickR.
“CA SiteMinder WAM ensures that individuals only have access to the information and
applications that are relevant to their user and company profile,” comments Martelle.
As well as enhancing security, CA SiteMinder WAM also eliminates the need for multiple user
logins by enabling single sign-on via a unified password. “With CA SiteMinder WAM, our
customers can follow a standard authentication process and avoid having to log into
applications separately,” adds Martelle.
More than 40 online services are accessed via Schneider Electric’s portals and the CA solution,
which enables user authentication transactions every day.
Since 2001 all new online applications deployed by the Group are integrated with SiteMinder
WAM to ensure secure and seamless access.
CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY: SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC 3
Results
“CA SiteMinder WAM will
continue to be key to helping
us achieve our business goals
of centralising the security
management of our websites
and expanding the range
of services that are available
to our customers via
the Internet.”
Yves Martelle
Manager, Web Infrastructures,
Schneider Electric
Improving the online experience for customers
Deploying a reliable and scalable solution for identity and access management has enabled
Schneider Electric to:
• Protect confidential information
• Improve the online experience for customers
• Deploy new Web applications more quickly and cost-effectively.
“With CA SiteMinder WAM we can be sure that access to information is securely controlled
while offering our customers the speed and simplicity of single sign-on, which makes it easier
for them to trade with us,” comments Martelle.
The scalability of the CA solution will support Schneider Electric as it continues to develop the
range of information and services available online, which in turn will lead to:
• Improved customer services
• Enhanced competitive advantage
• Lower operational costs through increased online self-service.
“CA SiteMinder WAM will continue to be key to helping us achieve our business goals of
centralising the security management of our websites and expanding the range of services that
are available to our customers via the Internet,” concludes Martelle.
About EdifiXio
Since 2001, EdifiXio, a consulting firm and system integrator, has provided Schneider Electric
with close support in the design, implementation and operations of B-to-B applications.
The company ensures that CA SiteMinder WAM integrates with Schneider Electric's
information system.
To learn more and see how CA software solutions enable other organizations to unify and
simplify IT management for better business results, visit ca.com/success.
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