Logica and Cisco team up to take on Smart Grids
Logica Australia, a leading IT and business services provider, has announced that it has signed an agreement with Cisco that qualifies it to resell and deliver state of the art smart grid IP network design and infrastructure services to Australia’s energy and utilities companies. Logica Australia led its global team to form this agreement, which made Logica the second company globally to gain official rights to resell and deliver Cisco’s products for Smart Grids.
The strategic relationship brings together Logica’s in-depth industry knowledge and Cisco’s network communications expertise to deliver end-to-end networking solutions for energy and utilities clients who are planning network upgrades across their IT and operational networks to enable smart grids.
“Communications infrastructure will play a critical role in how energy, water and gas are delivered to consumers, as the need to manage consumption for a more sustainable environment continues to increase,” said Colin Holgate, CEO Asia Pacific, Logica. “Cisco recently launched its portfolio of Connected Grid solutions and approached Logica for our in-depth knowledge of the energy and utilities market, our smart grid expertise, and unique technical capabilities across both the IT and SCADA networks.”
The strategic relationship will offer clients an integrated approach from two global smart grid vendors. Logica brings to the table industry insight and implementation expertise from over 30 years working with the Australian energy and utilities market, while Cisco offers highly secure, communications infrastructure for the smart grid from generation to consumption.
As a Cisco Authorised Technology Provider Partner for Connected Grid, with this signed agreement and its strong domain knowledge, Logica will now have an even stronger competitive advantage in the energy and utilities market. Cisco will also gain access to Logica’s extensive client base, which includes 11 of Australia’s 13 energy network companies, seven of its eight gas companies, and Australia’s largest water utilities.
Les Williamson, vice president of Cisco Australia and New Zealand, says: “Helping energy and utility organisations take full advantage of the IP communication network to improve energy efficiency, provide high security and enhance service innovation for smart grids is critical to Australia’s environmental future. With its extensive Australian client implementation experience, Logica is key to successfully delivering this, and Cisco is very pleased to team with Logica in demonstrating the power of smart grids to the nation.”
Logica is currently supporting the world’s first major national smart grid roll out with EDP in Portugal and is working closely with Australia’s energy distribution companies to help them develop their smart grid strategies. More than half of Australia’s drinking water supply is already managed through Logica’s SCADA technology. The company is working closely with companies across the energy, transport and water sectors to modernise and secure SCADA infrastructure.
Cisco’s recently introduced Connected Grid portfolio covers energy management from delivery to the home, including smart grid substation automation, home consumption control tools, SCADA security,virtualised data centres and robust back haul infrastructure.
Logica has recently invested in training and certification programs to build upon an already strong team across its smart grid, infrastructure and SCADA practices. Technical staff have been undertaking additional training on Cisco’s network solutions, including routing and switching, wireless networking, security, unified communications, and datacentre networks (including network virtualisation).
Logica’s CEO for Asia Pacific, Colin Holgate added: “This is a new era for the energymarket. The added complexity of this new environment means technology vendors and IT service providers need to work together differently, so that clients can manage one partnership rather than multiple vendors. The industry will see a number of strategic relationships emerge over the next couple of years.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Logica:
Logica is a business and technology service company, employing 39,000 people. It provides business consulting, systems integration and outsourcing to clients around the world, including many of Europe's largest businesses. Logica creates value for clients by successfully integrating people, business and technology. It is committed to long term collaboration, applying insight to create innovative answers to clients’ business needs. Logica is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext (Amsterdam) (LSE: LOG; Euronext: LOG). More information is available at www.logica.com.
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