Schneider Electric introduced a capability for developers to build custom energy management and sustainability software on Microsoft's Azure cloud.

The offering combines the cloud platform with the French power distribution and automation giant's cloud-based application called StruxureWare Resource Advisor. StruxureWare is a broad portfolio of software that includes solutions for operations and facilities management, including a lot of data center management functionality.

Schneider CTO Pascal Brosset said the combination of Resource Advisor and Azure was a way to address an industry shift from “one-size-fits-all” solutions. “By leveraging key aspects of our respective technologies, we’re able to produce high performance, cloud-based solutions, creating true value and competitive advantages for customers across multiple industries.”

The Resource Advisor provides access to data, reports and summaries for energy and sustainability programs.

The first customer to use the new cloud-borne Advisor is the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. The manufacturer and retailer traid coalition used the solution to build a web-based sustainability assessment tool that can be used by its members around the world.