Netcontrol’s global reach through its trusted partner network

We are the sum of our parts, and Netcontrol’s global partners are very much part of that equation. As a company, we continually strive to design and supply secure, reliable, and beneficial solutions for a global market. However, reaching those global markets and supporting them is achieved through our network of trusted partners.

This blog post explores the current challenges our partners face and how we select them.

Challenging markets

The global energy sector is evolving faster than ever. Due to the decarbonization of the energy and transportation sectors, reliance on electrical energy is increasing, leading to increasing investment in the electrical networks that serve those sectors.

In turn, electrical network infrastructure is becoming more complex due to a continual increase in embedded generation and rising electrical loads associated with heat pumps, electric vehicles, and data centers.

The challenges faced by the TSOs and DNOs as they respond to the ever-increasing demands being placed upon them are mirrored within Netcontrol as we also respond to the growing requirements for our products and services to support our customer base.

Innovative solutions require innovative partners

As we constantly strive to advance our products and services, we also face the challenge of finding global partners who can best serve their customers with these innovations. With innovation comes complexity, and today our global sales partners must be fully equipped to support our products and services with their new, sophisticated features and functions.

Reliance on outsourced expertise

While electrical networks – and the products and services that support them – are becoming more complex, the utility sector is also scaling back its in-house expertise. This places much greater reliance on the skills, expertise and agility of the supplier base. Netcontrol is not immune to this shift and must ensure that it works with global partners who are equal to the challenges we face. This means that in addition to providing and supporting our products, our partners must also embrace the need to offer broader services to our customers. For our partners, the days of transactional relationships are over; instead, they need to foster collaborative relationships to best serve our customers.

One of the methods we have adopted to help our partners transition to a collaborative model is to enhance the advanced products we supply with tailored service solutions for comprehensive lifecycle management. These additional service solutions fall into three main categories.

• VALVOT – SCADA maintenance and 24/7 service support
• ONE – Fleet management solutions and support for RTUs
• DOME – Vendor agnostic cybersecurity services

Our partners

Our global partners must not only fully understand the benefits that Netcontrol’s products bring to their customers but also be prepared to manage that complexity and sophistication on the client’s behalf. This, in turn, means Netcontrol must rely on a global network of highly skilled, experienced, and versatile organizations to best serve its global customers.

Big is not always better

Over the years at Netcontrol, we’ve found that bigger isn’t always better. We apply this principle when selecting our global partners. Often, smaller, more agile partners with specific market niches are better suited to supporting our products and customers. For this reason, we sometimes segment our partners both by geography and products to ensure we best serve our customers. Our product segmentation follows three main categories.

• Netcon 3000 electrical networks SCADA solutions
• Netcon 500 primary substation gateway and automation solutions
• Netcon 200 secondary substation digitisation and control

Each of these segments requires a unique and sometimes overlapping skill set, which is not always fully supported by a single global partner. Similarly, within the electrical network organization, there are different teams associated with these segments, resulting in varied lines of communication between our partners and customers.

Become a Netcontrol global partner

Our global network of partners is an integral part of our organisation and serves as the main point of contact between our company and our global customers. Our selection of partners is made with careful consideration, based on several factors – primarily, current and potential customer base, technical expertise, experience, and reputation.

If you believe your company has the capability to become a global partner with Netcontrol, contact us to begin a discussion about our future collaboration.

Author

Douglas Brown is the Managing director of Netcontrol UK and is responsible for the company’s international markets and partner networks. He joined the company in 2011 and has a background in grid automation and telecommunications. Connect with Douglas on LinkedIn here.