Connexa: Holistic IIoT and Automation Implementations

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Mike Postel, President

The advent of IoT, automation, digitization, AI, and machine learning has drastically changed the industrial landscape. The concepts of big data and cloud-based solutions have redefined the way industries function today. Connexa, with its long-standing experience and industry expertise in the power and automation space and an imposing knowledge in IT networking and security, has placed itself as a unique end-to-end provider of power, automation, and IIoT products and services. The company is well-equipped with solutions ranging from remote solar products, UPS systems, SCADA/IIoT programming and development, electrical distribution racks, control panels, to several other industrial components. In a conversation we had with Mike Postel, President of Connexa, we got a clear picture of the firm’s unique strategy and collaborative approach to drive more value to its clients. “Connexa is uniquely positioned to offer much value for bringing together the worlds of remote location SCADA and cloud-based IoT platforms,” begins Postel.

What are the technological challenges in the IoT space that Connexa mitigates?

I agree that supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) has undoubtedly been a driving force in orchestrating complex processes reliably but lacks agility in cloud connectivity and collaboration within a large ecosystem, consisting of both humans and machines. Consequently, the inability to seamlessly access and analyze data within SCADA and remote systems translate to inefficiency and failure to make proactive decisions. Most industries also face hardships in implementing machine learning engines on SCADA/field location data resulting in a lack of compatibility between the various functional units of a factory. The unfolding of Industry 4.0 requires a more advanced outlook than what SCADAs can offer, which is aptly answered by the cutting-edge power products and systems provided by Connexa.

Please elaborate on Connexa’s range of solutions?

Our solutions have a vast outreach in several remote and mobile locations alike. The products we offer help to establish a robust connection between remote locations and the cloud. This ensures easy access to remote sensor/SCADA data, through solar-powered EDGE devices that can withstand harsh environmental conditions and are self-sustaining as well. The other significant aspect of our solutions includes holistic data integration from remote power controls and hardware. Apart from this, we enable a smooth integration of traditional SCADA and automation systems within existing site equipment securely.

Connexa is uniquely positioned to offer much value for bringing together the worlds of remote location SCADA and cloud-based IoT platforms

Our novel and secure devices and services allow uninterrupted remote area communication as well as real-time alerts. We provide our users with ease-of-use via cloud-based tools pertaining to machine learning, business intelligence (BI), ERP, CRM, ticketing systems, project management software, spreadsheets, front-end apps, and custom integration of several database technologies.

How is Connexa unique from its key competitors in the marketplace?

We come with over 13 years of experience in the area of remote industrial power and automation systems. We not only provide products for field hardware and power but also enable smooth cloud integration and data management, along with in-house, state-of-art robotics for wire harnesses in our manufacturing process. Our software development team, along with the panel shop, fabrication department and a team of electrical, mechanical, and supply chain engineers, adds to the uniqueness of the company. Our company’s adherence to maintaining transparency when it comes to partnerships and technologies showcases our singularity greatly. Our adherence to the Open API initiative to standardize web services makes us distinctive in our approach. What we do is maintain an agnostic approach in connecting all the services and software that helps companies run their operations smoothly.

What are the key strategies followed at Connexa to place itself ahead of the competition?

We have a strong partnership with global organizations to provide robust, scalable, and cost-effective services to our clients. In the technological sphere, which is becoming increasingly complex with the budding of newer speciality companies regularly, we choose and maintain our partners very carefully, keeping in mind their reliability and security over time and also leveraging these partnerships for smoother operations for our clients.

Could you cite a customer success story that showcases the Connexa’s value proposition?

One of the most striking use cases that come to my mind is the implementation of our IIoT service in a construction camera company. Our offering allowed visibility to remotely deployed self-sustaining systems, powered by solar energy and cellular connectivity. The data collected at the site was stored in the cloud. We included self-healing algorithms, which were beneficial in automatically troubleshooting and recovering load issues, reducing human intervention and the deployment of a field crew. Our weather service API helped make better operational decisions according to the forecast. The data also helped determine the system sizes to be used in future, based on the geographical location and weather patterns in alignment with historical NASA data.

Looking ahead, what does Connexa’s roadmap look like?

The company, since its inception in 2006, has evolved immensely, so much so that we are placed among INC 5000’s fastest growing companies in America. Over 13 years of experience in industrial power and automation systems and continuous innovation make us capable of producing high-quality products at a price point that best suits its clients. Connexa’s talented workforce is successfully steering the company toward broadening the scope of its technology agnostic, connected platform of services and software. We are working to build an industry-specific app store, OEM/ speciality front-ends, over-the-air firmware upgrades for site electronics and to include more devices at the EDGE. With the tech world turning into a complex fractal with speciality companies popping up every day, our cutting-edge solutions are continuously evolving to empower our clients.