Schneider Takes Board Position at Thread Group

Schneider Electric has joined the board of directors of the Thread Group, an industry alliance based in San Ramon, CA, that addresses IoT convergence, security, power and architecture challenges. A member of the Thread Group since 2015, according to the press release Schneider Electric will take a more active role in shaping the future of the Thread wireless networking protocol moving forward.

Other members of the board of directors include electrical companies including Lutron and Siemens as well as tech firm such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Nordic Semiconductors, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm, Silicon Labs and Samsung SmartThings.

The press release said that as the IoT industry rallies around open standards, Schneider Electric’s strategic input will help accelerate Thread’s adoption as the networking backbone for IoT devices by championing interoperability and convergence across both residential and commercial sectors.

"Schneider Electric has long championed open standards as the key to sustainable, efficient, and future-proof intelligent buildings," said Alban Notin, Standardization Leader at Schneider Electric, in the release. "As a long-standing member, we have seen Thread evolve into a robust, secure, and low-power foundation for the Internet of Things. We look forward to further supporting the adoption of open standards that deliver interoperability and sustainability for our customers."

Formed in 2013, the non-profit Thread Group is focused on making Thread the foundation for the Internet of Things in homes and commercial buildings. Built on open standards, Thread is a low power wireless networking protocol that enables direct, end-to-end, secure and scalable connectivity between IoT devices, mobile devices and the internet. Because Thread is IP-based, it seamlessly integrates with many environments, apps, devices and clouds. The Thread Group provides a rigorous certification program to ensure device interoperability and positive user experience.