Nexxya is an electrical and system integrator in Aix-les-Bains in France that commissions, installs, designs and renovates industrial, agricultural and home automation systems in buildings and industrial companies, such as water treatment companies and methanisation factories. Their goal is to allow their customers to reduce the cost of electricity and make their business or house futureproof.
Nexxya provides both industrial automation and agricultural automation services, especially for methanisation units. The realisation of methanisation programs represents 80% of their projects. A lot of their customers have methanisation sites that produce energy that is reinjected into a gas or electricity system. Some cities heat communal rooms, such as gymnasiums or even whole housing estates thanks to biogas.
To prevent customers from losing money and efficiency due to downtime, Nexxya wanted to implement a remote access solution. 'The IXON solution helps us to add value to our customers and to honour our 24/7 maintenance service and log on to the customer’s machine at any time. Even when it’s 4 AM I can provide service without having to travel', says Rémy Cotton, CEO at Nexxya. By accessing the PLC and HMI, they’re able to troubleshoot when a customer’s machine is down and to quickly update the PLC program if needed.
'For my part being an automation engineer, I mainly use the IXON Cloud to connect by VPN to my PLCs as well as to the VNC and the web server. It allows me to connect to my various devices remotely while having the possibility to see what is happening thanks to the VNC. After installation of the IXrouter at the customer’s site, I send invitations to the customer to create their accounts that give them full access to the VNC server and HTTP web server. Moreover, I make them install the IXON mobile app on their phones to have a fast and simple connection', says Cotton.
The IXON solution helps us to add value for our customer and to honour our 24/7 maintenance service.
Rémy Cotton CEO at Nexxya
The customer, for example a methanisation factory, gets access to the HMI via the IXON Cloud where they will find their complete installations. Information about the temperature, level and gas percentage of their tanks, graphs with cross curves according to measurements and information about hygienisation, cogenerators and injections according to particular needs are shown. 'The IXON Cloud allows me to build a closer relationship with my customers by offering them a remote monitoring system for their high-performance methanisation sites and, above all, without paying a monthly connection fee', says Cotton.
'We're constantly finding new ways to improve the daily lives of our customers and future customers by providing better site monitoring, new visualisations, process improvements, etc. The IXON Cloud helps us with this. It’s very versatile since everything is accessible in one interface: VPN, VNC, HTTP web server and more', says Cotton. 'There’s no need to download any clients, because IXON Cloud is an all-in-one platform'. Cotton is also very positive about the easy Plug & Play configuration and the ease of use. The compatibility of different protocols and PLC brands won him over.
In the old platform, the structure was less extensive in terms of user rights.
Rémy Cotton CEO at Nexxya
'The biggest advantages of the IXON Cloud are the possibility to share the platform with the customer and not needing any licenses. I like the fact that you can switch between 4 LAN-ports on the IXrouter and that you’re able to add Cloud logging or Cloud Notify with the same IXrouter even if it’s already at a customer site, which makes it futureproof. IXON has opened us up to new technology and the convenience of remote maintenance,' says Cotton.
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