Bengaluru, India – Philips Lighting (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced the opening of its Global Customer Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Bengaluru, India. Equipped with the latest network monitoring technology and data analytics software, the new center will enable Philips Lighting to provide its professional connected lighting customers with a range of services from predictive fault monitoring to in-depth consultancy services based on data insights. The ROC will help its customers to increase their operational efficiency and save costs on energy and maintenance.

Sumit Joshi, CEO South Asia, Philips Lighting said, “Our new Global Customer Remote Operations Center underlines our commitment to our customers. As the global leader in connected lighting, we strive to offer them the best possible level of service backed by strong innovation. Through our advanced operations center, we can provide customers with real-time data analytics and insights into their connected operations that will help them to improve their business.”

The ROC has the capability to monitor and analyze data from connected lightings systems, including Philips CityTouch for street lighting, Philips ActiveSite for architectural lighting and Philips InterAct Office for office lighting.

Kurt De Ruwe, Chief Information Officer, Philips Lighting says, "Bengaluru’s large software talent pool makes it the ideal place to base a Global Customer Remote Operations Center to serve Philips Lighting’s customers globally. Establishing this center is an important milestone and further strengthens our leadership position as the lighting company for the IoT. We are playing an important role in the world of connected lighting through data-enabled services by creating valuable insights for our customers.“

Marie-France Crevecoeur, Business Leader Professional Services, Philips Lighting says, “We live in an age when lighting is digital and connected by networks to apps, systems and other devices. We have established this center to help our customers get the most from their connected lighting infrastructure and will provide them with a range of managed services from real-time fault reporting to in-depth consultancy services. It is another example of how we are delivering on our promise to provide our customers with best-in-class services and value, offering real time improvements for our customers.”

Currently, around 15% of global electricity demand is for lighting and a global transition to LED and connected lighting technologies, where LED lights are connected and controlled wirelessly via cloud-based software systems, will reduce electricity consumed by lighting to 8% by 2030. The benefits of such a ROC, catering exclusively for connected lighting systems, include faster identification and rectification of potential problems leading to increased uptime and ultimately savings in operational costs.

This ROC will offer significant business benefits to clients, including remote monitoring, diagnostics and performance management. The biggest value addition will be system optimization through predictive maintenance and benchmarking, enabling users to optimize their energy metering and performance. Philips Lighting has partnered with HCL Technologies, a leading global information technology services provider, to develop this ROC on a build-operate and transfer basis.

Mr Ashish Gupta, Corporate VP & Head - EMEA, HCL Technologies said, “We are delighted to partner with Philips Lighting in this initiative, helping them service their connected lighting customers across the globe. As the world becomes smarter and connected, automation will enable companies to deliver enormous benefits to their global consumers.”