Belden Inc., a global supplier of network infrastructure and digitization solutions, has opened the company’s fourth Customer Innovation Center (CIC) in Chicago, Illinois. The event brought together customers, partners and Belden leaders and showcased Belden’s capabilities to provide customized Industry 4.0 solutions to build a reliable network foundation for the digital world.

CICs are one of Belden’s newest methods of delivering value to customers by providing a space where solutions can be crafted and validated onsite. The new Chicago center provides an ecosystem for Belden customers to co-innovate with sales and product engineers to develop, test, document and validate proven solutions that drive efficiency, security and innovation.

Belden uses a vendor-agnostic approach to provide best-in-class consulting to transform ideas intoSource: Belden Inc. solutions and technical support, empowering companies to feel secure and maintain focus on their business objectives. The Belden CIC model was developed to address key business goals and outcomes that encompass various areas of customers’ operations. These include safety, automation, quality and productivity, all tested to simulate challenges and stressors a network may face.

A team of Belden technologists and application experts work together to accelerate the design and implementation of future-ready networks, beginning with Solutions Architects who develop modular solutions that can be customized for each customer. Digital Automation Consultants then study customers’ existing networks to recommend opportunities for enhanced digitization and data flow management. These recommendations are customized in collaboration with the customer and Solutions Consultants, who then validate the solution with the architects in our validation lab. Finally, Service Engineers provide on-site implementation and post-sales support. All of these steps in the CIC model are designed to provide a complete solution that reduces risk for the customer while enabling their digital transformation journey.

The first of five Belden CICs opened in 2021 in Stuttgart, Germany. A second location opened in Santa Clara, California, in 2022 and a third location was unveiled in Shanghai, China, in March of 2023. Later this year, following the opening of the Chicago location, Belden plans to launch a Customer Innovation Center in Bangalore, India.