A Legacy of Customer-First Innovation
Every year, Siemon develops innovative new solutions for data centers, intelligent buildings, and LANs - spanning customer-focused product advances; elevating installed system performance; application standards and testing updates; educational resources; and much more. With over 400 patents specific to structured cabling and world class ISO-certified manufacturing, Siemon invests heavily in research and development, underlining the company's long-term commitment to its customers and the industry. But we don’t just innovate for innovation’s sake - voice of customer drives every facet of our operations. Within the past 5 years alone, we have released over 20 new products to fit customer needs and applications across the globe. We are a global leader in IT infrastructure solutions, and that leadership is built on Siemon innovation.
Explore Siemon’s 5 generations of customer-focused innovation.
A Message From Our Chief Technology Officer
We are living in a time of extraordinary change. Over the past two decades, our world has experienced powerful trends of innovation that have digitally transformed every aspect of society and business. Everything we do today relies on information and the communications infrastructures that keep people, machines, and devices connected. Given the disruptive nature of technology, those that develop the solutions for today's data centers, intelligent buildings, and LANs simply cannot stand still and react to the change-they need to be agents of innovation.
Siemon was innovating long before the emergence of smartphones, connected IoT devices, and modern-day applications that have made our daily lives safer, more efficient, more productive, and more fun. Since my great grandfather founded this company in 1903 and entered the industry with innovations like the 3-pole connecting block that helped build the nation's telephone system, Siemon has pioneered more than 400 patents specific to structured cabling and delivered first-to-market connectivity solutions that moved technology forward.
Today, Siemon's long-term commitment to the industry is backed by a multi-faceted approach to innovation that is driven by more than the voice of our customers; it's also driven by the needs of the world we live in and the belief that we can shape a better and more sustainable future for all. Please join me in celebrating our culture of innovation that continues to turn out industry-leading solutions and drive environmental stewardship.
John Siemon
Siemon CTO and VP of Operations
Innovation Story
Gum-chewing teens and innovation.
LockIT Outlet Locks
When we asked a high school IT customer how her newly-cabled computer lab was working out, she answered “It would be perfect if I could keep the darn kids from stuffing spitballs and gum into my open outlets.” We had a good laugh, but it got us thinking.
“Why isn’t there a simple, inexpensive way to protect ports against tampering?” We brought that question to the Siemon design engineering team and they took it as a challenge.
A little while later, they delivered LockIT outlet locks – an innovative, inexpensive, and easy-to-use solution for securing RJ45 and LC outlets against unauthorized connections and gum-chewing punks.
Innovation Story
What does an old screwdriver mean to your network?
BladePatch Patch Cords and Jumpers
Carl, our former CEO, was touring a major customer data center when he saw a technician use a rusty old screwdriver to remove a patch cord from a blade server. When Carl asked why, the tech answered: “I can’t reach the cord latch with my hands in these high-density servers and switches. This is the only way I can unplug them.”
Carl, being a practical CT Yankee, thought it was silly to risk damaging a $100,000 switch over a $10 cord, and relayed his story to Siemon’s design team.
A few months of design concepts, prototypes, and customer beta tests later, we launched our innovative BladePatch line of patch cords. Featuring a patented push-pull boot-activated latch for easy access in dense environments, the BladePatch line has grown and evolved into an innovative suite of user-friendly, high-density connectivity solutions for both fiber and copper systems.
Innovation Story
How does being agile solve supply chain issues?
High-Speed Interconnects
When the pandemic and material and labor shortages disrupted the global supply chain, data centers couldn't get high-speed DACs to immediately bring new equipment online. We asked ourselves how we could leverage our agility and lean vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities to get these products into the hands of our customers sooner.
The answer was to expand our nearshore manufacturing capabilities in North America. But how could we cost-effectively meet demand and maintain the quality and breadth of our offering at a competitive price? The first step was to innovate the machines. Rather than the traditional process of cutting, pulling, trimming, and bending cables in four steps, Siemon engineers designed and built a new machine that does it all in seconds. The next step was to bring local labor up to speed and ensure quality with an easy-to-operate master fixture machine that maintains absolute repeatability and is followed by 100% fail safe testing on every assembly.
The result? High-quality 10, 25, 40, and 100 Gig SFP and QSFP high-speed DAC assemblies made to order in half meter lengths and multiple colors at a competitive price-and that leave our facility within 10 days.
Innovation Story
Redefining "Light bulb" Moments in Innovation
We tend to think of the phrase “suddenly a light bulb went off in my head” as a single person experiencing a moment of inspiration or revelation of a new great idea…but what happens when a team of experts experience a number of “light bulb” moments together? You get a series of innovations that combine to shine a light on a specific set of customer challenges. You get a ground-breaking solution like Siemon’s new LightVerse™ Fiber Optic Cabling System.
LightVerse enables your data center or enterprise network to get operational quicker with higher reliability and enhanced installation flexibility. Enjoy a sleek, world-class appearance designed specifically for your technology showcase environments. Unlock the potential of your high-density fiber connectivity installations, with a system that delivers the performance, flexibility, and scalability you need now and in the future.
Unlock a universe of possibilities with LightVerse today >>>
Innovation Story
From 120-year old carving knives to competitive robots
5 generations of fostering innovation in the community
The Siemon Company was founded in 1903 based on our founder, Carl Siemon’s innovative plastic compound. He first used his cutting edge material and process to manufacture imitation staghorn knife handles, but he knew it could do so much more – and after a few years of persevering through the closed doors and closed minds of people unable to see his compound’s potential, he was proven right.
In 1906, Western Electric (Now AT&T) began moving away from traditional porcelain connecting blocks in favor of Siemon’s plastic compound connecting blocks. That marked the beginning of our longstanding leadership and growth in the telecommunications space. But as successful as he became, Carl never forgot what it felt like to bring an innovative idea to life. He believed in fostering the next generation of innovators in our communities, and for 5 generations, that has been a core Siemon value.
That’s why we’re so proud to support tomorrow’s innovators through program like of our local Watertown High robotics team.
We think Carl would have loved what these kids are doing.
Innovation Story
When is a puddle more than just a puddle?
When it is an environmental innovation
A puddle is more than just a puddle when planned space filled with native plants that attract pollinators like butterflies and bees, provides migratory songbirds with habitat, and acts as a natural barrier that filters runoff water from a parking lot before it flows into a nearby stream.
This important puddle is right here at Siemon HQ, and is just another example of our innovative approach to environmental stewardship. It may seem like a small thing, but when it comes to fulfilling our responsibility to the planet, we’ve learned that every step (big or small) towards greater sustainability makes a difference.
Released in 2022, Siemon LightVerse enables your data center or enterprise network to get operational quicker with higher reliability and enhanced installation flexibility. Unlock the potential of your high-density fiber connectivity installations, with a system that delivers the performance, flexibility, and scalability you need now and in the future.
Unlock a universe of possibilities with LightVerse today >>>
Released in 2023, The Siemon UltraMAX copper connectivity system blends usability, quality, and performance within a single platform ideal for your category 5e, 6 and 6A UTP deployments. Built on Siemon’s existing copper innovation with a fresh perspective on meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow, UltraMAX is ready to lead the way as our newest, most efficient UTP copper connectivity system.