Many Manufacturers still see strong resistance to bringing information and operational technologies together, with mistrust coming from both sides. That needs to change if Manufacturers are going to truly embrace Industry 4.0 and the digital transformation. IT-OT Convergence is difficult for each individual side to embrace since neither truly don’t understand the importance of the job function the other performs.

OT typically refers to the control and automation technologies supporting operations, which historically have been intentionally isolated from IT. This separation originally generated from the different technologies involved and the different skills needed. Early IT systems were proprietary, required internal programmers and were used to calculate finance-related figures. At the opposite end, OT consisted of turnkey, proprietary systems designed to operate only on vendor-specific equipment.
Continuing to operate separately not only slows the adoption of solutions based on technologies that fall outside of operations’ comfort zone, but also exposes companies to security risks that could significantly impact production.  It is no secret that IT security is years ahead of OT security, but the digital transformation is demanding that the OT side of your business quickly gets up to speed. Therefore, we have seen OT security come along way in a short period of time. IT-OT Convergence can help ensure that the strategies and responsibilities of both sides are unified.
The difficulty in developing an effective governance for IT/OT Convergence should not be underestimated. IT typically has stronger models than operations for. The cooperation between IT and OT needs to extend to adapting those models for use in operations, considering the different impact of projects and the different culture of both parties.
Being smart in manufacturing is the only option if your business is going to remain competitive and protected.  You must adapt quickly to stay smart in such a rapidly changing environment. Effectively solving the IT/OT Convergence challenge is a must and because it’s not a short journey, you should get the journey started as soon as possible. Give 2W Tech a call today and let us help guide you in your IT-OT Convergence journey.
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