OT and IT usually operate as independent parts of a business, even though their responsibilities sometimes overlap. OT intends to leverage devices to generate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can be used as a metric to improve production and make the company's machines and personnel more efficient. IT facilitates this movement of data and helps to ensure that OT devices are correctly connected and that data transmission across the network is seamless.

The problem many companies run into when implementing IT and OT fields next to one another is that both areas have different end goals in mind. OT intends to collect and process data through analytics to have a better grasp of the operational competence and viability of a business. IT's goal is to ensure that the company is using the most current and updated versions of hardware and software and overseeing the upgrade of systems once new components are approved by management. For businesses to avoid falling prey to IT and OT getting in each other's way, the best methodology for this is to combine these areas into a single integrated system.

Addressing the Technical Problems

The way IoT devices manufacture happens currently, each developer has a series of data collection methodologies as well as transmission protocols that are unique to those devices. Trying to make machines of different manufacturers send data to one another is along the same lines as trying to get two people who don't know each other's languages to communicate. Businesses can attempt to overcome this problem in one of three ways:

  1. Hire staff to develop in-house, custom solutions that link these devices together

  2. Implement pre-built applications that run off the OPC Unified Architecture (UA) framework or

  3. Deploy Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices using edge middleware as the communication medium

The first methodology has the added benefit of allowing a company to customize the software to whatever the business wants. However, it also has the most significant maintenance costs of all three methods because the enterprise needs to maintain an in-house staff to deal with the code and modify it to fit the needs of the company if it intends to upgrade or include a new SAP add-on.

The second technique is a stopgap method at best. It doesn't altogether remove the need for custom code, and while it can meet customer requirements with time-sensitive networking, the option isn't usually implemented. The third technique combines the use of IoT devices in an infrastructural framework that provides low-latency communication across the factory floor and ensuring communication across devices with different manufacturers and compilation of that data.

Benefits of Implementing IT/OT Integration

From companies that have previously implemented IT/OT integration, most said that integration either met or surpassed their expectations. More than half of businesses using Adeptia that were successful in their combination of IT, and OT stated that they had better access to their data. Almost two-thirds of companies that successfully implemented integration also noted that it improved company efficiency and three-quarters of all respondents stated an increase in their productivity as a direct result of IT/OT integration.

Steps in Implementing IT/OT Integration

  • Define the problems OT Can Solve: Scope is essential in any deployment, and it's no different with OT implementation. Businesses should look at issues that are small enough to solve with the proper application of OT and try not to tackle problems too broad in scope.

  • Teach Leadership About OT Data: This includes its collection and what challenges the data can be leveraged to solve. Informing leadership can develop new paths for OT deployment.

  • Develop KPIs for Constant Improvement: KPIs allow a company to track its current production against a goal. Having the right KPIs in mind and following up on sectors that don't meet their minimum metrics helps to keep the company efficient and competitive.

  • Combine OT Insights with IT Applications: OT gives a store of data that can be consulted automatically by IT applications to increase the productivity of specific product lines or machines as the case may be.