COVID-19 severely impacted almost every part of the manufacturing value chain, from sourcing of raw materials to supplying of end products to consumers. A recent survey by McKinsey says that 85% of supply chain executives struggled with insufficient digital Technologies, and they plan to increase resilience across the supply chain. Though they are taking immediate corrective actions to sustain their business operations and serve their customers in the best way possible, things are very far from normal. As appropriately pointed out in an article in the New York Times, time alone will not solve this. It will require remodelling and reinvention of business and technology models across the value chain.

What is IT-OT Convergence?

Firstly, as defined in Gartner Glossary, “Information Technology (IT) is the common term for the entire spectrum of technologies for information processing, including software, hardware, communications technologies and related services.” The same Gartner glossary defines Operational Technology (OT) as “hardware and software that detect or cause a change, through the direct monitoring and/or control of industrial equipment, assets, processes and events.” By stitching these two, we derive the definition of ‘Converged Systems,’ which can be defined as “all hardware and software that generate data, which can be processed and transmitted via a communication channel to detect or cause the required change in a physical environment.” In simpler terms, IT and OT systems read and speak the same language.

At Groupe PSA, an automotive giant, IT and OT teams faced the challenge of collecting data in their manufacturing plants. Therefore, a data platform, with common abilities of both IT & OT has been introduced. The below diagram shows the illustrative view of various systems and applications from IT & OT landscapes converging into a single platform. This common platform offers capabilities and services for the acquisition of data and its communication across various channels.

The Convergence Journey

The convergence journey starts from IT & OT as separate systems, with different technologies and working approaches. As we move forward, the two systems start interacting with each other through Internet Protocol (IP)-based communication channels. In the next step of this journey, we see the adoption of Big Data, Cloud, Cyber Security, Wireless Technologies and Industrial IoT to integrate business and operational data to gain insights. Now that there is a concrete communication channel between both IT & OT landscapes and strong foundation layer, we now take a leap to digitise the entire value chain and integrate the two landscapes by implementing Industry4.0 frameworks and technologies such as Digital Twin, AR/VR, AI/ML, etc. to finally achieve a fully connected and converged ecosystem.

A large automotive braking systems supplier, Brembo, announced a new transformational strategy, and to ensure continuous and successful improvement, they knew that converging IT-OT systems was of utmost importance. Their team focused on two guiding principles: (1) define separate objectives and responsibilities of IT and OT landscapes, and (2) ensure that OT needs and industry trends are clearly known to IT, so it can help drive productivity.

Data Flow in a Converged Environment

In an unconverged environment, each IT & OT system has its own data objectives, platforms and management strategies. IT systems are linked to IP networks, whereas OT systems are linked to equipment based on other network technologies. As a first step of convergence, we need to transfer this OT data to the IP network, which is one of the primary challenges for manufacturing sites.

Connecting this back to the definition of a converged platform, we need an architecture that is able to transmit, process and maintain the integrity of data between systems. The data platform in a converged environment should be able to capture data from all systems and devices, correlate and process it in real time and transmit the intelligence to cause the required change in the physical environment.

LISI, a global group operating in the aeronautical, automotive and medical sectors, deployed a data-centric platform that is gradually being enriched. OT teams prepare and produce data, while IT takes care of the remaining part of the processing chain. IT is responsible for data acquisition, conversion, transport, storage, logging and presentation.

High Level Implementation Approach

The first and the foremost step is to understand the current state of existing IT & OT systems. This can be done across four maturity areas: Data, People, Technology and Process. The main idea here is to understand the level of standardisation of IT & OT systems across these four aspects and identify the key work themes and opportunity areas. The below figure depicts the four-step approach: Observe, Define, Implement and Operate, which can be followed across each identified focus area for smooth understanding and implementation.

Conclusion:

As we move into the future, IT-OT convergence is an inevitable step for manufacturing industries to accelerate their digital transformation journeys. The key to successful convergence depends on having a common set of tools, platforms and competencies across the whole IT and OT landscape. When this journey is completed successfully, organisations can fully monetise their data, maintain digital continuity, improve their customer experience and develop new service offerings.

References:

https://www.cigref.fr/cigref-report-it-ot-convergence-a-fruitful-integration-of-information-systems-and-operational-systems
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Risk/gx-deloitte-managing-the-successful-convergence-of-it-and-ot.pdf
https://www.ptc.com/en/case-studies/brembo

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