New Reality of IT-OT: Convergence, Collaboration and Digital Transformation Acceleration

We All Share the Same Objective of Risk Reduction, But in an OT Environment That Must be Implemented in a Different Way


In recent months, our definition of critical infrastructure has expanded and the convergence of IT and operational technology (OT) networks has accelerated dramatically. As more employees began working from home, the infrastructure of their homes became critical infrastructure to the business. For companies that had previously tried to keep their OT networks as isolated as possible and didn’t have remote connectivity in place, it was a slow and sometimes rocky start. Those that had begun to embrace digital transformation initiatives were able to transition more smoothly, as they had already started thinking about security in an expanding and open environment. 


Whichever end of the spectrum you were on, the crisis also accelerated the need for IT and OT teams to collaborate. The extreme transformation of the workplace generated a lot of stress and questions, especially for organizations in industries that depend on physical processes – such as oil and gas, energy, utilities, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage. How can we ensure production? How do we do so without compromising the health and safety of our employees? What can be done remotely and what needs to be done onsite? How do we enable this without increasing the risk of cyberattacks?


As organizations worked to answer these questions, they discovered that certain processes, like secure remote access to the shop floor, were not working well or did not exist at all. As enterprises shifted at least part of their OT staff to work from home, employees who previously worked on the shop floor suddenly needed to make changes to production lines and manufacturing processes from ..

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