In the World of Manufacturing the Automated Wins

André Esterhuysen – Digital Business Automation Consultant, New Island Technologies

Digital Business Automation has the potential to finally help manufacturers breach the gap between IT and manufacturing operations to harness the power of convergence of these environments.

In order for us to understand the importance of modern digital automation in the world of manufacturing we need to agree on a key theme…What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution / Industry 4.0 / 4IR…

I like the way that McKinsey puts it: “Industry 4.0—also called the Fourth Industrial Revolution or 4IR—is the next phase in the digitization of the manufacturing sector, driven by disruptive trends including the rise of data and connectivity, analytics, human-machine interaction, and improvements in robotics.”

This concept applies to the way in which IT and manufacturing operations work together in a modern technology driven world.

The benefits of IT/OT convergence hit straight at the bottom line. It supports just-in-time manufacturing principles and improves the cost and resource efficiencies of manufacturing operations.

Robotics and automation have seen great strides being made into the manufacturing world…but this is mostly seen on the production floor, in other words, in the OT space.

IoT sensors and technology make it possible to gather real-time operational data that can drive advanced analytics and valuable insights, but this data does not easily break out of the operational technology domain to be leveraged in the IT domain.

We find that there is still a great divide between Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT). There has been critical focus for decades to remove barriers between IT and OT to elevate manufacturing operations and drive new value from the siloed ecosystems and to unlock the value within data.

There are many reasons why this is still a hurdle today.

The convergence of IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) can fail for a variety of reasons. Some common challenges include:

Different priorities: IT systems are often focused on data management and analysis, while OT systems are focused on control and automation. Different organisational priorities make it difficult to align them.

Different technologies: IT and OT systems often use different technologies, which can make it difficult to integrate them. For example, IT systems may use TCP/IP protocols while OT systems use proprietary protocols.

Different security requirements: IT and OT systems have different security requirements. IT systems are typically focused on protecting data and networks, while OT systems are focused on maintaining the availability and reliability of critical systems and equipment.

Limited understanding of each other’s systems: Many IT professionals have limited understanding of OT systems, and vice versa. This lack of knowledge can make it difficult for IT and OT professionals to work together effectively.

I firmly believe that digital business automation is the answer to these challenges and the key ingredient to unlock the value of IT/OT convergence.

BMC Control-M can help breach the IT/OT gap.

Infrastructure, Application, Data & Process convergence can all be accomplished by introducing BMC Control-M.

Control-M can natively integrate most leading enterprise applications and data systems today and it also has advanced integration capabilities into other OT technologies that are perhaps less mainstream in the IT world.

Control-M makes it easy to build, define, schedule, manage, and monitor production workflows, ensuring visibility, reliability, and improving SLAs across diverse technology platforms.

Data is the cauldron where the most magic can be brewed for those manufacturers that can successfully extract, analyse, and monetise the data across the IT and OT verticals.

Refer to a previous blog, DATAOPS- GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR DATA, for more details around the benefits Control-M delivers when managing data pipelines.

Benefits of Automation for Manufacturing

Automation can help with the convergence of IT and OT in several ways:

Standardisation: Automation can help standardise and simplify the integration of IT and OT systems by using common protocols and interfaces. This can make it easier to connect and exchange data between the systems.

Data management: Automation can help manage and analyse the large amounts of data generated by IT and OT systems.

Security: Automation can help improve the security of IT and OT systems by automating security protocols and implementing real-time monitoring and response.

Efficiency: Automation can help to improve the efficiency of IT and OT systems by automating repetitive tasks and reducing the need for manual intervention. Manufacturing processes are complex…a world that BMC Control-M understands and thrives in.

Monitoring and control: Automation can help monitor and control the performance of IT and OT systems, providing real-time visibility into the health of the systems and enabling quick identification and resolution of issues.

Automation can be used to build a bridge between IT and OT by providing a common platform, language and interface. This will make it easy for the IT and OT organisations to work together.

To win you need to think beyond piece-meal automation and make sure that you see the wood for the trees. Every piece of the IT/OT landscape is an intricate part in a complex machine and should always be evaluated in the context of the whole landscape.

Control-M as a Digital Business Automation Platform can help you pave the way to a converged IT / OT landscape.

Read this whitepaper to find out how BMC’s Modern Solutions help solve Manufacturing’s toughest challenges.

As always, please reach out to André Esterhuysen at New Island Technologies if you would like to know more.