IoT and IT/OT

Think Tank - 4:15 pm - 4:40 pm

M2M type technologies. In many cases these older industrial automation initiatives used proprietary communications protocols and dedicated sensors that interfaced with controllers that could manage communications between IT and OT platforms. Fast forward to an IoT world however and these sensors and controllers will need to natively speak IP, natively integrate to back-end enterprise systems beyond just simple controllers, systems such as ERP, BI and other core platforms. Navigating the complexity of process, data, security, and functionality implications has the potential to be a minefield for the unwitting IT executive that goes in without eyes wide open.

Takeaways:

IT/OT integration is a low-hanging fruit area for IoT adoption
Existing investments into older M2M IT/OT integrations however can erode any potential value
Before investing in IoT enabled IT/OT integration careful consideration must be made of the implications and whether value can be realized - does the investment justify the returns over what is already in place?