If the IT team is somehow iced out, the factory may run just fine, but business operations are substantially more vulnerable to a major disruption due to a cybersecurity attack. This means they’ll need to be able to bend a little to let IT be part of their conversations. IT needs to figure out how to reduce its need to control everything, so that teams can protect what needs to be protected while supporting the operational technology (OT) environment in ways that don’t negatively impact productivity, efficiency, and automation on the factory floor.Īt the same time, the factory needs to understand that they are not technologists and don’t have a wide enough scope to view the entire environment in order to protect OT. What’s needed now is a growing understanding on both sides, so the divisions and dissonance are eliminated, and cooperation and teamwork are celebrated. Whether that’s the security of the entire organization, or the efficiency and efficacy of the operational technology on the factory floor, neither scenario is acceptable as they’re both preventable. But, in many organizations, the traditional dissonance between IT and the factory floor is still there leading to conflicts in which the health and security of the business are jeopardized due to misalignment. Today, it’s almost mandatory that IT sits in the middle of the factory and is seen as a valuable partner and an essential business function.

In the world of Industry 4.0, the separation between IT and the factory floor pretty much disappears. Industry 4.0 Requires New Ways of Working Together And in the past, that was really the best approach, because the controls that IT needs-particularly for security-typically aren’t conducive to maintaining an efficient and optimized factory environment. Traditionally, the value of IT in the manufacturing industry has been to provide the factory floor with the resources they need, and then to stay out of the way. Where I see the biggest dissonance today is in how companies are allowing both IT and the manufacturing groups to exist inside their organizations. While the possibilities of Industry 4.0 are extraordinary-and realizing them is seemingly just within our reach-there are still obstacles to overcome before we can feel truly comfortable making them a reality. Manufacturing can be faster, more data-driven, more responsive to the needs of workers and customers, and more powered by innovations such as artificial intelligence, internet of things, digital supply chains, and blockchain.

Industry 4.0 has vast potential to transform what factories can do. By Michael Loggins, award-winning executive IT leader

Industry 4.0 elements