Operation to Enterprise (O2E)

Streamline your business with Enterprise Resource Planning integration to the production floor and back. Centralized management of data, such as products, recipes and scheduling, with real-time synchronization to the manufacturing facilities SCADA. Live tracking of production with automated reporting of production, scrap and consumption, centralized reporting with data rollup.

Though Information Technology (IT) and OT have much in common, they are fundamentally different.

• IT is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve and exchange electronic data and information, which prioritizes confidentiality.
• OT is hardware and software to detect or cause change, via the direct monitoring and/or control of industrial equipment, assets, processes and events with a focus on safety.

Cyber-attack frequency has been increasing at an exponential rate. Prior to Industry 4.0, OT was seldom a target, but times have changed. Ransomware no longer targets only to compromise IT systems, but to stop production. OT has become a very appealing target. OT enjoyed a long period of physical isolation, which required little or no security, which has left it vulnerable. OT Cybersecurity, like IT, is composed of layers to reduce the likelihood of a break and breach and minimize the severity. The last line of defense is backup and recovery. To learn more, download our O2E MSP Brochure.

OT Infrastructure has many characteristics of an IT infrastructure and should embrace the same approach to cybersecurity. The largest difference is the impact of system failure, being OT failures result in downtime and can affect the safe operation of equipment. Virtual Architecture and proper OT networking provide increased reliability and security.

The initial startup cost of a virtual environment can be a deterrent, until the full benefits are understood. Proper virtual environments are highly resilient with multiple redundancies to maximize up time. Scalability enables the system to grow with far less cost and complexity, when compared to physical servers. Backup and recovery of virtual servers not only enhances cybersecurity, but maximizes uptime due to the speed and simplicity. Physical servers are expensive and bulky, which leads to the installation of multiple systems on a single server resulting in reduced security for all systems and a much larger impact. The ability to create as many virtual servers as needed enables a server per system with security locked down, exposing only what each system requires.

When Industry 4.0 forced the integration of controls and IT systems, people simply did what they had always done and connected control systems directly to the IT network. As control systems became dependent on the network, outages began resulting in downtime, scrap, and loss of control of the equipment. Sharing a common network results in congestion and increased exposure. The approach is the same as cybersecurity, with layers and segmentation.

Data management and security are increasingly important issues in the industrial and manufacturing sectors as sophisticated technologies help us operate more safely and efficiently.

Whether your existing system needs upgrades or you need to build one from the ground up, the Quad Plus team is ready to put you in control of your data and ensure critical systems are protected.

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