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Why is IT and OT Convergence Important for IoT?

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IT and OT convergence comes with challenges and benefits for businesses but may be especially crucial for Internet of Things (IoT) integration.

They are often thought of as seemingly opposite departments and technologies. IT handles data, while OT handles devices. IT focuses more on business systems, while OT focuses on the physical operations of a business. 

Could bringing these two departments together spark benefits for businesses? IT and OT convergence can lead to greater efficiency, faster development times and better communication. However, it may also introduce new challenges. IoT has a unique relationship with IT and OT, making convergence a serious consideration for businesses. 

What Is IT and OT Convergence?

Why Sourcing IoT Platforms is a Challenge For Organizations

Information technology and operational technology handle different sides of businesses’ technology infrastructure. On a general level, IT departments manage data while OT departments manage devices and software. The IT department might focus on a manufacturer’s employee computer passwords, while the OT department focuses on assembly line control systems. 

The two departments are similar and related but often siloed or kept isolated from one another. IT and OT convergence breaks down the barriers between them and builds a bridge instead. The idea is that if they can actively work together, they can perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively. They can pool their expertise, knowledge and resources for mutual benefit. 

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There are many potential benefits of IT and OT convergence. For example, combined IT/OT departments may develop new solutions faster and for less money. They may also improve automation processes, use resources more efficiently and better comply with regulatory standards. 

Categories of IT and OT Convergence

IT/OT convergence has a few different levels or categories that break down how convergence occurs. The three main types of IT/OT convergence are physical, process, and data and software. 

The physical category refers to the convergence of physical OT devices being adapted, updated or replaced to work with IT. The process category deals with adjustments to company workflows for IT and OT so the two can work together. Finally, the data and software category deals with the convergence of the company’s network architecture, bringing in the data and software needed to support the OT department. 

How Is IT and OT Convergence Related to IoT?

Why IoT Deployments Need LPWAN

If IT and OT are two cities on different sides of a river, IoT is the bridge connecting them. IoT devices include a wide array of devices connected through various means, such as the internet or the cloud. 

IoT devices fill an important need in IT and OT convergence because they can collect and relay data. Instead of having assembly line sensors that simply gather information, IoT sensors actively transmit OT data to IT departments, where it can be processed, analysed and utilised. A business could monitor an aspect of its manufacturing process in real-time and make data-driven adjustments right away. 

IoT addresses one of the major challenges of converging IT and OT — OT devices are not typically designed for networking or communication. IoT gadgets act as a relay between isolated OT devices and the software and resources of IT so businesses can gain valuable insights and process improvements. 

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Examples of IoT for IT/OT Convergence

Imagine implementing IT/OT convergence in a single construction vehicle with the help of IoT. The machine itself is an OT device and isn’t connected to IT infrastructure. Integrating a few IoT sensors into the vehicle allows performance data to be transmitted to IT servers and software, where it is analysed in real-time. 

A construction company can identify where the vehicle is being used inefficiently, where it is experiencing traffic or downtime, how it utilises fuel and how it’s performing overall. This data can even be used to extend the machine’s life span through predictive maintenance. 

Similarly, IoT is crucial for evolving the use of robotics in numerous industries. Robots are rapidly transforming fields like medicine, transportation and industry. IT and OT departments must collaborate because robots sit right between physical operations and data and software. This will help robotics maximise their potential in these fields. 

For example, IoT allows a warehouse to be intelligently automated with robots, using IoT tags and sensors for tracking and navigation. Integrating robotics into various applications is easier with IT and OT convergence, which IoT helps streamline. 

Potential Challenges of IT/OT and IoT

There are many potential benefits businesses can gain from IT and OT convergence, but there are also some key challenges to consider. Successful IT/OT convergence relies on addressing these issues. 

IT_and_OT_Challenges.png

Source: Tech Target

The most pressing challenge that arises from IT and OT convergence is security. The risk of weakened security is an unfortunate side effect of trying to bring OT devices into IT communication networks. 

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This is especially true when a business uses outdated legacy systems in its OT department. These devices may not be updated frequently and aren’t usually designed to be part of a larger IT network. Therefore, OT gadgets can be weak links that hackers can exploit to launch cyberattacks. This risk is even greater considering that OT devices are critical for maintaining operations, which gives hackers leverage for attacks like ransomware. 

It is also important to remember that people can pose security risks, too. Businesses have to be strategic and mindful about converging their IT and OT teams. The risk of security weak spots will be even greater if the people in these departments cannot work effectively together. Both departments must adjust and adapt for the benefit of the whole organisation. 

Additionally, there may be some technical challenges with the actual devices involved in the convergence. It is likely that some OT and IT tech simply won’t be compatible. This often occurs in the way devices communicate. Some may only be able to perform one-way communication or may use proprietary or unusual protocols. These technical incompatibilities are not insurmountable, but they do take some problem-solving for businesses to navigate successfully. IoT devices can be an especially helpful solution for bridging these divides. 

Driving Innovation With Collaboration

The Machine Learning Imperative Empowering Businesses to Innovate Faster

IT and OT convergence can be challenging to implement, but businesses stand to gain invaluable benefits from collaboration. IoT devices can help bridge the gap between IT and OT tech, unifying the two departments and providing insights and advantages. 

It is important to address security risks and technical challenges carefully, but converging IT and OT can lead to greater efficiency, cost savings and improved operational performance. Businesses can harness the power of collaboration to drive innovation.


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Next-gen chips, Amazon Q, and speedy S3

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AWS re:Invent, which has been taking place from November 27 and runs to December 1, has had its usual plethora of announcements: a total of 21 at time of print.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given the huge potential impact of generative AI – ChatGPT officially turns one year old today – a lot of focus has been on the AI side for AWS’ announcements, including a major partnership inked with NVIDIA across infrastructure, software, and services.

Yet there has been plenty more announced at the Las Vegas jamboree besides. Here, CloudTech rounds up the best of the rest:

Next-generation chips

This was the other major AI-focused announcement at re:Invent: the launch of two new chips, AWS Graviton4 and AWS Trainium2, for training and running AI and machine learning (ML) models, among other customer workloads. Graviton4 shapes up against its predecessor with 30% better compute performance, 50% more cores and 75% more memory bandwidth, while Trainium2 delivers up to four times faster training than before and will be able to be deployed in EC2 UltraClusters of up to 100,000 chips.

The EC2 UltraClusters are designed to ‘deliver the highest performance, most energy efficient AI model training infrastructure in the cloud’, as AWS puts it. With it, customers will be able to train large language models in ‘a fraction of the time’, as well as double energy efficiency.

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As ever, AWS offers customers who are already utilising these tools. Databricks, Epic and SAP are among the companies cited as using the new AWS-designed chips.

Zero-ETL integrations

AWS announced new Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, Amazon DynamoDB, and Amazon Relational Database Services (Amazon RDS) for MySQL integrations with Amazon Redshift, AWS’ cloud data warehouse. The zero-ETL integrations – eliminating the need to build ETL (extract, transform, load) data pipelines – make it easier to connect and analyse transactional data across various relational and non-relational databases in Amazon Redshift.

A simple example of how zero-ETL functions can be seen is in a hypothetical company which stores transactional data – time of transaction, items bought, where the transaction occurred – in a relational database, but use another analytics tool to analyse data in a non-relational database. To connect it all up, companies would previously have to construct ETL data pipelines which are a time and money sink.

The latest integrations “build on AWS’s zero-ETL foundation… so customers can quickly and easily connect all of their data, no matter where it lives,” the company said.

Amazon S3 Express One Zone

AWS announced the general availability of Amazon S3 Express One Zone, a new storage class purpose-built for customers’ most frequently-accessed data. Data access speed is up to 10 times faster and request costs up to 50% lower than standard S3. Companies can also opt to collocate their Amazon S3 Express One Zone data in the same availability zone as their compute resources.  

Companies and partners who are using Amazon S3 Express One Zone include ChaosSearch, Cloudera, and Pinterest.

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Amazon Q

A new product, and an interesting pivot, again with generative AI at its core. Amazon Q was announced as a ‘new type of generative AI-powered assistant’ which can be tailored to a customer’s business. “Customers can get fast, relevant answers to pressing questions, generate content, and take actions – all informed by a customer’s information repositories, code, and enterprise systems,” AWS added. The service also can assist companies building on AWS, as well as companies using AWS applications for business intelligence, contact centres, and supply chain management.

Customers cited as early adopters include Accenture, BMW and Wunderkind.

Want to learn more about cybersecurity and the cloud from industry leaders? Check out Cyber Security & Cloud Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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HCLTech and Cisco create collaborative hybrid workplaces

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Digital comms specialist Cisco and global tech firm HCLTech have teamed up to launch Meeting-Rooms-as-a-Service (MRaaS).

Available on a subscription model, this solution modernises legacy meeting rooms and enables users to join meetings from any meeting solution provider using Webex devices.

The MRaaS solution helps enterprises simplify the design, implementation and maintenance of integrated meeting rooms, enabling seamless collaboration for their globally distributed hybrid workforces.

Rakshit Ghura, senior VP and Global head of digital workplace services, HCLTech, said: “MRaaS combines our consulting and managed services expertise with Cisco’s proficiency in Webex devices to change the way employees conceptualise, organise and interact in a collaborative environment for a modern hybrid work model.

“The common vision of our partnership is to elevate the collaboration experience at work and drive productivity through modern meeting rooms.”

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Alexandra Zagury, VP of partner managed and as-a-Service Sales at Cisco, said: “Our partnership with HCLTech helps our clients transform their offices through cost-effective managed services that support the ongoing evolution of workspaces.

“As we reimagine the modern office, we are making it easier to support collaboration and productivity among workers, whether they are in the office or elsewhere.”

Cisco’s Webex collaboration devices harness the power of artificial intelligence to offer intuitive, seamless collaboration experiences, enabling meeting rooms with smart features such as meeting zones, intelligent people framing, optimised attendee audio and background noise removal, among others.

Want to learn more about cybersecurity and the cloud from industry leaders? Check out Cyber Security & Cloud Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Tags: Cisco, collaboration, HCLTech, Hybrid, meetings

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Canonical releases low-touch private cloud MicroCloud

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Canonical has announced the general availability of MicroCloud, a low-touch, open source cloud solution. MicroCloud is part of Canonical’s growing cloud infrastructure portfolio.

It is purpose-built for scalable clusters and edge deployments for all types of enterprises. It is designed with simplicity, security and automation in mind, minimising the time and effort to both deploy and maintain it. Conveniently, enterprise support for MicroCloud is offered as part of Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro subscription, with several support tiers available, and priced per node.

MicroClouds are optimised for repeatable and reliable remote deployments. A single command initiates the orchestration and clustering of various components with minimal involvement by the user, resulting in a fully functional cloud within minutes. This simplified deployment process significantly reduces the barrier to entry, putting a production-grade cloud at everyone’s fingertips.

Juan Manuel Ventura, head of architectures & technologies at Spindox, said: “Cloud computing is not only about technology, it’s the beating heart of any modern industrial transformation, driving agility and innovation. Our mission is to provide our customers with the most effective ways to innovate and bring value; having a complexity-free cloud infrastructure is one important piece of that puzzle. With MicroCloud, the focus shifts away from struggling with cloud operations to solving real business challenges” says

In addition to seamless deployment, MicroCloud prioritises security and ease of maintenance. All MicroCloud components are built with strict confinement for increased security, with over-the-air transactional updates that preserve data and roll back on errors automatically. Upgrades to newer versions are handled automatically and without downtime, with the mechanisms to hold or schedule them as needed.

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With this approach, MicroCloud caters to both on-premise clouds but also edge deployments at remote locations, allowing organisations to use the same infrastructure primitives and services wherever they are needed. It is suitable for business-in-branch office locations or industrial use inside a factory, as well as distributed locations where the focus is on replicability and unattended operations.

Cedric Gegout, VP of product at Canonical, said: “As data becomes more distributed, the infrastructure has to follow. Cloud computing is now distributed, spanning across data centres, far and near edge computing appliances. MicroCloud is our answer to that.

“By packaging known infrastructure primitives in a portable and unattended way, we are delivering a simpler, more prescriptive cloud experience that makes zero-ops a reality for many Industries.“

MicroCloud’s lightweight architecture makes it usable on both commodity and high-end hardware, with several ways to further reduce its footprint depending on your workload needs. In addition to the standard Ubuntu Server or Desktop, MicroClouds can be run on Ubuntu Core – a lightweight OS optimised for the edge. With Ubuntu Core, MicroClouds are a perfect solution for far-edge locations with limited computing capabilities. Users can choose to run their workloads using Kubernetes or via system containers. System containers based on LXD behave similarly to traditional VMs but consume fewer resources while providing bare-metal performance.

Coupled with Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro + Support subscription, MicroCloud users can benefit from an enterprise-grade open source cloud solution that is fully supported and with better economics. An Ubuntu Pro subscription offers security maintenance for the broadest collection of open-source software available from a single vendor today. It covers over 30k packages with a consistent security maintenance commitment, and additional features such as kernel livepatch, systems management at scale, certified compliance and hardening profiles enabling easy adoption for enterprises. With per-node pricing and no hidden fees, customers can rest assured that their environment is secure and supported without the expensive price tag typically associated with cloud solutions.

Want to learn more about cybersecurity and the cloud from industry leaders? Check out Cyber Security & Cloud Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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Tags: automation, Canonical, MicroCloud, private cloud

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