Business Strategy and Innovation Framework
This same potential for operational and added value in business products, services and customer experience exists for all market segments and industries.
3.3 OPPORTUNITY AT THE IT / OT INTERSECTION
IIoT is creating the potential benefit from the connection and integration of data from information technology( IT) systems and the data center with data from operational technology( OT) on the factory floor and connected devices. The IT side of business focuses on resources that process data for business-related functions such as payroll, databases, customer access, various business analysis, reporting tools, and inventory. The OT side targets systems and elements that build, execute, control, and monitor industrial or service processes.
At present, operating models for many larger‘ traditional’ industrial enterprises include at least some IT and OT assets. As the IIoT becomes more prevalent, the intersection of these elements has the potential for both disruption and benefit within the enterprise.
While there is generally some integration between the IT and OT domains in most companies, the degree of integration varies considerably by market segment. Many enterprises have different processes, organizational structures and systems in place for each domain. Much of the integration between the two is manual, loosely connected, or in silos.
With IIoT comes a significant opportunity, and a necessity, to bring these two operating worlds together to the benefit of the entire business model. Indeed, the intersection between these two domains and the potential for data integration across the business is one of the most significant motivations and benefits of IIoT adoption.
3.3.1 THE NEW INTERSECTION AND OPPORTUNITY POINT
Until the advent of IIoT, there was limited collaboration or cross-linkage between the disciplines of IT and OT, as Figure 3-1 illustrates. Such‘ islands’ of execution fostered organizational models that, while individually effective, caused IT and OT to operate in relatively independent ways. This is partly because IT and OT require different processes, systems, and measures, and even a different operational‘ language.’
The net impact of this situation has been the inability to make use of broader business insight and learning to benefit production operations. Likewise, IT saw limited benefit from physicalworld and real-time analysis or trends that might increase business insight and allow for faster adjustment of business models( further insight into this can be found in the IIC Reference Architecture or IIRA [ IIC1 ], section entitled‘ Functional Approach’).
IIC: PUB: B01: V1.0: PB: 20161115- 17-