The IT department’s scope covers the entire IT infrastructure and applications. Its responsibilities mainly concern security, scalability and manageability. It is also responsible for the processing and transmitting of information between functions within and external to the organization. It is usually a fast and dynamic environment. In an IoT setup, the IT department’s role is crucial as it plays a vital role in the tech stack from the network out to the edge and beyond.
OT focuses on ensuring visibility and control over operations of the manufacturing enterprise. Different OT systems come together at various levels to provide information, recommend actions, and actuate responses to stimuli from the manufacturing line. At the equipment level, it could be control systems like programmable logic controllers (PLC), microcontrollers, programmable equipment, or robotics. At the line level, it could be SCADA or DCS. It could also be operations management solutions like MES or scheduling systems. At each level, these solutions enable the enterprise to achieve its manufacturing operations objectives.
Between IT and OT, business and operations have the required insights and the ability to simulate scenarios that can lead to impactful decisions. The traffic of intelligence is heavy from OT to IT, instructions that align production to business objectives flow from IT to OT. A smooth integration and coordination between IT and OT components of the IIoT setup help to enable this exchange.