Bridging the Gap – a Brief Look into IT and OT Convergence

A quick glance into a complicated situation

In conversations with customers across manufacturing, energy, transport—and increasingly, defence—one common theme keeps coming up: the need to bring IT and OT closer together. Whether it’s a factory, a tactical operations centre, or a warehouse full of autonomous systems, organisations are generating more data at the edge than ever before. But many are still trying to manage it with infrastructure built for the data centre.

The reality is that traditional approaches don’t hold up in modern edge environments. Systems on the shop floor, out in the field, or deployed in mobile defence units need to operate with real-time intelligence and autonomy. Sending everything back to the cloud or HQ just introduces lag, risk, and unnecessary cost.

Why IT/OT Convergence Matters

From both technical and operational perspectives, aligning IT and OT has become critical. Here’s why it’s more relevant than ever:

Faster decision-making: Whether it’s condition monitoring in a manufacturing plant or object detection in a remote defence outpost, decisions often need to be made in milliseconds. Processing data locally makes that possible.
Operational clarity: Merging OT sensor and system data with IT analytics platforms provides a complete picture of the environment—crucial for everything from asset tracking to real-time threat detection.
Stronger security posture: As OT devices become connected, they become exposed. Applying IT-grade security and update mechanisms helps protect critical infrastructure and national assets alike.
Cost and resource efficiency: Local processing reduces dependency on high-throughput data links, which is especially valuable in constrained or high-security environments like offshore rigs or deployed military units.

The Role of Edge Computing

Edge computing is what enables this shift. It brings container-based workloads and lightweight platforms to environments where full-scale infrastructure isn’t viable. These platforms are already proving themselves in:

Manufacturing and logistics, where predictive maintenance and robotics require fast, local feedback loops.
Utilities and energy, where substations and wind farms need autonomous control and telemetry in real time.
Defence operations, where ruggedised edge systems are deployed in mobile command units, forward bases, or even on drones and vehicles. In these cases, edge compute must support mission-critical workloads under harsh conditions—often disconnected from central networks.

Importantly, these aren’t theoretical use cases anymore. We’re seeing tactical edge deployments running AI inference, image recognition, and communications services in austere or contested environments. The ability to run reliable, autonomous systems without constant uplink is no longer a “nice-to-have”—it’s a battlefield requirement.

What to Look For

If you’re exploring IT/OT convergence through edge compute, here are some key considerations:

Low resource footprint: Many edge locations are hardware-constrained—so the platform needs to be lightweight, fast, and efficient.
Secure, immutable systems: You need the ability to deploy standardised images with predictable, secure behaviour. Bonus if you can update remotely with minimal disruption.
Automation and fleet management: Manual patching and oversight aren’t scalable. Look for integration with your existing automation or orchestration toolsets.
Offline and rugged-ready: Especially in defence and field operations, systems must function reliably without cloud access and in harsh environments.

Bringing It All Together

IT/OT convergence isn’t just a technology upgrade—it’s about creating a more agile, resilient, and secure operational model. Edge computing makes that transformation possible by bringing the flexibility of IT into operational environments, while respecting the constraints and realities on the ground.

If you’re in a sector like defence, manufacturing, or critical infrastructure, the ability to process, analyse, and act on data at the edge isn’t just about speed—it’s about mission assurance. A well-designed edge strategy helps ensure that critical operations continue, even when links to the outside world are down.

I know I’ve just started my journey into bringing IT and OT together, but as a user of edge technology, I’m excited to see what the future holds – more importantly I’m so thrilled to be a part of it.

Until next time!
Shep.