Managers should converge IT and operational technology

Gartner says benefits can include optimised business processes and reduced costs

IT leaders should consider converging IT and operational technology (OT) environments to optimise business processes, reduce costs and lower risks, says industry analyst Gartner.

OT is defined as an independent world of physical-equipment-oriented technology that is developed, implemented and supported separately from the IT department.

Examples include systems that deal with the running of a site and its equipment, systems that are used to manage and control mission-critical delivery of processes, or event-driven and real-time software applications.

"The nature of the OT systems is changing, so that the underlying technology - such as platforms, software, security and communications - is becoming more like IT systems," said Kristian Steenstrup, research vice president at Gartner.

"This gives a stronger justification for IT groups to contribute to OT software management, creating an IT and OT alignment that could be in the form of standards, enterprise architecture support, security models and information and process integration," he added.

Gartner suggests that IT managers should consider the potential to integrate the people, tools and resources used to manage and support both technology areas to reap benefits.

"A shared set of standards and platforms across IT and OT will reduce costs in many areas of software management, and reduced risks come from reducing malware intrusion and internal errors," said Steenstrup.