Industrial Operational Technology (OT) like PLCs, SCADA, DCS, and other controllers traditionally operated within closed environments, fulfilling fixed operational functions. But as cloud computing and global connectivity grew, large enterprises began bridging OT with IT through ERP and MES systems to gain deeper insights and synchronise operations across sites.
Now, AI is catalyzing this convergence further, offering powerful advantages even for smaller companies being able to harness these advantages within OT environments. By establishing secure connections between IT and OT, organizations can leverage data management, decentralization, and AI-capable hardware to power:
- Deeper operational insights
AI enhances visibility by analyzing vast volumes of sensor and machine data to detect anomalies and drive predictive actions
- Predictive and prescriptive maintenance
Intelligent systems predict equipment failures and prescribe optimized maintenance schedules, reducing unplanned downtime, maintenance costs, and extending asset lifetimes
- Smarter quality control
AI-powered vision and analytics systems catch defects earlier and improve inspection accuracy, a benefit seen in many manufacturing setups
- Efficient resource and supply chain optimisation
AI improves resource allocation, forecasting, inventory planning, and logistics helping manufacturing to stay lean and adaptive
- Edge-to-cloud real-time decision making
Combining AI with IoT (AIoT) enables devices to operate autonomously at the edge while powerful cloud systems analyze broader trends that maximises responsiveness and scalability
- Faster problem resolution via conversational AI
Factory Operations Agents, driven by large language models, enable staff to query OT data conversationally thus bridging the IT/OT data divide for faster diagnostics
SMB’s can now enjoy this technology with the lower entry barrier that the AI expansion has provided at all IT levels from data management to high level automation and decision making.
The price for a local upgrade has also come down, especially if you utilise cameras and computer vision technologies.
Start your journey by checking out these great articles on the subject;
- https://www.techradar.com/pro/5-ways-manufacturers-can-embark-on-their-ai-journey
- https://www.wired.com/story/ai-swaps-desk-work-for-the-factory-floor/
- https://fabrity.com/blog/it-vs-ot-bridging-the-gap-with-ai-assistants/
