Bridging the IT/OT Integration Gap with a Scalable, Cloud Agnostic Reference Architecture for Industrial Data Platforms
摘要
In the rapidly evolving industrial landscape, the convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) has become a critical focus for organizations seeking to unlock the full potential of Industrial IoT (IIoT) ecosystem. Previous research highlights the challenges of IT/OT integration, including differences in communication protocols, data formats, and security models (e.g., Monostori et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2017). These challenges often hinder organizations from fully utilizing the data generated by their IoT devices. This white paper presents a scalable, cloud-agnostic reference architecture specifically designed to address the IT/OT integration gap. By enabling seamless communication between IoT devices and enterprise systems, this architecture helps organizations optimize operational efficiencies, enhance real-time decision-making, and implement advanced analytics across their operations. Unlike traditional IT/OT integration approaches, which may be tightly coupled to specific cloud providers or use cases, this solution supports a modular, multi-cloud, and hybrid infrastructure to ensure flexibility and adaptability. The proposed architecture accommodates a wide range of IT/OT integration use cases, from smart manufacturing and predictive maintenance to supply chain optimization, enabling organizations to leverage the full spectrum of operational data. Through a modular and iterative implementation strategy, businesses can incrementally deploy the solution, ensuring adaptability and scalability as their operational needs evolve. This strategy builds on insights from prior studies on scalable and flexible architectures for industrial environments (e.g., Karnouskos, 2018; Jazdi, 2014), emphasizing adaptability and real-time data processing. By adopting this integrated approach, organizations can transform raw IoT data into actionable insights, driving innovation and competitive advantage in a complex and dynamic industrial environment.