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IT/OT Convergence

Belden's Approach to IT/OT Convergence: Prioritizing OT for Industrial Efficiency

In the evolving landscape of industrial operations, the convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) is paramount for efficiency and innovation. Belden stands at the forefront of this transformation, uniquely positioning the robust and critical OT network as the foundational layer, with IT applications seamlessly integrated on top. Our approach ensures the unwavering reliability and performance of your operational infrastructure, guaranteeing essential bandwidth and network slicing capabilities that prevent interference and uphold the integrity of your most critical processes.

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OT as the Foundation

Guaranteed Bandwidth & Network Slicing

Robust Infrastructure for IT Integration

Operational integrity first

Seamless & Secure Integration

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OT as the Foundation

Belden prioritizes the operational technology network as the secure and resilient backbone, ensuring continuous, mission-critical performance.

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Guaranteed Bandwidth & Network Slicing

Experience unparalleled control with network slicing capabilities that guarantee dedicated bandwidth for critical OT functions, preventing IT traffic from impacting operations.

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Robust Infrastructure for IT Integration

Our industrial-grade OT networks are engineered to withstand harsh environments (temperature, vibration, extended lifecycle), providing a reliable platform for all your IT applications.

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Operational integrity first

Belden's IT/OT convergence strategy is driven by the stringent requirements of OT, ensuring that protection, telecontrol, and real-time data streaming remain uncompromised.

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Seamless & Secure Integration

Integrate IT connections into your OT infrastructure with confidence, knowing that Belden's technology is designed to manage and protect both data streams without compromise.

OT as the Foundation

Belden prioritizes the operational technology network as the secure and resilient backbone, ensuring continuous, mission-critical performance.

Guaranteed Bandwidth & Network Slicing

Experience unparalleled control with network slicing capabilities that guarantee dedicated bandwidth for critical OT functions, preventing IT traffic from impacting operations.

Robust Infrastructure for IT Integration

Our industrial-grade OT networks are engineered to withstand harsh environments (temperature, vibration, extended lifecycle), providing a reliable platform for all your IT applications.

Operational integrity first

Belden's IT/OT convergence strategy is driven by the stringent requirements of OT, ensuring that protection, telecontrol, and real-time data streaming remain uncompromised.

Seamless & Secure Integration

Integrate IT connections into your OT infrastructure with confidence, knowing that Belden's technology is designed to manage and protect both data streams without compromise.

Catalog

Total Networking Solutions for IT/OT Convergence

Belden combines the strength of Hirschmann & Hirschmann IT switches and security products as well as Belden Ethernet cables for comprehensive networking solutions for IT/OT convergence.

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Build connections between IT and OT security to boost plant operations

In IT, there’s an ongoing battle between emerging attack methods and the security solutions that can counteract them. A pioneer in cybersecurity, IT has been dealing with cyberthreats since the 1970s when Creeper, the first computer virus, joined the scene.

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ONE metric to rule them all: evaluating overall network effectiveness

Network health depends on network availability, capacity and quality—the three factors that make up the ONE metric. Use it to track to optimize network performance.

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MQTT: Transmit Data from OT to IT without Losing Data Integrity

MQTT’s decoupled communication model presents significant benefits for IT/OT convergence.

Blog

IT Security vs. OT Security: What Are The Key Differences?

When most people think about cybersecurity, IT security comes to mind—but OT security is also crucial to protect digital assets and critical infrastructure.

Blog

Why IT-OT Convergence Is Critical for CPG Transformation

Just like IT needs to know how CPG production is going, OT needs to know about orders coming in.

Blog

6 Best Practices to Advance OT Security Amid IT-OT Convergence

IT-OT convergence brings numerous benefits to industrial environments, but also exposes OT systems to security risks. Read this blog to learn how to protect your infrastructure.

Blog

IT/OT Convergence is Happening Sooner vs. Later in Discrete Manufacturing

Learn more about Smart Manufacturing You’ve no doubt heard lots about IT/OT convergence, but did you know this? IT/OT convergence will not only bring IT and OT networks together, but also serve as the backbone of everything set to come in the industrial world: edge computing, analytics, remote commissioning, cobots, etc. IT/OT convergence will pave the way to better efficiency, productivity and problem-solving.

Blog

Key Challenges Facing IT/OT: Hear from the Experts

When you think of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT), which side are you on? You may not feel that you fall on any side of that technological skirmish, but when you stop to carefully consider the differences in these two disciplines, it is nearly impossible to avoid a tendentious leaning.

Blog

How IT Professionals Can Prepare for IT/OT Convergence

Bringing together two disparate ways of working is never easy. It can be an uncomfortable process as people learn to stretch beyond their comfort zones and think in new ways. This especially applies to the merging of IT and OT, which is happening in full force across the industrial, manufacturing and utility industries.

Blog

From IT/OT Coexistence to Convergence: 5 Pain Points to Overcome

In a recent post on IT/OT convergence, we shared a big prediction with you: This convergence doesn’t only involve the coming together of two separate, technology-focused domains. It also brings about the convergence of people, too – people who have never had a reason to interact before.

Blog

How IT and OT Can Help Bring Sensor to Cloud to Life

Every day, valuable data from the factory floor is being collected about manufacturing processes and the machinery used to carry them out. This information ultimately falls under the jurisdiction of operational technology (OT). At the same time, the flow of information coming from offices—from computers to surveillance cameras—is being watched and managed by information technology (IT).

Blog

How the ADX Engineer Can Bring Your IT and OT Departments Together

For decades, the office environment had been on an Ethernet network, the factory floor had operated independently on fieldbus, and each were happily separate in their operations and needed little contact with one another. Now, with the rapid growth of Ethernet on the industrial side and the organization converging into a single data network spanning both information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), the conflict seems inevitable—which department gets oversight and control of the Ethernet network?

Blog

Why IT-OT Convergence Means Greater Resources for Both

History Lesson Many of us are familiar with the infamous video of the hacking at the Ukrainian power station in December, 2015 that caused a blackout impacting a quarter million people in the area. As the hackers remotely took control of their workstations, the plant systems operators could do little more than record for posterity the activity that they saw on their PC screens with their mobile phones. So now, any of us can go over to YouTube and watch in horror along with the operators as their cursor moves around their screen, maliciously clicking commands and tripping breakers in various substations. Of significant interest, as they helplessly watch the screen activity that was advancing their power station inevitably toward doom, we hear one operator say to the other “We should call the IT guys,” to which his colleague quickly replies “What if it’s the IT guys doing this?”

Blog

IT-OT Convergence: Who Owns OT Security?

Who’s responsible for industrial cyber security in your organization? Whether it’s Information Technology (IT) or a cross-functional ICS operations and process control group – often labeled Operations Technology (OT) – they likely have incompatible approaches to resolving cybersecurity risk.

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Hirschmann OpEdge-4D Industrial Edge Gateway
Hirschmann OpEdge-4D Industrial Edge Gateway

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Hirschmann OpEdge Family

Hirschmann OpEdge industrial edge gateway devices can run applications and process data locally at the edge, turning data into insights where they can best be used.

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Case study

Separating IT and OT

Separating IT and OT Networks Helps Manufacturer Boost Productivity, Revenue and Lead Times

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News

OpEdge-8D in Operational Edge Computing

Belden Bridges IT-OT Divide with a Next-Gen Edge Gateway Device

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White paper

Overall Network Effectiveness (ONE)

How to Track and Improve Network Health with Just ONE Number

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White paper

Successful IT/OT Convergence

With Ethernet commonly running in both offices (informational technology) and plant floor (operational technology), isolated networks are no longer advisable.