IT/OT Convergence
The integration of IT and OT networks that creates operational efficiency but also unpredictably expands the attack surface by connecting previously isolated industrial systems to enterprise networks.
What is IT/OT Convergence?
The integration of IT and OT networks that creates operational efficiency but also unpredictably expands the attack surface by connecting previously isolated industrial systems to enterprise networks.
IT/OT convergence describes the integration of Information Technology (IT) networks — which handle data processing, business applications, and connectivity — with Operational Technology (OT) networks — which control physical processes and industrial equipment. For most of the 20th century, these were physically separate environments with different vendors, protocols, and teams. That separation is rapidly disappearing.
The drivers of convergence are practical and economic: remote monitoring reduces maintenance costs, industrial data analytics requires connecting OT data to enterprise systems, supply chain integration requires OT visibility, and cloud-based SCADA and historian platforms require OT-to-internet connectivity. These benefits are real, but each connection that bridges the IT/OT boundary also creates a potential attack path.
The security consequences of convergence are significant. OT environments were designed assuming isolation and have essentially no native security controls. IT security tools were designed for managed Windows and Linux endpoints and don't understand industrial protocols or OT device characteristics. The merged environment requires security solutions that can operate across both worlds — classifying OT devices, monitoring OT protocols, enforcing segmentation at the IT/OT boundary, and providing unified visibility across the converged environment.
Key Facts
- 86% of industrial companies have connected at least some OT systems to enterprise IT networks
- IT/OT convergence has expanded the OT attack surface by an estimated 5–10x over the past decade
- Attacks that traverse the IT/OT boundary account for the majority of high-impact OT incidents
- Only 21% of organizations have unified visibility across IT and OT environments in a single platform
How ORDR Addresses IT/OT Convergence
ORDR was designed for the converged IT/OT environment. It discovers and classifies assets across both IT and OT networks in a single platform, monitors industrial protocols (Modbus, DNP3, BACnet, Profinet) as natively as IT protocols, generates segmentation policies at the IT/OT boundary, and delivers unified risk scoring and visibility across the entire connected asset estate.
See ORDR in actionFrequently Asked Questions
Protect your operational technology.
ORDR discovers and monitors every OT asset in real time—even legacy PLCs and SCADA systems that cannot run agents.