An engaged workforce is one of the most crucial qualities of a composable enterprise.
When a manufacturer’s information technology and operational technology systems are siloed, workers find it more difficult to collaborate across domains, as their tools, methods, and priorities are so different.
Converging IT and OT systems helps workers streamline their processes and increase their efficiency. And one of the easiest and quickest paths to IT/OT convergence is a low-code application development platform.
Silos keep workers apart
Information technologies are considered those systems on the business end of a manufacturing organization: the servers and databases that support sales, inventory, payroll, etc.
Operational technologies refer to the systems that support a manufacturer’s physical operations, such as the sensors tracking warehouse shipments and the automation guiding the production line.
As IT and OT systems are designed to tackle different objectives, they have traditionally been managed separately with little effort made to coordinate their operations. It is hard for workers to collaborate when siloing keeps them on opposite ends of the org chart. The siloing of IT/OT can lead to:
- Duplicate and overlapping processes
- Slowed adoption of new technologies
- Fragmented data collection
- Lack of system integration
- Dearth of interdisciplinary profiles and skills within the workforce
Low-code ties IT and OT together
A low-code development platform is the perfect tool for building applications to break down IT/OT silos. Low-code applications are modular and easily shared across an organization. These qualities help empower workforces to assemble and integrate applications with greater ease and consistency.
Also, by tying their IT and OT systems together, manufacturers can apply IT analytics and best practices to OT operations, resulting in:
- Increased production rates
- Decreased production bottlenecks
- Reduced operational costs
- Improved data security
Converging on Hannover Messe
If you’d like to learn more about how a low-code application development platform can help composable enterprises enhance worker engagement by enabling IT/OT convergence, we invite you to join Mendix at Hannover Messe 2023. You’ll find the Mendix convergence experts at the Siemens showcase area in Hall 9 and the AWS showcase area in Hall 15. You can also meet with them at our Compose Your Transformation Tour at the Radisson Hotel. (For more information about the Compose Your Transformation Tour, please contact your Mendix or Siemens sales associate.)
At the Siemens showcase in Hall 9, we’ll be using real use cases to demonstrate how a low-code platform can help democratize application development from the edge to the cloud. They’ll also be offering insights on how to support the production personnel on your shop floor with Lean Daily Management Suite, which offers digital representations of factory assets for real-time issue identification and interactive resolutions.
IT/OT convergence won’t be the only topic we’ll be diving into at Hannover Messe. Also on the docket will be discussions on the use of low-code apps in CATENA-X use cases. Plus we’ll be making stage presentations alongside Mendix customers and partners like AWS, Clevr, Schuler, and Sustaira.
At the AWS showcase area in Hall 15, we’ll be offering insights into building apps faster and easier on AWS and into using the AWS IoT Twin Maker service to dig deeper into the benefits of Lean Daily Management Suite. And you can catch us on the stage presenting “Compose Your Manufacturing Applications with Cloud-Native Low-Code,” where we share valuable lessons drawn from Siemens’ rapid digitalization journey.
Don’t forget to register!
We hope that you’ve registered to attend Hannover Messe 2023 and that you’ll make plans to stop by our booths, engage with our convergence experts, and see us on stage. Most of all, we hope you’ll be inspired by what you hear at the event to start breaking down the silos between your IT and OT systems.