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Converging IT and OT to transform biopharma manufacturing

For biopharma companies to derive the full power from cross-organizational data, IT and OT must align.

The business of biopharma is rapidly changing. Digitization is reshaping product development, operating models, manufacturing processes, and requirements from both healthcare providers and patients. The ongoing repercussions of COVID-19 only add to the need for agility. To keep pace, enterprises are evolving to the next generation of Industry 4.0 by designing intelligent workflows using artificial intelligence (AI), data, analytics, cloud, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

But to realize the full benefits of these technologies, information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) functions must modernize and synchronize. Typically, IT collects, manipulates, analyzes, and generates insights from information. OT monitors and controls physical operations.

This scenario raises big questions: How can two vastly different technology systems work together? What value will be gained by merging and integrating the two environments holistically? What is the cost impact? Could this affect manufacturing production and to what extent? How do two separate organizations cooperate to identify and prioritize the most impactful changes?

77% of pharmaceutical manufacturers plan to manage IT and OT cyber risk together within three years.

Historical disconnects between IT and OT management, particularly for biopharma organizations with large-scale, asset-intensive manufacturing operations, can stand in the way. Yet empowering agile operations and intelligent workflows through optimized use of cross-enterprise data requires bringing out the best in both IT and OT, emphasizing the expertise, capabilities, and skillsets of each.

Putting data to work: AI and data-driven insights have the potential to enhance operational effectiveness.

Putting data to workMaking sense of the data deluge

Manufacturing, with its IIoT-connected machines and devices, generates more data than virtually any other business function. When run through AI-driven analytics, this data can create valuable real-time information and insights. Recent advances in AI, machine learning, and edge computing reveal new opportunities for manufacturers to evolve past cost-cutting initiatives and into process optimization, using data to optimize supply chains, inventory balancing, distribution management, and more.

Yet companies that fully leverage their data are the exception, not the rule—and the IT/OT divide can often be the culprit. For biopharma companies to derive the full power from cross- organizational data, IT and OT must align.

A synchronized IT/OT framework lets business information flow freely across the enterprise, driving manufacturing performance and data-led innovations.

Because the two organizations were developed to be largely independent of each other, IT and OT bring disparate processes, infrastructure, key performance indicators (KPIs), and regulatory guidelines to the table. They’re often two separate departments, each with full autonomy to accomplish discrete missions, embodying different priorities, approaches, and skillsets.

These differing perspectives can contribute to a relationship that at times seems less than cooperative, with conflicting views stemming from a desire for ownership and control. Inevitably, disconnects arise. Building alignment, finding common ground, and calibrating cultures and expectations are essential to OT and IT convergence success.

That common ground—a mutuality of interests—is becoming increasingly clear. As OT portfolios advance, they’re often based on IT architecture, with the central governance that warrants. Cross-organization teamwork is also required to effectively counter cybersecurity risks and manage regulatory compliance issues, especially in complex, IIoT-connected environments. Overall, to drive true transformational change and competitive advantage, organizations need to better use data sources from across both the business and the shop floor—and convert that data into meaningful business insights.

Read the full report to learn how integrating IT and OT can enable intelligent workflows, provide real-time visibility into manufacturing and supply chain data, and enhance cybersecurity at your organization.


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Meet the authors

Eugene Jones

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, Partner, Life Sciences, IBM Consulting


Valerie Clark

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, Edge Computing Strategy Leader, IBM Consulting


Tomipekka Lehtonen

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, Executive Partner Connected Manufacturing Global Leader, IBM Consulting


Patrick Murphy

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, Partner, Practice Leader Cognitive Manufacturing Connected Solutions, IBM Consulting

Originally published 24 February 2021