The advancements and demand for edge and cloud computing have accelerated the convergence of communications technology (CT), information technology (IT), and operations technology (OT) to the forefront.
ABI Research expects industries such as manufacturing, telecommunications, and smart cities to be leading the way in CT, IT, and OT convergence, driven by the need to operate more efficiently, increase productivity, and not be left behind in a digitally driven environment.
“We are seeing technologies such as AI/ML, hybrid cloud, and data analytics playing a role in accelerating the convergence of CT, IT, and OT. Solutions developed from the convergence of CT, IT, and OT will centre around predictive maintenance, production fault detection, data transparency, and automated network healing, explains Yih-Khai Wong, distributed and edge computing senior analyst at ABI Research.
The convergence of CT, IT, and OT will enable organisations to harness and benefit from their technology investments fully. According to Wong, “The goal is to integrate data created and stored in network infrastructures, enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, and product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, breaking down data silos by leveraging digital platforms powered by edge and cloud computing resources.”
The availability of cloud computational components ensures that organisations can procure resources based on current business needs. The buzz and demand around AI/ ML processing tools help organisations process workloads to analyse, predict, and make recommendations based on data from the convergence of CT, IT, and OT.
“The convergence of CT, IT, and OT is poised to be a game changer. However, technology providers must build deep strategic relationships to drive demand and adoption of this converged platform. Cloud hyperscalers, data centre infrastructure providers, independent software vendors (ISVs), and operational platform providers will need to work closely together to deploy an integrated solution to customers,” Wong concludes.
