IT and OT convergence in action at Siemens
The manufacturing industry is in constant motion as leaders pursue operational resilience, efficiency, and innovation. ServiceNow and Siemens have partnered to transform shop floor operations.
The collaboration aims to integrate IT and operational technology (OT) systems to power smart factories. It brings together Siemens’ 180 years of OT and industrial automation expertise with ServiceNow’s domain expertise in IT Service Management (ITSM) and IT Asset Management (ITAM).
IT and OT convergence has led to the co-creation of Industrial Asset Hub. This solution helps manufacturers discover, identify, and manage industrial assets, such as programmable logic controllers and industrial PCs, across the enterprise. We caught up with Michael Leipold, digital transformation specialist at Siemens, to find out what makes the partnership special.
How did the Siemens partnership begin?
In 2022, Siemens set out to develop disruptive software services through the Siemens Xcelerator project. The team focused on uniting IT and OT asset management solutions to deliver gains on the shop floor.
The decision to join forces with ServiceNow came about naturally. Leipold explains, “Of course, we came to ServiceNow. They know what works on the IT side. And for the past 15 years, ServiceNow has been doing our ITSM and ITAM. Why not team up?”
The partnership quickly expanded beyond OT asset management to include OT vulnerability management and security components. Industrial Asset Hub combines Siemens SINEC Security Guard and the ServiceNow AI Platform, including OT Visibility and OT Vulnerability Response.
Industrial Asset Hub is being successfully deployed in Siemens factories, with plans to roll out in more than 100 locations worldwide. It will connect Siemens’ OT assets to the ServiceNow AI Platform to power next-generation asset and service management.
Now, Siemens and ServiceNow are offering Industrial Asset Hub to manufacturers around the world—setting new industry standards for IT and OT convergence.
What problems does IT and OT convergence solve?
Siemens and ServiceNow want to transform the manual, error-prone, and siloed management of OT assets on the shop floor. Industrial Asset Hub enables workers to flexibly manage OT devices at scale with a centralised, cloud-based management service for assets from a wide range of vendors.
It features two components:
- OT service management: ServiceNow helps Siemens deliver connected service management with Siemens’ own equipment—from onboarding dynamic assets on the shop floor to managing risk, incident response, maintenance, and equipment disposal or exchange.
- Cyber resilience: Connecting Siemens solutions with ServiceNow tools creates a firewall and provides visibility into the complete asset repository so that employees can identify and respond to vulnerabilities.
Industrial Asset Hub scans the shop floor to automatically discover devices, build an inventory, and identify which equipment requires firmware updates or new security measures. Service personnel can remotely connect to specific devices and update software configurations using information about the vendor, part number, and stock—all in one place.
Full transparency can help avoid unplanned maintenance tasks, create time and cost savings, and protect against cyber security risks. “You want to be protected in this ever-more-connected world, and for that, you need to have visibility over what you need to protect. That’s where OT visibility comes in,” Leipold explains.
What was the co-creation process like?
The partnership succeeds by combining each company’s strengths. Siemens offers its OT industry expertise and customer base, while ServiceNow brings IT domain expertise and pioneering technology.
For Leipold, co-creation with ServiceNow embodies the spirit championed by Siemens Xcelerator: “It’s fantastic to see our development teams directly collaborating and combining their skills. To me, this is agility in practice—fully aligned with the ‘less talking, more doing’ mindset we value at Siemens.”
The partnership has introduced a fresh, agile approach for Siemens. Leipold’s team looks forward to further opportunities to co-create solutions, gain critical insights, and build hands-on experience with ServiceNow.
How is the partnership changing manufacturing?
Co-creation can help solve long-standing challenges in manufacturing. One problem Leipold highlights is the IT-OT divide: IT and OT often operate in conflict, as there’s a large gap between the two domains. IT workers may not understand why their established methods don’t work in OT, and OT workers typically aren’t interested in cyber security, which they view as an IT topic.
It’s better to engage them by focusing on areas that directly impact their work, such as service management. ServiceNow helps Siemens connect with IT customer personas and speak their language, and Siemens knows how to reach an OT audience.
Building an open and adaptive ecosystem is another challenge. For truly efficient factory operations, solutions must be modular and interoperable.
By co-developing a product that integrates seamlessly with third-party portfolios, the partnership helps ensure customers can easily implement new capabilities without disrupting their running factory environments.
“There are so many different ways we can collaborate to accomplish more. That’s how we want to go forward and tackle things,” Leipold says. “For now, it’s about coming together to understand what our customers are asking for.”
Find out how ServiceNow can help you transform your shop floor operations.