In the age of digital transformation, innovative User Experience requires interactions with non-IT devices in the physical world. Industrial control systems (ICS) have evolved, and they are now increasingly connected to Business Applications in the Cloud. Operational technology (OT) environments present unique monitoring challenges due to legacy systems, proprietary protocols, and real-time data requirements.
In the evolving landscape of IT and operational technology (OT) convergence, IT operations teams find themselves tasked with the management of IoT and OT systems. However, their existing monitoring solutions are proving inadequate to meet the demands of this new reality. Challenges emerge as clear visibility on all critical equipment at each site becomes elusive, compounded by a lack of insight into the end-to-end flow between site operations and applications. Consequently, the repercussions are tangible: disruptions and downtime go unnoticed for extended periods, impacting business continuity and performance. In some cases, the resolution requires physical intervention, with on-site personnel dispatched to rectify issues, highlighting the urgency for a more comprehensive and efficient monitoring solution.
IT & OT convergence: typical sectors
- Industry, Manufacturing, Logistics
- Retail, Bank & Insurance networks
- Utilities, Telecommunication, Transportation
- Academic, Education & Research
- Housing Management, Residential Care, Hotels
Monitoring OT, what to monitor?
- Network (e.g. industrial switch)
- Management systems/controllers (e.g. Schneider Modicon, Siemens SIMATIC)
- Devices (e.g. temperature sensor, painting robot)
- Industrial data (e.g. temperature, speed, counter)
OT terminolgy
- Programmable logic controllers (PLCs)
- Remote terminal units (RTUs)
- Industrial control systems (ICS)
- Distributed control systems (DCS)
- Human machine interfaces (HMIs)
- Supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA)
- Industrial internet of things (IIoT)
Centreon and OT monitoring
Centreon offers specialized OT monitoring capabilities through a range of pure OT connectors, ensuring comprehensive coverage of critical equipment and systems. These connectors include:
- VerneMQ: Designed to monitor VerneMQ, an open-source MQTT broker, it provides insights into clusters, listeners, plugins, and sessions, enabling efficient management and optimization.
- Modbus: Supporting both TCP and RTU protocols, the Modbus connector facilitates seamless integration with Modbus-enabled devices, enhancing monitoring and control capabilities.
- Over 20 SNMP sensors cater to diverse needs such as energy or environmental control, cameras, etc., covering leading brands including ABB, APC, Geist, Jacarta, Rittal, SensorGateway, Optelecom, Mobotix, Hikvision, Hanwha, and more.
- Additionally, Centreon offers over 20 SNMP Power Distribution Units connectors, supporting brands like APC, Eaton, Emerson, Raritan, and others, ensuring comprehensive monitoring and management of power distribution infrastructure. These connectors empower organizations to effectively monitor and manage their OT environments, ensuring optimal performance, reliability, and security.
Centreon’s IT monitoring platform: a comprehensive solution tailored to the needs of various
Industry and Manufacturing:
- Legacy System Compatibility: Centreon’s flexible architecture allows seamless integration with legacy OT systems, enabling organizations to monitor industrial control systems (ICS) and SCADA systems without disrupting existing operations.
- Multi-Protocol Support: Centreon supports a wide range of communication protocols commonly used in manufacturing environments, including Modbus, ensuring compatibility with diverse OT devices and equipment.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Centreon’s real-time monitoring capabilities enable organizations to track KPIs and operational metrics in real-time, facilitating proactive maintenance and troubleshooting to minimize downtime and optimize production efficiency.
Utilities and Telecommunication:
- Interoperability with Utility Systems: Centreon’s open-source architecture allows seamless integration with utility systems such as smart grids and telecommunications networks, enabling organizations to monitor energy distribution, network performance, and service availability in real-time.
- Customizable Dashboards: Centreon’s customizable dashboards provide utilities and telecommunication companies with real-time visibility into critical infrastructure, allowing operators to monitor key parameters, detect anomalies, and respond to events promptly to minimize service disruptions and ensure regulatory compliance.
- Advanced Analytics: Centreon’s advanced analytics capabilities enable utilities and telecommunication providers to analyze historical data trends, forecast future demand, and optimize resource allocation to improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Retail, Bank & Insurance Networks:
- POS System Monitoring: Centreon’s monitoring platform seamlessly integrates with point-of-sale (POS) systems and automated teller machines (ATMs), enabling retail and banking organizations to monitor transaction volumes, response times, and system availability in real-time to ensure smooth operations and prevent revenue loss due to downtime or fraud.
- Security and Compliance: Centreon’s comprehensive monitoring solution helps retail, banking, and insurance networks maintain compliance with industry regulations and security standards by monitoring access control systems, surveillance cameras, and alarm systems, detecting security breaches or unauthorized access attempts, and generating real-time alerts for immediate response.
- Customer Experience Optimization: Centreon’s monitoring platform enables organizations to analyze customer behavior, track website performance, and monitor application responsiveness to optimize the customer experience, increase conversion rates, and drive revenue growth in retail, banking, and insurance sectors.
Academic, Education & Research:
- Laboratory Equipment Monitoring: Centreon’s monitoring platform integrates with laboratory equipment and scientific instruments used in academic and research institutions, enabling researchers and educators to monitor experiment parameters, collect data in real-time, and analyze results to support scientific discoveries and educational initiatives.
- Campus Safety and Security: Centreon’s monitoring solution helps academic institutions enhance campus safety and security by monitoring access control systems, surveillance cameras, and emergency notification systems, detecting security incidents or safety hazards, and providing real-time alerts to campus security personnel for timely response and resolution.
- Resource Allocation Optimization: Centreon’s monitoring platform enables academic and research institutions to optimize resource allocation, track equipment usage, and monitor facility conditions to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and support research and educational activities across diverse disciplines and departments.
Housing Management, Residential Care, Hotels:
- Building Automation Integration: Centreon’s monitoring platform seamlessly integrates with building automation systems (BAS) and guest room management systems used in housing management, residential care, and hotel facilities, enabling organizations to monitor HVAC systems, lighting, access control, and guest amenities in real-time to enhance resident and guest comfort, safety, and satisfaction.
- Facility Maintenance Optimization: Centreon’s monitoring solution helps housing management, residential care, and hotel organizations optimize facility maintenance, track equipment performance, and detect maintenance issues or equipment failures in real-time to minimize downtime, reduce repair costs, and ensure uninterrupted operations.
- Service Quality Assurance: Centreon’s monitoring platform enables organizations in the housing management, residential care, and hotel sectors to monitor service delivery, track service requests, and measure service response times to ensure high-quality customer service, enhance guest satisfaction, and maintain a competitive edge in the hospitality industry.
Some Centreon’s OT monitoring examples from the field
- Monitoring utility distribution (water, electricity, gas, heating energy) for a Switzerland utility company
- Monitoring electricity distribution, traffic control and check-in terminals for a German airport
- Monitoring the waters dams that cool down Nuclear Plants for a French organization
- Monitoring the cold storage equipment temperature for a Japanese food supplier
- Monitoring Parking Lots for a Belgium parking management company
- Monitoring digital radio broadcasting towers and infrastructure (DAB+) for a national radio
- Monitoring the applications that control bridge crane in the American steel plants of a world’s leading steel and mining company
- Monitoring a Belgium science museum 50 interactive experiences (50 of them)
- Monitoring of 1000 jewellery shops for an international group with 10 brands in 7 countries.
Centreon’s monitoring platform offers a comprehensive solution for monitoring OT environments across various sectors, such as industry, utilities, retail, academia, and hospitality, and more.
With its seamless integration capabilities, multi-protocol support, real-time monitoring features, and advanced analytics capabilities, Centreon enables organizations to gain comprehensive visibility and control over their OT systems and equipment, optimize operational efficiency, ensure regulatory compliance, and enhance customer satisfaction across diverse industries and sectors.
To go further :
- Interactive demo: monitor OT with Centreon, explore a real-life IT & OT convergence case. Access the OT demo now!
- Meet the challenges of IT and OT convergence to connect the physical and digital worlds. Check out our ebook “Bridging the physical and digital worlds”, where we help IT Operations teams navigate convergence challenges and share expert tips for achieving smooth visibility and efficiency! Download our ebook.
- Have a look at our blog Monitoring OT with Centreon and Raspberry Pi
- Learn more about Centreon editions: The Centreon platform is available in several editions. Choose the one that best suits your needs. Compare Centreon editions. Centreon Monitoring is available as a SaaS version. Discover Centreon Cloud.
- Contact us for a Centreon demo.
- To keep up to date with Centreon news and event, sign up for our newsletter.
- Visit our resource center: ebooks, guides, reports, success stories, tutorials, and more to help you in your IT monitoring 🙂
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