IGEL Blog
Why IT/OT Convergence Is More Critical Than Ever
In today’s volatile geopolitical climate, the line between cyber and physical risk has all but disappeared. Industrial control systems, manufacturing floors, and critical infrastructure are now prime targets for cyberattacks — often launched by well-resourced, state-sponsored actors using “living-off-the-land” techniques to evade detection. As operational technology (OT) environments become increasingly connected to IT networks for efficiency, analytics, and remote operations, the attack surface expands dramatically. This reality has pushed IT/OT convergence from a theoretical best practice to an urgent operational imperative.
At the same time, regulatory pressure is mounting. Mandates such as the EU’s NIS2 Directive, U.S. CIRCIA requirements, and sector-specific standards like NERC CIP and ISA/IEC 62443 demand unified security monitoring, integrated incident response, and holistic risk management across both IT and OT. Coupled with the board-level focus on operational resilience and the adoption of Zero Trust principles, organizations must move quickly to establish seamless, secure interoperability between these historically siloed environments.
However, the path to convergence can be fraught with complexity. Disparate systems, legacy hardware, and inconsistent endpoint security create friction for integrators tasked with delivering a unified, compliant architecture. Most platforms still operate within either a legacy OT or modern IT paradigm — rarely both — leading to disjointed solutions that increase risk and operational overhead.
IGEL bridges this gap. With IGEL OS, the Unified Management Suite (UMS), and the IGEL Managed Hypervisor (IMH), organizations gain a unified management and integration plane across IT and OT endpoints. Centralized control, consistent policy enforcement, and flexible integration capabilities break down operational silos, boosting agility and maximizing uptime.
Security is engineered into the platform, not added as an afterthought. IGEL’s architecture supports segmentation and workload isolation by design — enabling enclave-based segmentation tied to enrollment policies through UMS, and safe coexistence of IT and OT workloads via virtualization in IMH. This aligns directly with Zero Trust and micro-segmentation best practices, addressing one of the security community’s top concerns in convergence scenarios.
For organizations virtualizing the edge, IGEL’s lightweight OS is optimized for secure, high-performance delivery of virtual desktops and containerized applications in partnership with industry leaders. By enabling virtualization at the edge, IGEL helps industrial companies reduce hardware dependencies, scale more flexibly, and respond faster to operational demands — all while future-proofing their infrastructure.
Finally, IGEL empowers compliance-driven modernization. Its Zero Trust–ready architecture supports strong identity management, network segmentation, secure workload orchestration, and continuous monitoring — helping organizations meet frameworks like ISA/IEC 62443 with confidence.
The convergence of IT and OT is no longer optional — it is essential for competitiveness, resilience, and security in the face of rapid digital transformation. IGEL provides the foundation to do it right: a unified endpoint OS, integrated management capabilities, and built-in security that remove friction for integrators, accelerate deployment, and strengthen the organization’s overall security posture. With IGEL and the IGEL Ready partner ecosystem, you gain a unified platform that empowers both IT and OT environments through a common, secure foundation.
Why IT/OT Convergence Is More Critical Than Ever
- Escalating Cyber Threats in a Geopolitical Context
- State-Sponsored Attacks on Critical Infrastructure – Recent geopolitical conflicts (Ukraine war, Middle East tensions, Asia-Pacific flashpoints) have shown a clear pattern: adversaries target industrial control systems (ICS), energy grids, manufacturing lines, and logistics networks.
- Living-off-the-Land (LotL) Tactics – Attackers increasingly use legitimate tools and protocols already in your environment to move laterally, evade detection, and pivot between IT and OT systems.
- Converged Attack Surface – OT environments are no longer isolated. Remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, and smart manufacturing all rely on IT connectivity — making OT vulnerable through IT entry points.
Bottom line: Without IT/OT convergence, you get fragmented visibility and delayed response, which adversaries exploit.
- Operational Resilience Is a Boardroom Issue
- Downtime Costs Are Extreme – For manufacturing, energy, or logistics, a single OT outage can cost millions per day, far beyond typical IT disruptions.
- Supply Chain Interdependencies – A breach in OT can halt production, delay deliveries, and ripple across global supply chains.
- C-Suite & Board Awareness – Executive teams increasingly demand unified security postures to manage enterprise risk holistically.
Learn more about Secure, Managed IT and OT Systems.
- Regulatory and Compliance Pressure
- Government Mandates – Regulations like:
- U.S. CIRCIA & TSA Security Directives
- EU NIS2 Directive
- IEC 62443 Standards
- NERC CIP for the energy sector
…explicitly require integrated risk management, reporting, and coordinated incident response for IT and OT.
- Insurance Requirements – Cyber insurers now demand demonstrable governance, compliance, and security best practices — requiring proof of improved security posture, business continuity measures, and proactive risk reduction programs as conditions for coverage and premium optimization.”
Download the solution brief to learn how IGEL’s Managed Hypervisor supports compliance-driven IT/OT convergence.
- Technology Drivers Making Convergence Feasible
- Unified Security Platforms – Modern SIEM, SOAR, and XDR tools now ingest both IT and OT telemetry in real time.
- Industrial IoT (IIoT) – Sensors and edge devices stream operational data into IT analytics platforms for performance optimization, making integration unavoidable.
- Cloud & Remote Operations – Remote maintenance and monitoring are standard, breaking traditional OT air-gaps.
- OT Edge Modernization – Enabled through edge virtualization and AI, organizations can extend the life and sustainability of legacy OT equipment while consolidating workloads, enhancing security, and seamlessly integrating systems across the edge-to-cloud continuum.
Explore the IGEL Ready Ecosystem to see how IGEL and partners enable secure IT/OT integration.
- Zero Trust as a Strategic Enabler
- Why Zero Trust Matters in IT/OT Convergence:
- Identity-Centric Security – No user or device (human or machine) is implicitly trusted, whether in IT or OT.
- Micro segmentation – Limits lateral movement between IT and OT zones.
- Continuous Verification – Ensures that changes in device posture or anomalous behavior trigger automated containment.
- Zero Trust architecture provides a shared security language and control framework for both environments.
- From Discussion to Implementation — Key Shifts
- Threat Reality Check – High-profile ICS breaches (Colonial Pipeline, Oldsmar water plant) moved the conversation from hypothetical to urgent.
- Board-Level Sponsorship – Convergence is now tied to enterprise risk KPIs, not just “cybersecurity” metrics.
- Vendor Ecosystem Maturity – Vendors now offer integrated IT/OT security solutions, reducing operational complexity.
- Cross-Functional Teams – IT and OT teams are being reorganized under shared governance models.
In essence:
IT/OT convergence is no longer about cost optimization or “future-proofing” — it’s about national security, operational survival, and compliance reality. Geopolitics has accelerated the risk, regulatory bodies have codified the requirement, and technologies like Zero Trust give the framework to do it securely.
The journey to convergence is accelerating — and the organizations that act now will set the pace for resilience and security. Join us at IGEL Now & Next Frankfurt, November 4-6, 2025, at the ultimate EUC event of the year to learn more about how IGEL and our ecosystem partners are redefining IT/OT convergence.
About the Author
John Walsh is Field CTO for Government, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Retail/Transportation, and OT/IoT at IGEL. A recognized expert in cybersecurity architecture and frameworks, he leads IGEL’s go-to-market efforts across these sectors. John has held senior leadership positions at both public and private companies, including strategy, technology, and product leadership roles at BlueRock Systems, BlackRidge Technology International, Analog Devices, Sypris Electronics, and Ducommun Technologies. He also serves on several cybersecurity and resilience advisory boards and holds 15 patents, with additional patents pending, in cyber-related technologies.
