The Problem

Since the 1980s, the building control systems manufacturers such as Johnson Controls, Honeywell, Siemens, Schneider, Otis, Lutron and others have been designing their operational technology (OT) systems to work on and depend on computer servers, operating systems, protocols, local area networking (LAN) and remote Internet access along with other information technology (IT) attributes.

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However, those responsible for designing, installing and maintaining them for the past 40 years such as architects, engi­neers, contractors, facility managers, property managers, and asset managers have neither IT nor cybersecurity skills. Thus, the systemic risk is that the entire building control systems value chain does not have IT skill sets. Therefore, the size of the risk and the opportunity is immense because this is a legacy building stock problem and not a modern, so-called smart building problem.

“…the systemic risk is that the entire building control systems value chain does not have IT skill sets.”

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WHITEPAPER: Cybersecurity for OT vs. IT

To further complicate the problem, traditional IT and IoT companies, solutions and professionals lack the technical knowledge and cultural awareness of building OT systems.

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Many IT firms have attempted to provide smart building solutions and services related to controls systems and have failed with the exception of traditional back-office software such as work order management and asset management, along with some high-level data base, data lake and analytics solutions that are generally disconnected from the front-line building systems. As a result, IT companies are virtually non-existent in the building controls OT cybersecurity world.

“…traditional IT and IoT companies, solutions and professionals lack the technical knowledge and cultural awareness of building OT systems.”

This is where Totem steps in to bridge the gap between OT and IT and automate cybersecurity oversight of multiple OT building systems. This allows owners and managers to have confidence that even with the fragmentation and turnover in the facility environment there is consistency in the inventory, set up, profiles and backup of their systems across the entire portfolio.

» Learn more about the Totem Solution

The Totem Solution - Bridge the gap between OT and IT

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