IT Services for Manufacturing Companies
Protect production systems, secure OT/IT networks, and meet CMMC supply chain requirements with managed technology services built for manufacturers.
Why Manufacturers Need Specialized IT Services
IT services for manufacturing companies are managed technology solutions designed to protect production environments, bridge the gap between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT), and satisfy the compliance requirements that govern modern supply chains. Unlike general-purpose IT support, manufacturing IT services must account for industrial control systems, uptime demands that rival hospitals, and an expanding attack surface created by smart factory technologies and Industry 4.0 initiatives. Every manufacturer, from a 50-person precision machining shop to a multi-plant automotive supplier, depends on technology infrastructure that keeps production lines running and intellectual property protected.
The convergence of OT and IT is the defining technology challenge for manufacturing in 2026. For decades, plant floor systems like programmable logic controllers (PLCs), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and human-machine interfaces (HMIs) operated on isolated networks with minimal connection to corporate IT. That isolation is disappearing. Manufacturers are connecting production systems to enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, manufacturing execution systems (MES), cloud-based analytics dashboards, and remote monitoring tools to gain visibility into operations and improve efficiency. Every new connection between the plant floor and the corporate network creates a pathway that attackers can exploit. The 2024 Dragos OT Cybersecurity Year in Review found that ransomware attacks against manufacturing organizations increased 50% year over year, making manufacturing the most targeted sector for OT-focused cyberattacks for the fourth consecutive year.
Supply chain compliance adds another layer of complexity. Manufacturers that supply the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) must comply with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, which requires implementation of security practices derived from NIST SP 800-171. Prime contractors are increasingly flowing these requirements down to subcontractors and sub-tier suppliers. International manufacturers face ISO 27001 requirements from European customers and sector-specific standards from automotive (TISAX), aerospace (AS9100), and food safety (FSMA) regulators. A manufacturer that cannot demonstrate adequate cybersecurity controls risks losing contracts regardless of the quality of its products.
Petronella Technology Group provides managed IT services built for manufacturers that cannot afford production downtime, intellectual property theft, or compliance failures. With more than 23 years of experience supporting regulated industries across the Raleigh-Durham area and throughout the Southeast, our team understands how to secure environments where a network misconfiguration can halt a production line and where a single ransomware incident can cost millions in lost output. We design, implement, and manage IT and OT security environments that keep your factory running, your data protected, and your compliance posture current.
OT/IT Convergence: Securing the Connected Factory
The traditional separation between operational technology and information technology is collapsing. Manufacturers that once kept their SCADA systems, PLCs, and industrial controllers on completely isolated networks are now connecting those systems to corporate IT infrastructure to enable real-time production monitoring, predictive maintenance, and supply chain integration. This convergence delivers significant operational benefits, but it also exposes production systems to cyber threats that were never a concern when the plant floor was air-gapped from the internet.
Understanding how to architect a converged OT/IT environment without introducing unacceptable risk requires familiarity with the Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture, also known as the Purdue model. This framework defines hierarchical levels that separate physical processes (Level 0) from sensors and actuators (Level 1), control systems (Level 2), manufacturing operations (Level 3), enterprise systems (Level 4), and the internet (Level 5). The critical boundary is the industrial demilitarized zone (IDMZ) between Levels 3 and 4, which controls all data flow between the plant floor and the corporate network. A properly implemented IDMZ prevents a phishing email that compromises an office workstation from reaching the programmable logic controllers that run your assembly line.
| Purdue Level | Systems | Security Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Level 5: Enterprise Network | Internet, email, cloud services, VPN gateways | Firewalls, web filtering, email security, endpoint protection, MFA for all remote access |
| Level 4: Business Systems | ERP (SAP, Oracle, Epicor), CRM, HR systems, file servers | Network segmentation from OT, role-based access controls, patch management, audit logging |
| IDMZ: Demilitarized Zone | Data diodes, jump servers, historian mirrors, application proxies | No direct traffic between IT and OT; all data passes through intermediary systems with inspection |
| Level 3: Manufacturing Operations | MES, batch management, plant historians, production scheduling | Whitelisted applications, OT-specific intrusion detection, change management controls |
| Level 2: Control Systems | SCADA, HMI, DCS, engineering workstations | No internet access, USB restrictions, OT endpoint protection, firmware integrity monitoring |
| Level 1: Sensors and Actuators | PLCs, RTUs, variable frequency drives, safety instrumented systems | Physical access controls, network isolation, protocol-aware monitoring |
| Level 0: Physical Process | Motors, valves, conveyors, robotic arms, CNC machines | Safety systems independent of network, physical safeguards, emergency shutoff |
SCADA and ICS Security
SCADA and industrial control system (ICS) security requires a fundamentally different approach than traditional IT security. Many industrial controllers run proprietary operating systems or legacy versions of Windows that cannot be patched without risking production stability. Vulnerability scanning tools designed for IT networks can crash PLCs and cause physical equipment damage. Security monitoring must understand industrial protocols like Modbus, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, and OPC UA rather than just TCP/IP traffic. Petronella Technology Group deploys OT-specific security tools that passively monitor industrial network traffic without disrupting production, identify unauthorized changes to controller configurations, and alert on anomalous communication patterns that could indicate an intrusion.
Air-Gapped vs. Connected Environments
Some manufacturers maintain fully air-gapped OT environments with no electronic connection to the corporate network. While air-gapping provides strong isolation, it is not a complete security solution. USB drives used to transfer production data, update firmware, or load new programs can carry malware into air-gapped networks. The Stuxnet attack demonstrated that even isolated industrial systems can be compromised through removable media. For manufacturers transitioning from air-gapped to connected environments, we design phased migration plans that implement defense-in-depth controls at each stage, ensuring that connectivity never outpaces security. For those maintaining air gaps, we implement USB device control policies, secure data transfer stations, and physical access procedures that reduce the risk of bridging the gap unintentionally.
Protect Your Production Systems from Cyber Threats
Our manufacturing IT specialists will assess your OT/IT environment and identify vulnerabilities before attackers do.
Schedule Free OT/IT Assessment Call 919-348-4912Manufacturing IT Services We Provide
Our manufacturing IT services address the full technology stack that production environments depend on, from industrial network security and control system protection to cloud migration and compliance documentation. Each service is delivered with an understanding of the unique constraints manufacturers face: uptime requirements measured in minutes, not hours; legacy systems that cannot be taken offline for patching; and regulatory frameworks that span defense, automotive, aerospace, and food safety.
OT Network Security
We secure operational technology networks with passive monitoring tools that identify every asset on your industrial network, detect unauthorized configuration changes to PLCs and controllers, and alert on anomalous traffic patterns without disrupting production. Our OT security services include industrial network traffic analysis, protocol-aware intrusion detection for Modbus, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, and OPC UA, and continuous asset inventory management. We deploy dedicated OT security platforms that understand industrial environments and do not interfere with real-time control processes.
IT/OT Network Segmentation
We design and implement network segmentation architectures based on the Purdue model that separate your plant floor systems from your corporate IT environment. Our segmentation services include IDMZ design and deployment, VLAN configuration for production zones, firewall rule development with industrial protocol awareness, and data diode implementation for one-way data flow from OT to IT networks. Proper segmentation ensures that a compromised office workstation cannot reach your control systems and that a malware outbreak on the plant floor cannot spread to your business systems.
MES and ERP System Support
We provide infrastructure support for major manufacturing execution systems and enterprise resource planning platforms including SAP S/4HANA, Oracle Cloud Manufacturing, Epicor Kinetic, Infor CloudSuite Industrial, Plex, and IQMS (DELMIAworks). Our services cover server sizing and optimization, database performance tuning, integration between MES and ERP platforms, interface configuration with shop floor data collection systems, and user access management. We ensure that the infrastructure running your production planning and execution software performs reliably under the transaction volumes that manufacturing operations generate.
CMMC Compliance for Supply Chain
Manufacturers in the defense supply chain must achieve CMMC certification to continue competing for DoD contracts. We help manufacturers at every tier implement the security practices required by CMMC Level 2, which maps to the 110 controls in NIST SP 800-171. Our compliance services include gap assessments against CMMC requirements, System Security Plan (SSP) development, Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) creation, CUI scoping and data flow mapping, and preparation for third-party CMMC assessments. See our CMMC compliance guide for a detailed breakdown of what manufacturers need to know.
Backup and Disaster Recovery for Production
Production data is irreplaceable. A ransomware attack that encrypts your MES database, ERP system, and CNC program library can halt manufacturing operations for days or weeks. Our backup and disaster recovery solutions protect production data with automated, encrypted backups stored both on-site for rapid recovery and in geographically separate cloud locations for catastrophic scenarios. We back up PLC programs, HMI configurations, robot teach files, and CNC programs alongside traditional IT data. Recovery time objectives are defined based on the cost per hour of production downtime at your facility.
Cybersecurity Monitoring
Our cybersecurity services protect manufacturing environments with layered defenses spanning both IT and OT networks. We deploy next-generation firewalls, endpoint detection and response (EDR) on IT systems, OT-specific network detection and response (NDR), email security gateways, DNS filtering, and 24/7 security operations center (SOC) monitoring. Threat intelligence feeds keep defenses current against manufacturing-specific threats including ransomware groups that target production environments, nation-state actors seeking intellectual property, and supply chain compromise techniques.
Cloud Migration for Manufacturing
We help manufacturers migrate appropriate workloads to cloud platforms while keeping latency-sensitive production systems on-premises where they belong. Cloud migration services include assessment of workload suitability, hybrid architecture design that keeps MES and SCADA local while moving ERP, email, and collaboration tools to the cloud, data migration with integrity verification, and user training. We work with AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, selecting the right environment based on your application requirements, compliance obligations, and existing vendor relationships.
Secure Remote Access for Plant Floor
Equipment vendors, remote engineers, and multi-site operations teams all need access to plant floor systems. Uncontrolled remote access is one of the most common entry points for attacks on manufacturing environments. We implement secure remote access solutions with multi-factor authentication, session recording, just-in-time access provisioning, and role-based permissions that restrict each user to only the systems they need. Remote access sessions are logged, monitored, and subject to automatic timeout. VPN connections terminate in the IDMZ rather than providing direct access to the OT network.
Supply Chain Compliance for Manufacturers
Modern manufacturers face compliance requirements from multiple directions. Defense contractors impose CMMC and NIST 800-171 obligations. International customers require ISO 27001 certification. Automotive OEMs mandate TISAX compliance. Food and pharmaceutical manufacturers must address FDA regulations and FSMA requirements that increasingly include cybersecurity provisions. Meeting these overlapping frameworks requires a structured approach that identifies common controls and builds an information security program that satisfies multiple requirements simultaneously.
CMMC for Defense Suppliers
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program requires all companies in the defense industrial base (DIB) to demonstrate cybersecurity maturity before they can receive or process Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) under DoD contracts. For most manufacturers in the supply chain, this means achieving CMMC Level 2 certification, which requires implementation of all 110 security controls in NIST SP 800-171 and a third-party assessment by an authorized C3PAO. The CMMC final rule became effective in December 2024, and contract clauses requiring certification are being phased into new solicitations. Manufacturers that are not actively working toward certification risk being excluded from defense work as prime contractors select compliant suppliers.
NIST 800-171 for CUI Protection
NIST Special Publication 800-171 defines the security requirements for protecting CUI in non-federal systems. For manufacturers, CUI can include technical drawings, manufacturing specifications, test results, quality reports, and contract information. The 110 controls span 14 families including access control, audit and accountability, configuration management, identification and authentication, incident response, media protection, and system and communications protection. Each control must be implemented, documented in a System Security Plan, and any gaps tracked in a Plan of Action and Milestones. We help manufacturers scope their CUI environment to minimize the systems subject to these controls, implement the required technical and administrative safeguards, and prepare documentation that will withstand assessment scrutiny.
ISO 27001 for International Markets
Manufacturers selling to European and multinational customers increasingly face ISO 27001 certification requirements as a condition of doing business. ISO 27001 establishes an information security management system (ISMS) framework that covers risk assessment, security controls, management commitment, and continuous improvement. While the control objectives overlap significantly with NIST 800-171, the management system requirements and audit approach differ. We help manufacturers build integrated compliance programs that satisfy both frameworks without duplicating effort, reducing the total cost and administrative burden of maintaining multiple certifications.
Defense Supply Chain Compliance Is Not Optional
Our CMMC Registered Practitioners help manufacturers achieve and maintain the certification required to compete for DoD contracts.
Start Your CMMC Gap Assessment Call 919-348-4912Industry 4.0: IT Infrastructure for the Smart Factory
Industry 4.0 technologies are transforming manufacturing from batch-and-queue production to data-driven, adaptive operations. IoT sensors on production equipment generate terabytes of data. Edge computing platforms process that data in real time to detect quality deviations before defective parts reach the next station. Predictive maintenance algorithms analyze vibration, temperature, and power consumption patterns to schedule maintenance before equipment fails. Digital twins create virtual replicas of production lines that allow engineers to test changes before implementing them on the physical floor. Each of these technologies requires IT infrastructure that most manufacturers do not have today.
IoT Sensor Networks
Industrial IoT deployments can place hundreds or thousands of sensors across a manufacturing facility, monitoring everything from bearing temperature and motor vibration to ambient conditions and material flow. These sensor networks generate continuous data streams that must be collected, transmitted, and stored reliably. We design IoT network architectures that provide adequate bandwidth and reliability for sensor data, segment IoT traffic from production and corporate networks, and implement device authentication to prevent unauthorized sensors from connecting to your infrastructure.
Edge Computing
Not all manufacturing data can afford the latency of a round trip to the cloud. Quality inspection algorithms that must render a pass/fail decision in milliseconds, real-time process control adjustments, and safety-critical monitoring all require computing power at or near the production line. We deploy and manage edge computing infrastructure that processes time-sensitive data locally while forwarding aggregated results to cloud platforms for long-term storage and analysis. Edge nodes are hardened, monitored, and backed up with the same rigor as traditional IT infrastructure.
Predictive Maintenance Infrastructure
Predictive maintenance promises to eliminate unplanned downtime by identifying equipment failures before they occur. Delivering on that promise requires reliable data collection from sensors, sufficient computing resources to run machine learning models, and integration with your computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to automatically generate work orders. We build the data pipeline that connects your equipment sensors to your analytics platform and ensures that predictions reach maintenance teams in time to schedule repairs during planned downtime windows.
Digital Twin Infrastructure
Digital twins require real-time data feeds from production equipment, high-performance computing resources for simulation, and visualization platforms that make the virtual model useful to engineers and operators. We provide the network infrastructure, server resources, and data integration that digital twin platforms like Siemens Xcelerator, PTC ThingWorx, and Azure Digital Twins depend on. Our infrastructure ensures that the digital twin stays synchronized with the physical production environment and that simulation results are available when engineers need them.
Our Process: Manufacturing IT Engagement
Every manufacturing environment is different. A food processing plant has different requirements than an aerospace machine shop. Our engagement process is designed to understand your specific production environment, compliance obligations, and technology goals before we recommend or implement anything.
Discovery and Environment Assessment
We conduct a comprehensive assessment of your IT and OT environments, including network architecture, asset inventory, security controls, compliance status, and current pain points. For OT environments, we use passive scanning tools that identify every connected device without disrupting production. The assessment produces a detailed report of your current state, identified risks, and compliance gaps that forms the foundation for all subsequent work.
Architecture Design and Planning
Based on assessment findings, we design a target architecture that addresses identified risks, meets your compliance requirements, and supports your operational goals. The design follows the Purdue model for OT/IT segmentation, incorporates defense-in-depth principles, and accounts for your production schedule constraints. Every change is planned with rollback procedures to ensure that implementation cannot cause unplanned downtime.
Phased Implementation
We implement changes in phases aligned with your production schedule, prioritizing the highest-risk items first. Network segmentation, critical patching, and access control improvements typically come first. Infrastructure upgrades, cloud migrations, and advanced monitoring capabilities follow in subsequent phases. Each phase includes testing, validation, and documentation before proceeding to the next. We coordinate all work with your production team to avoid impact to manufacturing output.
Monitoring and Managed Services
Once the target architecture is in place, we provide ongoing monitoring and management of both IT and OT environments. Our monitoring covers network health, security events, backup status, patch compliance, and system performance. We maintain your documentation, manage vendor relationships for industrial technology, and provide help desk support for your staff. Regular reports keep your leadership informed about system health, security posture, and compliance status.
Continuous Improvement and Compliance Maintenance
Manufacturing environments and threat landscapes change constantly. New production lines are added, equipment is upgraded, and compliance requirements evolve. We conduct quarterly reviews of your security posture, update documentation to reflect changes, perform annual compliance assessments, and adjust your technology roadmap as your business grows. Our goal is to keep your environment secure and compliant as your manufacturing operations evolve, not just at the point of initial implementation.
Who Our Manufacturing IT Services Are For
We work with manufacturers across the Southeast who recognize that their IT and OT environments require specialized expertise that general IT providers cannot deliver. Whether you are a defense subcontractor preparing for CMMC certification, a process manufacturer modernizing legacy control systems, or a discrete manufacturer deploying Industry 4.0 technologies, our services are designed for the challenges you face daily.
- Discrete manufacturers producing assemblies, components, and finished goods on production lines
- Process manufacturers in chemical, plastics, and materials production with continuous flow operations
- Defense subcontractors and sub-tier suppliers handling CUI under DoD contracts
- Automotive parts manufacturers and Tier 1/2/3 suppliers meeting OEM cybersecurity requirements
- Aerospace and aviation component manufacturers subject to ITAR and AS9100 requirements
- Food and beverage manufacturers subject to FDA and FSMA regulations with production traceability requirements
- Pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers operating under FDA 21 CFR Part 11 and GxP requirements
Learn more about our compliance services for regulated manufacturers or explore our managed IT services for a broader view of what we provide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes manufacturing IT different from standard business IT?
Manufacturing IT must account for operational technology systems that standard IT providers have never encountered. PLCs, SCADA systems, HMIs, and industrial controllers run on different protocols, have different patching constraints, and carry different risks than office computers and servers. A misconfigured firewall rule in a manufacturing environment can halt a production line. An aggressive vulnerability scan can crash a PLC and cause physical equipment damage. Manufacturing IT requires providers who understand industrial environments, can work within production schedules, and know how to secure OT systems without disrupting operations.
How do you secure legacy industrial systems that cannot be patched?
Many industrial control systems run operating systems like Windows XP Embedded or proprietary firmware that no longer receives security updates. We protect these systems through compensating controls: network segmentation that isolates legacy devices on dedicated VLANs, application whitelisting that prevents unauthorized software from executing, host-based firewalls that restrict communication to only approved endpoints, and OT-specific intrusion detection that monitors traffic to and from legacy devices. The goal is to reduce the attack surface around unpatachable systems until they can be upgraded during planned equipment lifecycle replacements.
Do we need CMMC certification if we are not a direct DoD contractor?
If you receive, store, or process Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) as part of work flowing from a DoD contract, you will need CMMC certification regardless of your position in the supply chain. Prime contractors are required to flow CMMC requirements to subcontractors who handle CUI. Many primes are already requiring compliance evidence from their suppliers. Even if your current contracts do not yet include CMMC clauses, achieving compliance now positions you to retain existing defense work and compete for new contracts. Our CMMC compliance guide explains the certification levels and timeline in detail.
How long does it take to segment an OT network from a corporate IT network?
The timeline depends on the size and complexity of your environment. A single-plant manufacturer with a relatively flat network can typically achieve initial segmentation in 8 to 12 weeks. Multi-plant operations with complex interdependencies between OT and IT systems may require 4 to 6 months for full implementation. We conduct all segmentation work in phases aligned with your production schedule, and every change includes rollback procedures. The discovery and design phase, which maps all network traffic flows and identifies dependencies, typically takes 2 to 4 weeks before any changes are implemented.
Can you support our MES and ERP systems?
Yes. We provide infrastructure support for major manufacturing execution systems and ERP platforms including SAP, Oracle, Epicor, Infor, Plex, and IQMS. Our support covers server and database infrastructure, performance optimization, integration between MES and ERP systems, backup and recovery, and user access management. We work with your software vendors as needed for application-level issues while managing the underlying infrastructure that keeps these systems performing reliably.
What happens if ransomware hits our production systems?
Our incident response approach for manufacturing environments prioritizes production recovery. We maintain isolated, tested backups of PLC programs, HMI configurations, MES databases, and ERP systems that allow us to restore production capabilities as quickly as possible. For clients with our backup and disaster recovery services, recovery time objectives are defined based on the cost per hour of your production downtime. Our cybersecurity monitoring is designed to detect ransomware activity early, before encryption spreads across your environment, and our network segmentation prevents ransomware from crossing the IDMZ boundary between IT and OT networks.
Do you work with manufacturers outside the Raleigh-Durham area?
Yes. While many of our manufacturing clients are in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, we support manufacturers throughout the Southeast and across the United States. Our managed services platform allows us to monitor and manage systems remotely, and we travel to client sites for assessments, implementations, and projects that require on-site presence. For multi-plant manufacturers, we provide consistent service across all locations regardless of geography.
How do you handle maintenance windows in a 24/7 production environment?
We understand that many manufacturers run multiple shifts or continuous operations. All maintenance work is scheduled around your production calendar. For systems that support production, we plan changes during scheduled downtime windows such as holiday shutdowns, shift changeovers, or planned maintenance periods. For IT systems that do not directly impact production, we schedule maintenance during low-usage periods. Every change follows a documented change management process with rollback procedures, and we coordinate all work with your production management team to verify that the timing is acceptable.
Ready to Secure Your Manufacturing Operations?
Contact Petronella Technology Group for a free consultation on IT services for your manufacturing environment. We will assess your OT/IT infrastructure, identify compliance gaps, and build a plan to protect your production systems.
Schedule Free Manufacturing IT Consultation Call 919-348-4912