Cisco has introduced a number of new cloud services in its IoT operations dashboard to increase industrial asset visibility and manage assets remotely and securely. At its annual Cisco Live event in Amsterdam, the firm said it had focused on ways to bridge the IT/OT divide, as edge-based IoT sensors are deployed alongside OT equipment in plants and factories and their data is increasingly integrated with backend IT systems.
Its IoT operations dashboard now offers simpler IT/OT convergence, rendering data readouts and recommendations in a single cloud platform, and also scanning for cybersecurity threats across both domains. Specifically, its Cyber Vision cybersecurity product has been integrated into its IoT dashboard to grant IT and operations teams full visibility into potential attacks on IT/OT devices. Cisco talked about a “unified security posture” across the entire network.
It has also introduced (we think) a remote IT/OT service management product called Secure Equipment Access Plus, intended to “make it easier for IT and OT teams to remotely deploy, manage, and troubleshoot connected equipment”. A statement said: “This service now provides access to any connected equipment with IP connectivity, so operations teams can run native applications on their workstations to access remote assets more easily.”
It stated: “Organizations need to connect enterprise operations to industrial spaces…. They are also prioritizing sustainability and resiliency in their operations, driving the need for greater visibility across environments. The distributed nature of these operations makes networks complex to manage. As these industries digitize their assets, the cybersecurity attack surface grows.”
Meanwhile, the firm has extended its Catalyst-branded portfolio of industrial wireless and switching portfolio to provide common IT/OT tooling and data, it said. Closer integration of IT/OT tech and teams can “reduce downtime of critical infrastructure, drive greater business productivity and efficiencies, and enhance overall safety and security”, it stated.
As well, Cisco ThousandEyes has introduced support for OpenTelemetry, the open-source framework, to handle telemetry data. A statement said the move enables “end-to-end correlated insights across multiple domains, from user to application”. Its unified secure access service edge (SASE) solution, Cisco+ Secure Connect, can now be integrated into its SD-WAN fabrics using Viptela technology, it said, giving fast and secure access to private applications and internet access.
Vikas Butaney, senior vice president of SD-WAN, cloud connectivity, and industrial IoT networking at Cisco, said: “The most effective way to manage growing complexity and provide more insight into business operations is through reliable connectivity and complete visibility across an organization’s operations and assets. A strong partnership between all technology teams – security, networking, and operations – is essential. With these new innovations, we’re excited to equip organizations with the tools needed for a unified, cloud-delivered approach that brings the power of the enterprise IT network to scale and secure the industrial edge.”
