Manufacturing IT/OT Convergence Readiness Checklist
A guide to help manufacturing leaders confirm organizational preparedness before investing in — or accelerating — IT/OT convergence initiatives.
Are You Ready to Connect IT and OT Without Risking Uptime?
Manufacturing environments are becoming more connected, data-driven and security-sensitive than ever. In fact, the top IT investment priority for manufacturers for the next year is AI infrastructure deployment and support.1 It has become crucial to confirm your organization has clarity on ownership, operating expectations, risk tolerance and the foundations required to converge safely before integrating plant-floor systems with enterprise IT for these demands.
Use this readiness checklist as a reflection tool to evaluate where you stand today and identify the areas where CDW can help you move forward with confidence.
Top Considerations for IT/OT Convergence Readiness
Assess Leadership Alignment and Governance
Get clarity on ownership, decision-making and accountability before technology decisions force misalignment. 50% of manufacturers say differing priorities between IT and OT is the primary roadblock to collaboration.2
- Have IT, OT, security and operations agreed on why convergence matters and what “success” looks like in terms of visibility, quality, safety, cost and resilience?
- Is there a defined governance model for converged environments, including ownership, approvals, escalation paths and funding?
- Are roles and responsibilities clearly documented across IT and OT for networks, endpoints, applications, data and incident response?
Evaluate Operational Readiness and Processes
Ensure change, incidents and downtime can be managed across IT and OT without disrupting production. 45% of service engagements lack visibility across OT networks, creating obstacles for detections, triage and response.3
- Do you have shared processes for change management that account for production windows, safety requirements and downtime tolerance?
- Are incident response and troubleshooting workflows defined end to end, including who owns triage, containment and recovery?
- Can you consistently patch, update and maintain systems, including legacy OT assets, without creating unacceptable operational risk?
Verify Technology and Network Foundations
Confirm the underlying network and infrastructure can support convergence safely with visibility into connected assets. 46% of COOs report limitations in their data and IT/OT systems from outdated infrastructure and poor data quality.4
- Do you have an accurate inventory of OT assets, network zones and communication paths, including unknown or unmanaged devices?
- Is your network architecture designed for segmentation, resilience and safe connectivity between OT zones and IT services?
- Do you have reliable monitoring/observability for OT networks, including performance, latency and anomalies, without interfering with operations?
Ensure Data Visibility and Integration
Make sure data can move reliably and securely between IT and OT with clear ownership and the ability to turn insight into action. Only 26% of organizations report establishing OT visibility and implementing segmentation.5
- Have you defined what data must be shared (and what must not), who owns it and how it will be governed?
- Are integration patterns established, including protocol translation, historians, brokers and APIs, that work with your OT realities — not just IT standards?
- Can teams operationalize insights for quality, maintenance and throughput with clear workflows?
Fortify Security, Risk and Compliance
Balance risk reduction with operational continuity by building an OT-aware security approach. 66% of organizations expect increased regulation affecting OT cybersecurity within five years.5
- Does your security strategy explicitly account for OT constraints, including legacy systems, patch limitations, safety and uptime requirements?
- Are segmentation, identity/access controls and remote access policies defined and enforced for OT environments?
- Have you mapped applicable requirements, including regulatory, safety, customer and cyber insurance, and validated how convergence changes your risk and compliance posture?
Sources:
1 Lenovo and IDC, “Global CIO Playbook 2026: The Race for Enterprise AI,” January 2026
2 Smart Industry, “2024 State of the Initiative Report,” January 2025
3 Dragos, “8th Annual Year in Review 2025,” February 2025
4 McKinsey, “From pilots to performance: How COOs can scale AI in manufacturing,” December 2025
5 Fortinet, “2025 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report,” July 2025
Why CDW
CDW helps manufacturers pursue IT/OT convergence as a continuous organizational shift, not a one-time technology project.
- Bridge IT and OT conversations with practical facilitation, shared language and aligned outcomes.
- Reduce risk while protecting uptime by designing for segmentation, resilience and operational constraints.
- Assess readiness before convergence to avoid brittle architectures and unintended production impact.
- Support both advisory and execution from assessments and roadmaps through integration and operationalization.
Request an IT/OT Convergence Readiness Assessment From CDW
Our experts will help you review your current environment, identify gaps and set priorities, giving you a clear roadmap for IT/OT convergence.