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Bridging IT and OT: Closing the skill Gap - The IT/OT Insider
In this episode, hosts Alex and Jeremy talk with David Ariens, author and founder of The IT/OT Insider, about closing the IT/OT gap, covering infrastructure convergence, joint cybersecurity, and how shared language and trust turn siloed teams into true partners.
- David’s journey from mathematics to plant digitalisation and why cross-discipline thinking matters
- The education gap between IT and OT- and how to bridge it without paywalls
- Infrastructure convergence: unifying networks, data, and tooling for faster value
- Cybersecurity as a shared mission, not a hand-off
- Building a common language and trust across departments
- Growing a supportive community through IT/OT Insider
- Why authenticity and visible leadership speed adoption
- A practical playbook for launching IT/OT convergence projects
- David’s journey from mathematics to plant digitalisation and why cross-discipline thinking matters
- The education gap between IT and OT- and how to bridge it without paywalls
- Infrastructure convergence: unifying networks, data, and tooling for faster value
- Cybersecurity as a shared mission, not a hand-off
- Building a common language and trust across departments
- Growing a supportive community through IT/OT Insider
- Why authenticity and visible leadership speed adoption
- A practical playbook for launching IT/OT convergence projects

Founder - The IT/OT Insider

Co-founder and CEO - UMH

Co-founder and CTO - UMH
Swedish OEM supplier reduces costs with resource and energy monitoring
Company Snapshot
Europe’s leading provider of innovative heating and charging solutions for the automotive industry. With over 100 employees, the company operates from its headquarters in Sweden.
Challenges
- Small project team with limited resources
- No live feedback from the shop floor
- Heterogeneous machine park
Outcome
5%
Saved energy costs
90%
Reduced downtime due to lack of resources
20%
Reduced unplanned maintenance
Sonnländer increased asset productivity with OEE monitoring
Company Snapshot
Sonnländer, a subsidiary of EDEKA, is a leading producer of fruit juices and fruit-based products in Europe. With over 400 employees and 4 production facilities, it processes over 400,000 tons of fruit annually.
Challenges
- Heterogeneous machine park
- No live feedback from the shop floor
- Internal resources need to focus on use cases, not infrastructure
Outcome
10-15%
Increased OEE
10-20%
Increased asset availability
>40%
Shorter root-cause problem solving
European energy producer increases implementation speed with Unified Namespace architecture
Company Snapshot
A major European energy company with a focus on renewable energy and innovative energy solutions. Employing over 75,000 people, it operates in multiple countries.
Challenges
- Unstable internet connections
- Limited throughput rate of OT systems
- High reliability demands
Outcome
80%
Reduced integration time per use-case
60%
Reduced Mean Time To Detect (MTTD)
90%
Reduced integration maintenance
European energy producer increases implementation speed with Unified Namespace architecture
Company Snapshot
A major European energy company with a focus on renewable energy and innovative energy solutions. Employing over 75,000 people, it operates in multiple countries.
Challenges
- Heterogeneous machine park
- No live feedback from the shop floor
- Internal resources need to focus on use cases, not infrastructure
Outcome
80%
Reduced integration time per use-case
60%
Reduced Mean Time To Detect (MTTD)
90%
Reduced integration maintenance
Previous Episodes

Building your In-house IIoT platform - Tactical Learnings
Kasper Karlsson Christiansen, Senior Platform Owner at VELUX, joins Alex to discuss his journey from electrician to building industrial IoT platform.

Data Contracts and Unified Namespace in Manufacturing
Jeremy sits down with David Schultz from Rhize Manufacturing Data Hub to discuss the role of data contracts and the Unified Namespace (UNS) in modern manufacturing.

Digitizing Pharma with Unified Namespace (UNS)
In this first episode of The Connected Factory podcast, Alex sits down with Jan Wokittel from Roche to explore the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in the pharmaceutical industry.
Interested in the possibilities?See UMH in action!
