Manufacturing companies sit at the intersection of manual and digital work. Factories are revolutionizing with AI, robotics, sensors, cloud systems, integrated supply chains, and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
This evolution brings various opportunities, but also steep challenges to run efficient business operations. Managed IT services providers (MSPs) are increasingly known as trusted partners to help manufacturing units navigate IT complexities.
In this blog post, we will explore the biggest technology challenges manufacturing organizations face and how MSPs help to address each challenge.
Major IT Challenges in Manufacturing
Integrating Complex & Outdated Systems
Manufacturing workflow depends on a mix of IT ( CRM, ERP, office tools) and operational technology (OT) systems. Many OT systems are legacy- inflexible, proprietary, sometimes unsupported. Integrating them with modern cloud, IIoT, data platforms, or AI/analytics is difficult because:
- They lack APIs/ standard protocols
- Operate in isolated silos for safety
- Upgrading them requires a lot of time
These difficulties limit automation, prevent real‐time visibility, and make digital transformation expensive for manufacturers.
Escalating Cybersecurity Risks
As more devices are connected in manufacturing operations, the attack surface expands both IT and OT. The common risks include-
- Phishing or business email
- Ransomware attacks
- Supply chain attacks
Legacy OT devices lack modern security advancements like encryption, authentication, & firmware updates.
Preventing Costly Downtime
Downtime in manufacturing businesses is extremely costly. Here are some statistics that show how high the stakes are-
- Unplanned downtime costs manufacturing units hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour
- Reports say that the world’s 500 largest businesses lose around $1.4 trillion in revenue annually due to unscheduled downtime.
- On average, manufacturing businesses experience ~800 hours of unplanned downtime yearly.
The most common causes include human error, machine failures, supply chain disruptions, and delayed maintenance.
Managing High Amounts of Data
With IIoT sensors, robotics, quality monitoring, supply chain systems, etc., modern plants generate huge volumes of data. Key challenges involve:
- Collecting data in consistent formats
- Transporting and storing data efficiently
- Filtering & aggregating data from OT and IT sources
- Analyzing data to extract actionable insights and make wise decisions
- Dealing with data security and compliance issues
End‑to‑End Supply Chain Visibility
Manufacturing doesn’t stop at the gate of the factory. It widely depends on logistics, suppliers, inventory, and more. Key challenges in the manufacturing supply chain include-
- Lack of real-time visibility of raw material, shipment, and in‑process inventory
- Fragmented systems
- Disruptions outside the factory, like weather, delays, customer issues, and logistics
Addressing the Latest IT Skills Gap
Modern technologies like cybersecurity, data analysis, robotics, IIoT, and cloud security require professional knowledge and skills. Many manufacturing businesses struggle to manage a staff that understands both the manufacturing and OT domains. Key challenges for manufacturing units include-
- Rapidly evolving technology advancements
- OT and IT skill sets are different; blending them is rare
- Training costs and time
- Turnover of skilled staff and a limited pool in many geographies
Maintaining Compliance
Manufacturing is highly regulated in every sector, including pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, automotive, and more. Regulations concern:
- Product safety, materials, labeling
- Adhering to environmental and sustainability standards
- Data privacy of customers and employees
- Meeting quality standards
- Data privacy and cybersecurity regulations
How Managed Services Help to Solve These Challenges
Below are how IT services for manufacturing help address each challenge with concrete practices and benefits.
For System Integration
Strategic Roadmap & Assessment: Managed IT company began with audits of existing OT & IT landscapes. It includes what systems are in use, what their capabilities are, and where the pain point exists. According to this, they design a transformation roadmap, like which systems to retire and which new systems to integrate.
Middleware, Standardization, Protocol Bridging: To integrate legacy OT systems, IT service providers employ protocol translators, middleware, or adapters.
Cloud Migration & Hybrid Architecture: MSPs facilitate moving functions to cloud or hybrid cloud/edge setups. Edge computing can process OT data close to the source to avoid latency or reliability issues; non-real-time processing or analytics can go to the cloud. This makes scaling easier and reduces dependency on on‑site infrastructure.
For Cybersecurity Risks
24/7 Monitoring & Threat Detection: MSPs use Security Operations Center (SOC) capabilities, continuous scanning, intrusion detection/prevention to watch both IT and OT networks. This includes threat intelligence, advanced tools to detect anomalies. That helps in early detection of ransomware, supply chain attacks, and more.
Vulnerability Management & Patch Management: Legacy OT gear is poorly patched or difficult to patch. Manufacturing IT solutions schedule and plan patches, or apply controls around those devices to reduce exposure. Regular audits & penetration testing help find gaps.
Zero Trust & Least Privilege Models: MSPs help enforce network segmentation, user access controls, multi‑factor authentication (MFA), logging, & monitoring access to critical systems.
For Preventing Costly Downtime
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning: MSPs help set up backup systems, redundancy, hot swappable hardware, failover systems, and tested disaster recovery plans. Should something go wrong (natural disaster, attack), operations can be restored quickly with minimal data loss or production stoppage.
24/7 Support & Remote Management: Having monitoring tools that alert on anomalies, and a support infrastructure that can act immediately (remote fixes, or escalation) reduces the time the system is down.
For Data & Analytics
Centralized Data Infrastructure: IT services manufacturing build or help design data architecture (edge, cloud, data warehouses) that collect data from multiple sources (machine sensors, quality systems, supply chain). They also handle the storage, cleaning, normalization, and security of data.
Real‑Time and Historical Analysis: MSPs enable both real‑time monitoring (e.g., detecting deviation on production line) and historical trend analysis (e.g, seasonal demand, defect rates) so decisions are timely as well as strategic.
For Supply Chain Visibility
Implementing Integrated SCM & IIoT Systems: MSPs help set up systems that tie together supplier, logistics, inventory, shipment tracking, and production scheduling.
Supply Chain Risk Monitoring: Manufacturing IT services implement the latest tools and technologies to monitor upstream supplier health, geopolitical risk, logistics disruptions, and regulatory changes.
For the IT Skills Gap
Access to Broad Expertise: MSPs bring together teams with varied skills like cybersecurity specialists, data scientists, OT experts, and cloud architects. Manufacturers who cannot afford or attract many such specialists internally leverage this talent pool.
Co‑Managed Models: Internal staff can manage certain critical plant‑floor or domain‑specific tasks; MSP handles infrastructure, monitoring, scaling, etc. This balances internal knowledge retention with external scale and resiliency.
For Compliance Management
Audit, Documentation & Reporting: MSPs help maintain system logs, audit trails, version control, software updates, etc. Their experts prepare and support documentation needed for quality/safety / environmental audits. This helps meet standards like ISO, industry‑specific safety / environmental regulations, and data protection laws.
Automated Compliance Tools & Controls: Instead of manual record‑keeping, managed IT services for manufacturers deploy tools that automate compliance tasks like automatically ensuring data backup, checking that patches are applied, monitoring environmental sensor thresholds, generating reports, and tracking traceability of parts or materials.
Conclusion
The manufacturing industry is rapidly growing. The move toward smarter, connected factories unlocks great potential, efficiency, quality, flexibility, and innovation. But it brings real IT/OT integration, security, data, supply chain, skill, and compliance challenges. Managed IT services provide strategic ways to reduce risk, prevent costly downtime, gain insights from data, secure their operations, and stay compliant.
If you are looking for the best managed IT services in the USA, contact panaTECH Experts to get specialized solutions.
