Achieve real results by addressing the right technical and organizational challenges
For over a decade, enterprise systems integration at utilities has been hailed as the key to unlocking operational efficiency, grid resiliency and innovation. Yet truly connecting information technology (IT) systems and operational technology (OT) environments remains a “digital utopia” for many organizations, meaning it’s a state of business and technology still far away. The disconnect often stems from misaligned priorities, fragmented leadership and outdated organizational structures.
The path to IT/OT convergence requires a framework built on technology, people and processes. In addition to software and technology, utilities need to address siloed departments, inconsistent standards and resistance to change. By focusing on five foundational pillars: vision, organizational alignment, change management, standardization and integration strategy, utilities can truly achieve IT/OT integration that delivers business and customer value.
The Biggest Challenges to IT/OT Integration
Numerous obstacles prevent utilities from attaining the promised land of proper IT/OT integration, including legacy systems, incompatible protocols and cybersecurity risks. Yet barriers are often overlooked, including organizational, cultural and leadership dynamics that result in departmental silos and disjointed operational workflows. IT usually gets separated from the business, and even internally among departments, there are sub-groups with even more silos.
This fragmentation leads to misaligned objectives and a lack of trust between IT and OT teams. This often creates a deeply entrenched environment where each group speaks its own language, values different priorities and measures success in incompatible ways.
Without buy-in from senior executives, initiatives lack the authority and resources to unify teams or drive meaningful change. Executives and senior leaders must champion the initiative and set a clear direction. Only with this executive commitment can organizations align teams, drive meaningful change and achieve the full potential of IT/OT convergence.
Many organizations struggle to form and articulate a clear IT/OT integration vision. Projects falter and progress stalls without a compelling reason or a shared goal. The absence of a unifying vision leads to disjointed initiatives, where incremental upgrades are mistaken for true integration, and the underlying systemic inefficiencies remain unaddressed.
Too often, utilities overlook the importance of honest self-assessments, resulting in critical gaps in governance, technology and workforce capabilities. Accurately understanding where business and technology issues exist helps remove resistance to change, especially among employees comfortable with legacy processes. They gain a shared understanding and stake as to what the future state looks like—and how it will directly impact everyone involved.
Finally, utilities must balance innovation with stability, ensuring new tools fit well and work seamlessly without disrupting critical operations. Regulatory pressures and evolving standards add further complexity, requiring ongoing adaptation and investment.
The journey to IT/OT integration begins with people with a shared vision and then extends into technology and processes. Maximizing the full value remains elusive without addressing these foundational elements equally.
Challenges to achieving proper IT/OT integration:
- Fragmented leadership and departmental silos
- Lack of a unified vision aligning IT/OT with business outcomes
- Resistance to organizational change and outdated governance
- Legacy systems, silos protocols
- Cybersecurity risks
Five Foundational Steps to Achieve True IT/OT Integration
Achieving nirvana in IT/OT integration requires a cultural and operational shift that bridges decades of divergence between IT’s data-driven priorities and OT’s real-time reliability mandates. Many utilities prioritize technical upgrades like IoT sensors or cloud platforms without addressing the underlying misalignment between teams, processes and governance.
For example, legacy OT systems often rely on proprietary protocols incompatible with modern IT architectures, while IT teams may lack visibility into operational constraints like uptime requirements or safety certifications. This disconnect creates “integration debt,” where superficial fixes accumulate without resolving systemic inefficiencies.
The solution treats IT/OT convergence as a revolutionary business transformation, not just a technical project. Success hinges on aligning technology investments with organizational readiness, ensuring leadership buy-in, and fostering collaboration across traditionally siloed departments.
Utilities must also balance innovation with stability. Over-customizing systems for short-term gains can lock organizations into rigid frameworks. In addition, overly cautious approaches might lead to missed opportunities to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance reliability. Utilities can build a scalable foundation that adapts to evolving grid demands by focusing on five foundational pillars while delivering immediate ROI.
1. Define a Clear Vision
While it may seem obvious, utilities must start by articulating why integration matters. This means asking tough questions from the start and performing a deep-rooted assessment of software, data, systems, processes and communication protocols. A compelling vision starts with understanding where the organization is and where it wants to go; it ties IT/OT convergence to tangible business outcomes such as grid reliability, cost savings and customer satisfaction.
For example, utilities can align an IT/OT strategy with a unified goal, such as centralizing control systems under IT to standardize architecture and improve decision-making. This can help the organization engage with all the right stakeholders early to ensure the vision reflects technical and operational priorities.
2. Align Technology and Business
Integration requires more than just deploying technology. It requires structural change, from cross-functional teams with IT, OT and business leaders to dismantle silos.
Consider reorganizing reporting lines. For example, companies can create an OT division under their CIO to help centralize accountability for all aspects of enterprise systems. This alignment ensures technology investments (e.g., AI-driven grid analytics) are matched by operational readiness, whether for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) or outage management.
3. Prioritize Change Management
Successful integration hinges on people. Invest in training programs that bridge IT/OT knowledge gaps and foster collaboration. Partner with change management experts to address cultural barriers and communicate progress transparently. Whether internal tiger teams, committees, or external systems integration organizations, you’ll want a plan to address helping your staff adopt new tools into their everyday work life for maximum return on value.
4. Standardize Systems and Processes
Implement common frameworks for data governance, cybersecurity and system interoperability because standardization reduces complexity. For example, unified GIS and ERP platforms can streamline asset management. Leveraging modern tools like TRC’s Lemur mobile mapping can harmonize field asset data with IT systems, ensuring spatial accuracy and real-time updates. Wherever standards can be implemented, do it. This will spur seamless interaction and faster, more accurate decision making.
5. Build a Scalable Integration Strategy
Phase integration into manageable stages. To demonstrate value, begin with pilot projects (e.g., deploying smart sensors in a substation), then scale using agile methodologies.
Incorporate feedback loops to refine processes and avoid over-customization. Taking an iterative approach to DER integration allows utilities to adapt to regulatory changes without overhauling entire systems.
The Benefits of Getting IT/OT Right
True IT/OT integration provides a pillar for utilities to achieve numerous business benefits. Organizations leverage real-time data and analytics that improve how they manage assets, serve customers and respond to change. These advantages create a foundation for sustained growth, resilience and reliability.
- Enhanced grid resilience: Predictive analytics and real-time monitoring reduce downtime
- Cost efficiency: Standardized systems cut maintenance expenses through proactive asset management.
- Improved customer experience: Integrated smart meter data enables personalized energy insights, boosting satisfaction.
- Scalable innovation: AI and IoT-ready architectures future-proof operations against emerging technologies.
- Regulatory compliance: Unified data streams simplify reporting and audit processes, minimizing compliance risks.
Starting the Journey: Three Recommendations to Reach Utopia
The enlightened path to IT/OT integration begins with deliberate, actionable steps. By prioritizing collaboration over complexity and aligning quick wins with long-term goals, utilities can build momentum without overhauling entire systems. In addition, assessing from the start where AI might begin to play a role in future systems development is essential. Here’s how to start smart, leveraging expertise and existing assets to lay the groundwork for scalable success.
- Conduct an honest assessment: Audit current IT/OT maturity, identifying gaps in governance, technology and skills.
- Secure executive sponsorship: Engage C-suite leaders early to champion the vision and allocate resources.
- Partner with experts: Collaborate with firms like TRC to leverage prebuilt integration frameworks and avoid reinventing the wheel. For example, our spatially enabled AI tools dramatically reduce data conflation and processing for massive data stores.
Why TRC Is Your Ideal IT/OT Partner
From SCADA to AMI and modern geospatial solutions, AI, cloud and more, TRC helps companies integrate enterprise systems, modernize operations and deliver customer value. Our practitioners provide consulting and services throughout the entire delivery lifecycle, working closely with clients to design, build and deploy scalable solutions that drive better outcomes.
TRC combines decades of utility engineering expertise with cutting-edge digital solutions. Unlike traditional IT consultants, we understand the unique demands of OT environments, from substation automation to DER integration.
Our approach blends strategic advisory services with hands-on execution, ensuring alignment between your vision and operational realities. With TRC, utilities of all sizes gain a partner committed to transparency, agility, and measurable outcomes. Take advantage of a trusted partner with a proven track record in delivering self-sustaining IT/OT ecosystems.
