Research results indicating steps and success factors for integrating operational and information technologies particularly for organisations that have critical asset infrastructure such as power stations, control and managed remotely using technology such as SCADA.

1. OVERCOMING INTEGRATION CHALLENGES IN ORGANISATIONS
WITH OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Anastasia Kuusk, Andy Koronios & Jing Gao
ADVANCED COMPUTING RESEARCH
CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH
AUSTRALIA

2. Presentation overview
TOPIC OVERVIEW:
1. TRANSFORMING THE FUTURE - OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CONTEXT
2. PEOPLE, PROCESS & TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION CHALLENGES
RESEARCHING TRANSFORMATION:
1. LITERATURE REVIEW – GAPS IN BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
2. RESEARCH METHOD – SURVEYS & CASE STUDIES
FINDINGS:
THEORY BUILDING – A FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATING OPERATIONAL AND
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH OUTPUTS:
PUBLICATIONS
DELPHI STUDY LIMITATIONS
NEXT STEPS:
FRAMEWORK VALIDATION – CASE STUDY

3. Transforming the future –
operational technology integration
Developed by researcher

4. Operational Technology integration
challenges
Different people, processes, technology and information functions/architectures
Element (Pe=People,
Pr=Process, Te=Technology)
Information Technology
Operational Technology
Budget (Pr)
Dedicated for Branch
Embedded within another branches budget
Staff (Pe)
Dedicated IT focus – network analyst, engineer,
systems administrator
Dual role – Engineering and IT maintenance focus
Staff focus (Pe)
Security
Reliability
Objective (Pr)
Strategy/decision making Control information
Asset performance Control asset
Systems
(Pr)
standards
focusCOBIT/ITIL
NIST CIP, PAS55, ISA-95
Examples (Te)
Customer information, asset management and billing SCADA or real time data tracking systems
systems
Information type
Information non real time
Data real time
Networks (Te)
Consolidated
Own network beyond firewall
Uptime (Pr)
Down for patching/backups
100%
Developed from Roberts, J & Steenstrup, K. (2009). The Value of IT and OT Integration. Gartner

5. Literature review - existing frameworks
FULL
RECIPROCAL
SEQUENTIAL
Teo and King (1997)
Metagroup Information Maturity model (2007)
CONVERGED
COMPLIMENTARY
PARALLEL
Zimmerman (2007)
MEANS WAYS AND ENDS
Gartner model Steenstrup 2008)
Peppard and Ward

6. Literature review - existing success factors
CSF
LITERATURE
Management support
- For information value
- For convergence
Evans, 2010; Rockart, 1979;
Nfuka & Rusu, 2011; Trkman,
2010 and Huang & Hen, 2006;
Yeoh, Gao and Koronios, 2009
Interoperability
-IT platforms
-Standards
Torchia, 2011; Office of the
National Coordinator for Smart
Grid Interoperability, 2010;
Steenstrup, 2012; McDonnell
Group, 2012
Holistic/Enterprise wide
-Asset care
-Information governance
Parekh, 2007; White, 2007;
Debois, 2012; Caldwell, 2011;
Nicolett & Proctor, 2011,
Logan, 2012
Cross sharing of skill
-Engineering strengths
-IT strengths
Steenstrup, 2008; Boone, &
Ganeshan, 2008; Haider, 2011;
Newman, 2011

7. Literature gaps
WHY INTEGRATE
WHEN INTEGRATE
HOW INTEGRATE
WHO RESPONBILE
SUCCESS FACTORS
Applicability to Operational Technology
context

8. Research method
Adapted from Gartner ,2010
WHY, WHEN, HOW AND WHO SHOULD INTEGRATE
CAN INFORMATION GOVERNANCE OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES

9. Research method
1. Delphi survey rounds
–
–
–
–
Oct 2012 – March 2013
Respondents from 27 organisations
Round 1 thematic analysis – 6 open ended questions
Round 2 and 3– 8 Likert scale questions
statistically analysed
Legend of statistics used to identify respondent consensus
Mean/Median
Strong consensus = above 8
Standard Deviation
Σ
Strong consensus
=
less than 2
Interquartile Range
IQR
Strong consensus = less than 1
Number
of
responses
n
More than
half
responding
Likert
scale
1 = Never
3=Someti
mes
5=Always

10. Delphi findings – Contributions to
integration theory
WHY - INTEGRATION
GOVERANANCE
FACTORS
SUCCESS
FACTORS
•People,
•Process
•Technology
WHEN PT 1
•Business needs
accounted for
•Hardware consistent but
applications disparate
•One size not fit all
•Costs
WHEN PT 2
•Business needs
accounted for
•Hardware consistent but
applications disparate
•One size not fit all
•Costs
•Not clear where line is (no IQR
consensus amongst
•Not clear where line is (no
IQR consensus amongst
practitioners)
practitioners)
HOW
•Business analysis
•Joint business
effort
•Standardised
platforms
•Efficient exchange of
data and management of
information
•Efficient management of
information
OPERATIONAL
FACTORS
•Increased reliability
•Decreased cost
•Single platform
WHO
COMBINED ENGINEERING AND IT RESPONSIBILITY

11. Delphi findings – Contributions to
organisational theory – Relationships
Integration is characterised by efficient exchange of data and management of
information
Must have – causal relationship
•Business analysis
•Input from all
Correlational relationship
•Ease of use on efficient management of information
•Business analysis and systems thinking
•Input from all and mutual collaboration
•Systems thinking and Robust framework
•Acceptance of open source solutions and combined IT & Engineering responsibility
•Systems thinking and and combined IT & Engineering responsibility

12. Delphi findings – Contributions to
organisational theory – OT applicability
New asset infrastructure OT and IT
consolidation taxonomy
Existing IT and OT consolidation taxonomies
Hoque (2005)
Corporate technology academic
focus
Teo and King (1997)
Corporate technology academic
focus
Pre convergence (Business analysis,
Elements not identified
convergence strategy, open and
communication standards, mutual IT &
engineering collaboration)
Elements not identified
Elements not identified
Convergence (Consistent hardware
provided by vendor; IT & engineering
consensus and input into application
development)
Converge (OT and IT share same
client, server, network tiers IT and
IP based activities often
undertaken by vendor)
Alignment (technology supports,
enables and not constrains
business strategies)
Sequential integration (business
goals considered, formulate IS
strategy to perform business
strategy)
Alignment (Architecture aligned by IT
and Engineering; Hardware in place
but applications disparate)
Align (occuring after convergence
has been accepted by the
organisation, leading to
synchronized standards and
architecture plans between the IT
and OT systems)
Synchronisation
(IS expert resources, support
business strategy)
Reciprocal integration (IS expert
resources, support business
strategy)
Convergence (business and
technology activities intertwining
and leadership teams
interchangeable)
Full integration (joint development
of strategies, senior management
involvement, critical to success of
business)
Kuusk - See Johnson and Steenstrup
(2013)
Operational and corporate technology,
industry and academic focus
Steenstrup (2010)
Operational technology industry
focus
Integration (Efficient exchange of
Integrate (an outcome of the
information and data; driven by market alignment pending the impact of
competition and cost savings)
communications such as
bandwidth reduction and firewall
conflicts on performance, integrity
and reliability of the two
technologies)

13. Research limitations & next steps
Construct
correlations?
What is efficient
exchange of data
and management of
information – IG
frameworks use
What does
combined
engineering and IT
effort look like?
Role of vendor?
FAST TRACK TO INTEGRATION
OT VERSUS IT/DATA
VERSUS INFO/XML V
SOAP/NETWORKS
SECURITY
VERSUS
RELIABILITY
CULTURES
WHICH OPEN &
COMMS
STANDARDS?

14. Research outputs
Delphi survey
Research outputs/application
Johnston, G and Steenstup, K. (2013). IT and OT Practitioner Survey Indicates Best
Practices for IT/OT Integration. 23rd July. Gartner G00250497. Referencing the following whitepaper..
Koronios, A, Gao, J and Kuusk, A. (2013). Delphi study findings: Convergence, alignment and integration
of Operational and Information Technologies in organisations with Engineering Asset Management
functions. University of South Australia, http://sim.unisa.edu.au/OTandIT.pdf.
Kuusk, A and Gao, J. (2013). Consolidating people, process and technology to bridge the great wall of
Operational and Information Technologies. World Congress Engineering Asset Management, Hong
Kong , 30th October – 2nd November 2013, Hong Kong Convention Centre.
Case studies
– 80+ interviews in 16+ organisations – currently coding

15. Anastasia Govan Kuusk
Phone + 61 0428836405
University of South Australia,
Adelaide, Australia
anastasia.kuusk@unisa.edu.au