Cybersecurity for Industry and Smart Cities

Cybersecurity challenges continue to grow for managers of industrial plants, infrastructure systems, and smart cities.  The effectiveIntegrated IT-OT-IoT Cybersecurityness of established defenses is being undermined by a serious lack of people and expertise.  Boundaries are blurring between IT, OT, and IoT, increasing the need for more integrated, collaborative cybersecurity strategies.  Cybersecurity concerns are hampering efforts to implement new strategies for lower costs and more-competitive business strategies.      

ARC’s Cybersecurity Advisory Service can help you address these challenges through insightful reports, one-on-one discussions with knowledgeable analysts, and peer networking opportunities.   This service provides an ideal way to learn what others are doing, how they are doing it, and the benefits they are achieving.  It also enables your staff to keep abreast of the many new developments occurring in cybersecurity technologies, practices, and standards.

Organizations Need Holistic Cybersecurity Strategies

Modern industrial plants, infrastructure systems and smart cities rely on a diverse set of IT and OT cyber assets.  Maintaining the security of these systems is essential.  A single compromise can jeopardize safety, operational continuity, and reliable delivery of vital services like power, water, and emergency medical support. 

These systems are already under attack.  New initiatives are increasing the cybersecurity challenges as they leverage broader connectivity between people, OT, and IT systems, and introduce new technologies, like cloud and IoT.   Each of these developments make the organization more vulnerable to cyber-attacks and less able to control security policies and practices. 

Managing these risks requires a holistic cybersecurity strategy that spans information systems, operational technology, IoT devices, cloud, and complex networks.  Smart organizations recognize the urgency of implementing such a program before widespread adoption of new processes and technologies.  Assuming organization will wait for security is naïve, the cost and performance benefits are simply too large to ignore and competition too intense. 

ARC’s Cybersecurity Advisory Service Can Help You Address These Challenges

Addressing the cybersecurity challenges of industrial plants, infrastructure systems, or smart cities is not easy.  Individual IT and OT cybersecurity programs are incapable of dealing with the many developments occurring in each of these technology silos.  Organizations need people with a broad understanding of all the different technologies, standards, and best practices.

Cybersecurity Maturity ModelARC’s Cybersecurity Advisory Service can help you establish and sustain the staff you need.  Participants in ARC’s service gain the information they need to: 

  • Understand IT, OT. and IoT technologies and the threats they pose
  • Evaluate current investments in cybersecurity technology, people, and processes
  • Identify the most effective and efficient security practices and policies
  • Anticipate and address relevant standards and regulations
  • Identify cybersecurity technology and service solution partners
Key Deliverables

You can gain from ARC's thought leadership through our Advisory Services.  An annual subscription includes these deliverables for one year:

Direct Access to Top ARC Analysts

Advisory Service clients enjoy direct and immediate telephone and email access to all of ARC's industry experts.  The senior ARC consultant assigned to your account, backed by ARC's entire research team, will be an invaluable addition to your staff.  You can get answers to questions on emerging technologies, enterprise applications, plant automation, as well as strategic issues.  Here are some examples of questions you can ask our analysts:

  • What technologies and products fit my industry and should be adopted?
  • How should I go about selecting suppliers?
  • What type of partnership contract should I sign?
  • What method should I use to cost justify my projects?
  • Which technologies provide the best ROI?

The ability to speak directly with the ARC analysts is one of the most valuable features of ARC's Advisory Services.  The information and assistance you receive is customized to your requirements.  ARC can provide an impartial expert viewpoint to help you make strategic decisions.  Advisory Service clients also receive preferential rates and priorities for consulting services covering a wide range of activities including vendor qualification, executive technology briefings, product specification, strategic planning, alliances, acquisitions, and market research.

ARC's market research efforts give us a unique perspective and ability to answer wide ranging questions.  As an Advisory Service client you will be able to tap into a wealth of product knowledge and industry experience for assistance in making your strategic decisions.  If you are involved in the planning, budgeting, specification, or selection of automation products and enterprise applications, ARC can help you make informed, cost-saving decisions.

Personalized Strategy Session

Your strategy review session with ARC analysts will have an agenda that is tailored to meet your particular needs.  In your strategy session, ARC typically presents an assessment of technology and industry trends affecting your business.  Then, your team presents their strategic plan.  An informed discussion provides the opportunity to gather strategic direction that improves and extends your business initiatives.  Also, the ARC team has a better understanding of your needs so they can better serve you.  During the Strategy Session, we can:

  • Update your executives and staff on the latest trends in technologies, markets, and supplier directions
  • Consider the impact of emerging technologies
  • Review business practices and organization to meet today's challenges
  • Discuss the benefits of new applications in enterprise or manufacturing systems
  • Examine integrating enterprise applications with plant control systems
  • Obtain an external view free of internal bias

ARC's analysts thoroughly understand enterprise, supply chain, internet of things, and automation systems with both researched industry knowledge as well as hands-on familiarity.  Our people have years of personal experience working the business issues you face.

Weekly ARC Insights and Views

ARC Insights and Views are delivered weekly or as news happens to not only alert you to important events, but also to provide ARC's unique perspective on the impact they will have on the industry.

The dynamic nature of the industrial market can cause changes with immediate impact on your enterprise and automation projects or plans.  ARC Insights and Views alert you to important events and trends, with analysis on its impact and recommendations for success.  Breaking information can be the difference between costly mistakes or profitable new approaches.

ARC Insights and Views are delivered weekly in PDF format to all Advisory Service clients.  They are also available on-line in the Client Only Portal.

Monthly Report, Podcast or Video

ARC Strategies & Best Practices are easy to read, yet packed with valuable information.  The reports are praised by Advisory Service clients as being worth the price of the service in themselves.   ARC Strategies and Best Practice Reports provide in-depth coverage of applications, new technologies, or best practices.  ARC Best Practice reports identify the best practices used by the leading manufacturing companies related to specific topics of interest to our clients.

The reports are delivered monthly in PDF format to all Advisory Service clients.  They are also available on-line in the Client Only Portal. 

ARC Forum Tickets

ARC Advisory Service clients receive free forum tickets which can be used for any of ARC's forums.  ARC conducts several executive forums each year around the world.  These forums are designed to provide a strategic vision to help industry executives follow the direction of the industry, as well as provide a technology focus for IT, supply chain, engineering, maintenance and operational managers. 

Please visit our Upcoming Events section for information on upcoming ARC Forums.

ARC Presentations on Current Hot Topics

ARC analysts are well known for their expertise and are frequent speakers at many industry leading events.  Would content from a premier analyst organization add credibility to your next presentation?   Supporting slides from ARC Advisory Group will make your presentation more convincing.   Prospects, customers, peers, and your management will value the inclusion of strategic direction from an independent analyst. 

ARC analysts put extensive research and creativity into their presentations.  Used to advise clients on strategic direction in ARC's world renowned Strategy Forums, these presentations are focused on the cutting-edge issues in enterprise, industrial internet of things, and automation systems.  They are available for viewing by our Advisory Service clients on the Client Portal.  With appropriate annotation, our clients have permission to use these slides in their presentations.  Now, your search for the 'perfect slide' will be easier.

Access to Client Area of Website

A subscription to ARC's Advisory Services includes access to a collaborative, on-line resource dedicated to ARC's clients.  ARC Client Portal contains a vast amount of information based on extensive research conducted over the past decade.  This includes all weekly and monthly reports, ARC Forum presentations, and more.  Specific information can be easily found via the site's powerful search capabilities.

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