The security and robustness of a company’s IT infrastructure is often the overlooked component in digital transformation strategies across the energy sector, says David Greenwood, CEO at ISN Solutions, a UK-leading IT managed service provider (MSP) with decades of experience in supporting offshore and remote energy operations.
The wind industry is driving improvements to operational efficiency and decision making with digital technologies. However, concerns over data sharing and inability to access data has hindered progress. The efficacy and security of a company’s network is essential for enabling secure data sharing, for the wind industry to get the most out of new technologies and digital tools, and to avoid cybersecurity issues.
Taking learnings from other energy sectors
ISN Solutions’ heritage is in partnering with oil and gas and exploration companies, and there are similarities in the challenges facing offshore wind today to those that ISN Solutions has previously dealt with in oil and gas.
One of these challenges was facilitating a secure and reliable connection of control systems and sensors to business networks for an oil and gas client.
There is a need for offshore wind, too, to better integrate data insight into operations and maintenance (O&M) decision making. The potential of secure real-time data access to productivity and efficiency is enormous, from increased company collaboration, to better management of machinery and issues and more informed decision making.
But digitalisation can also introduce risk. Implementation of new digital tools linking to the company network can leave additional entry points for hackers, if these additional devices do not include security control measures.
ISN Solutions assists energy companies at a strategic level to implement a reliable IT and communications infrastructure to ensure successful collaboration and digital transformation, while ensuring that all communication points in the company network are secure and protected.
Managing IT for you
At the heart of ISN Solutions’ operations is its managed service, providing ongoing maintenance and continuous improvement of systems over the long term, as well as 24/7 operations support. This is particularly pertinent to defence against cyber threats, where, should a breach occur, rapid action is essential to limit the damage.
