Field-Ready · Lesson 7.1
OT and Building Automation
Operational Technology. What that means, why it matters, and where BAS fits in.
What OT Actually Means
Operational Technology (OT) refers to hardware and software that monitors and controls physical equipment, processes, and infrastructure. It is the technology that makes things happen in the physical world, as opposed to IT (Information Technology), which primarily handles data, communication, and computation.
OT examples
- ·Building automation systems (BAS/BMS)
- ·Industrial control systems (ICS)
- ·SCADA systems for utilities and pipelines
- ·Manufacturing process control
- ·Traffic management systems
- ·Hospital medical device networks
IT examples
- ·Corporate data networks
- ·Email and file servers
- ·Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
- ·Cloud services
- ·Workstations and laptops
- ·Cybersecurity infrastructure
BAS is unambiguously OT. The controllers you have been programming in this course control physical systems: fans, pumps, valves, compressors. When a BAS controller fails, something stops working in the physical world, a space goes uncomfortably hot, a freezer fails, a lab loses pressurization. The stakes are different from a crashed web server.
SCADA: a related term
SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is the term most commonly used in industrial settings for what BAS calls a head end or supervisor. SCADA systems monitor and control industrial processes across large geographic areas: power grids, water treatment facilities, oil pipelines. The concepts are identical to what you have learned, sensors feed a controller, a supervisor aggregates data and enables operator control, just at a larger scale and in a different industry.
The IT/OT Divide
Cybersecurity Basics for BAS
The Field Tech's Role
You are up to date
End of current curriculum
More lessons are in development. Check back soon, or head back to the lesson list to review anything you want to revisit.