The Industrial Edge: Moving Beyond the Hype of Connected Plant Operations

#ProMFGMedia #SmartManufacturing #ITOTConvergence #Industry40 #Operationalexcellence #PredictiveMaintenance #PlantOperations #DigitalTransformation #ManufacturingLeadership #ServiceNow #AelumConsulting

September 2026 : Modern manufacturing plants generate more data today than ever before. Yet, on most factory floors, critical decisions are still delayed by fragmented systems, delayed OEE reporting, and isolated OT networks. To cut through the buzzwords and tackle the reality of IT/OT convergence, Pro MFG Media - in partnership with Aelum Consulting and ServiceNow - hosted the exclusive Manufacturing CxO Think Turf roundtable in Pune.

Titled "The Industrial Edge: Unified Visibility to Predictive, Connected Plant Operations," the closed-door, by-invite gathering brought together industrial visionaries to examine what it truly takes to shift shop-floor operations from reactive troubleshooting to predictive intelligence.

The evening kicked off with a welcome address by Manish Kulkarni (Pro MFG Media), who set the stage for an open, unvarnished discussion on digital transformation. Keynote presentations by Jatin Arora - ServiceNow and Trishala Shastri - Aelum Consulting highlighted how unified workflows bridge operational siloes to build resilient plants.

Shifting focus to shop-floor security, Sangita Panmand - ServiceNow and Vishal Mohanani - ServiceNow unpacked the hidden risks in OT environments, exploring the reality of blind spots between infrequent security audits. Kamlesh Kumar - Aelum Consulting followed with a live solution demo, demonstrating how real-time asset visibility turns complex OT signals into actionable operational decisions.

The centerpiece of the event was a candid roundtable moderated by Manish Kulkarni, bringing together senior executives across auto, steel, industrial equipment, and component manufacturing. Participants included Adeel Siddiqui (OPmobility), Bhaskar Anand (Hanon Systems), Bhushan Badgujar (Advik Hi-Tech Pvt. Ltd.), Bhushan Mahale (Eaton), Chandrakant Dange (ZF Steering Gear India Ltd.), Mohini Kirane (TKIL Industries), Rahul Mahakal (JSW Steel Coated Products), Ravi Inamdar (Thermax Ltd.), Robinson Joseph (Cummins India), Sathish Kumar (Adient), Shekhar Suryavanshi (SKF India Ltd.), Suresh Chavan (Kirloskar Pneumatic), Trishala Shastri (Aelum Consulting), Chitra Manjunath (ServiceNow) and Naresh Paldewar (Aelum Consulting).

The core debate revealed that while IT/OT convergence is widely discussed, actual progress remains constrained by legacy equipment, unmonitored OT devices, and a lack of standardized governance across systems. Leaders highlighted that shift-based or hourly OEE reporting creates costly latency, forcing plant teams to respond to downtime long after it occurs rather than taking preventive action. Moving from scheduled to true predictive maintenance continues to stall because single sources of reliable asset data remain fragmented across disconnected tools.

Ultimately, executives agreed that the primary bottleneck in connected operations is not a lack of technology, but the organizational challenge of bridging the divide between plant floor teams and enterprise IT. While AI is delivering tangible value in targeted areas like automated quality checks, vast amounts of plant data remain underutilized, leaving operators dependent on manual judgment for critical decisions.

The event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Sanjay Bhan (Pro MFG Media), closing an evening of grounded, high-value exchange.

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