Operational Technology in 2025: A Year in Review

microchip background with a plant in the middle and connection points drawn to other parts of a plant.

Marty Van Der Sloot, Director of Operational Technology | December 12, 2025

A Year in Review

Over the past year, Operational Technology (OT) has continued its rapid transformation as manufacturing environments adopt more advanced, interconnected, and data-driven systems. The shift hasn’t been subtle; plants are evolving from isolated operational islands into digitally integrated ecosystems. As this evolution accelerates, the importance of securing the plant floor, stabilizing critical infrastructure, and preparing for emerging threats has never been greater. 

A blue outlined icon of an industrial factory. The image features a building with three angular rooftops, two tall chimneys or smokestacks in the background, and a large entrance or loading bay in the front. The icon represents manufacturing or industrial production.

Evolving Infrastructure for a Modern Plant Floor 

Manufacturers have invested heavily this year in modernizing their underlying OT infrastructure. The ongoing move to segmented and software-defined industrial networks has taken hold, helping organizations reduce downtime and improve visibility. Ethernet-based industrial protocols, time-sensitive networking, and common transport layers are starting to replace legacy systems, offering higher reliability and simplified management. 

Virtualization in OT was once considered too risky for production environments, but it has made meaningful strides. Edge compute platforms, virtualized PLC environments, and container-based applications are becoming more common as vendors expand their industrial-grade offerings. These advances make OT systems more scalable and easier to maintain, while also delivering the redundancy and resilience needed for 24/7 operations.

A Changing Cybersecurity Landscape 

With these infrastructure changes, cybersecurity has quickly become a defining priority. This year’s rise in targeted attacks against manufacturing firms underscored how vulnerable production systems can be when operational and information technologies converge. Ransomware, supply-chain vulnerabilities, and the exploitation of remote access pathways highlighted the need for stronger controls, disciplined patch management, and continuous monitoring. 

Zero-trust principles moved beyond IT and into OT, prompting organizations to adopt identity-based access, micro-segmentation, and enhanced anomaly detection. The push toward unified security operations, where IT and OT teams collaborate rather than operate independently, proved critical in reducing both blind spots and response times. The lesson has been clear: Securing the plant floor is no longer optional; it’s foundational to operational continuity. 

An outline of a human head containing branching circuit lines, symbolizing technology, artificial intelligence, or innovation.

AI: Manufacturing’s New Frontier 

Artificial intelligence took center stage this year in both opportunity and risk. On the plant floor, AI has started to drive predictive maintenance, optimize production flows, enhance quality, and reduce unplanned downtime. Security teams are leveraging AI-based anomaly detection to spot deviations in network and equipment behavior in real-time, an essential capability as industrial environments become more complex. 

At the same time, AI introduces new cybersecurity considerations. Data integrity, model poisoning, and the rapid proliferation of AI-generated attacks require new defensive strategies. Manufacturers are recognizing that adopting AI isn’t just about unlocking efficiency; it’s about doing so responsibly and securely. 

Let's Reflect on the Year

  • What are some emerging technologies you're wondering about?
  • What AI solutions are you most excited about?
  • Have you heard about or considered a 5G private cellular network?
  • Have you created any planning or testing environments for moving your virtualization solutions off VMWare? 

Staying Curious While Staying Secure 

In one memorable scene from the show Ted Lasso, the message is simple: “Be curious, not judgmental.” That mindset resonates today as emerging technologies, especially AI, continue to reshape how we operate. Yet, many organizations are tightening restrictions to manage risk, sometimes at the cost of innovation. The challenge ahead is finding a balance: empowering teams to explore transformative tools while maintaining guardrails that keep operations safe. 

As we close out the year, one theme stands out: progress favors those willing to learn, adapt, and stay curious. In OT, that curiosity, paired with thoughtful governance, will continue to drive us toward safer, smarter, and more resilient manufacturing environments. 

A person is shown in a head‑and‑shoulders portrait, smiling warmly at the camera. They are wearing a dark collared shirt with an Interstates logo. The background is a smooth blue backdrop.
Marty, Director of OT at Interstates, has had a busy year with partnerships and projects!

Author Highlight: Marty Van Der Sloot, Director of Operational Technology 

Marty has had a busy 2025 as the Director of Operational Technology at Interstates! After partnering with Cognizant on a project for the Digital Manufacturing and Cybersecurity Institute, he initiated a project to rebuild the Technology Lab in the Sioux Center, IA, Office, aiming to test and evaluate emerging technologies, enhance the continuous improvement of current solutions, and create a client-facing showcase of technologies Interstates can provide to solve their problems. 

With over two decades of experience in OT, Marty has helped build and lead a world-class team driven by one goal: helping clients solve real manufacturing problems with practical, scalable technology. 

This topic is included in the Interstates LinkedIn Newsletter Converging Clarity, which focuses on Operational Technology.