The integration of once separate capabilities has resulted in a computing platform that does not fail and is seemingly unstoppable despite modern and evolving technologies and requirements from a range of critical industries like manufacturing.
Today, manufacturers face a critical juncture: the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), coupled with the transformative potential of artificial intelligence. Stratus Technologies, a Penguin Solutions brand, is uniquely positioned at this intersection, bringing decades of fault-tolerance expertise to the next wave of computing in this very complex industry..
Overall, Penguin Solutions combines the expertise and capabilities of the company’s other lines of businesses; importantly the capability to deploy and manage AI for companies like Meta, Shell, and Georgia Tech, and more.
In a press release, President and CEO of Penguin Solutions, Mark Adams, had aptly described, “Uniting our company under one brand, Penguin Solutions, highlights our transformation into an enterprise solutions company focused on overcoming the challenges of complex infrastructure deployment.”
The IT-OT convergence challenge
Traditional manufacturing environments have long maintained a strict separation between IT and OT systems. Plant managers often oversee a complex array of disparate computing platforms – from legacy Windows servers running decades-old databases to modern Linux systems handling cybersecurity, alongside various control systems and human machine interfaces (HMIs).
This fragmented approach creates significant maintenance challenges, requiring specialized expertise for each system while increasing costs and complexity.
“The goal is to ensure that if a customer is spending $100 million on an AI deployment, they are getting $100 million worth of AI out of it, and not less due to inefficiencies and failures.”
However, the industry is witnessing a fundamental shift. Major industrial players, including global energy companies like Shell, are prioritizing the convergence of IT and OT systems alongside cybersecurity and AI initiatives.
This convergence promises improved efficiency, better security practices, and more integrated operations. Yet, it also introduces new challenges: How do you ensure reliability when consolidating critical systems? How do you maintain operational integrity while embracing modern computing paradigms?
Bridging reliability and innovation
Stratus Technologies’ VP of worldwide sales and services, Sean Smiley, recalled his previous experience in the oil and gas sector saying, “I would walk into facilities and see fifteen different compute platforms, some industrial grade, some purchased at the local computer store.”
Sean Smiley, Stratus Technologies’ VP of worldwide sales and services
Facilities managers would consistently express to Sean that this heterogeneous environment was challenging and expensive to maintain, as dedicated experts were needed to operate and maintain each platform which sometimes also required specialized hardware.
“They ultimately would like to have all of these systems consolidated onto one hardware platform,” Sean pointed out.
With virtualization technology today fully equipped to make this consolidation happen, Sean observed that it makes sense to use Stratus’ hardware because of its fault tolerant feature which offers high-availability.
The AI edge in manufacturing
Penguin Solutions brings to AI deployments, predictive maintenance capabilities to improve the reliability and utilization of GPUs and CPUs, especially at the edge where failures can be detrimental. This predictive component can actually recognize weeks in advance if there is going to be a failure and preemptively swap these failing compute resources as needed.
Sean said, “The goal is to ensure that if a customer is spending $100 million on an AI deployment, they are getting $100 million worth of AI out of it, and not less due to inefficiencies and failures.”
“I think if we had just remained Stratus, we would have been stuck in that world of just fault tolerance,” Sean reflected. “But now, we are playing a part in innovating AI and it is really exciting for us.”
Foong Lin Hoe, Stratus Technologies’ APeJ VP and MD
Lin Hoe Foong, Stratus Technologies’ APeJ VP and MD explained that clients value its edge computing solutions also because of the typically harsh and remote environments they have to operate in, and the limited IT resources they have readily available.
“To have to deploy IT individuals to these locations; it could be days or weeks before anything is restored.”
With fewer IT professionals being affordable for essentially non-technical industries like Lululemon in apparel manufacturing, Stratus prides itself on having baked in solutions that do not require IT expertise to troubleshoot.
The Stratus edge for ISVs and application providers
According to the VP of sales and services, IT and OT convergence is an ongoing trend in the industry. “We get all these disparate applications like SCADA, cybersecurity, and manufacturing execution systems (MES), consolidated into one machine by Stratus – this is very common today.”
Sean shared about established partnerships thay have with cybersecurity vendors the likes of Claroty and Fortinet. He observed that software-focused vendors tend to want to have their applications up and running at all times and want the hardware that their applications reside on, to not fail.
