Resilience, security and compliance today form the foundations of sustainable industrial operations. Sunil Singh, Divisional Managing Director for Managed Services and eNetworks at Datacentrix, made this statement speaking at Datacentrix’s inaugural Industrial Indaba 2025. He said the convergence of IT and OT is critical for future business success.
From left: Sunil Singh, Ben de Klerk, and Andre Froneman, all of Datacentrix.
“The industrial sector is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the urgent need to secure operations, strengthen resilience and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving digital economy,” said Singh. “The path forward lies in embracing digitalisation – strategically and securely.”
Datacentrix hosted its first Industrial Indaba in Limpopo, speaking directly to customers and other industrial stakeholders in the region.
Enablers of digital empowerment
Ben de Klerk, Regional Manager: Eastern Cape and Operational Technology Lead at Datacentrix, added that technology, people and processes are the enablers needed for digital empowerment.
He suggested that industrial businesses need to invest in the core digital infrastructure that enables transformation, and should prioritise system, process and people integration before innovation.
“Technology alone cannot drive digitalisation,” de Klerk continued. “People remain central to success. Empowering employees with the right skills, fostering digital-first mindsets and encouraging leadership that embraces change are all critical steps. Furthermore, training staff on compliance protocols promotes a culture of accountability and awareness. Digital transformation doesn’t necessarily mean that people will be replaced by technology. It is however important to equip people to re-develop and embrace change, rather than resist it.”
Once established, integrated systems and processes need to evolve to serve agile operations based on data-driven decision making, with robust cybersecurity and operational resilience embedded foundationally. In this way, industrial businesses can establish a relevant cyber-physical ecosystem that supports automation, predictive analytics and agility.
Despite the promise of digitalisation, the industrial sector faces persistent challenges inhibiting transformation. These include legacy systems, disparate infrastructure and a shortage of digital skills, which together contribute to unnecessary complexity for compliance requirements. These challenges are further compounded by the constant need to balance operational safety, security and uptime. De Klerk emphasised that resilience, security and compliance are not separate goals but deeply interconnected strategic imperatives.
“The future of industry isn’t just digital,” he said. It needs to be intelligent, adaptive and self-optimising. Industrial organisations face specific risks – from operational disruptions to cyberattacks – and effective digitalisation hinges on embedding robust security and resilience measures from the outset. This means building agile, integrated infrastructure based on a Zero Trust security architecture, including relevant access controls and threat detection systems, which are essential for mitigating risks. Disaster recovery and incident response protocols for operational resilience are also essential.
“By adopting a proactive and layered security approach, industrial organisations can protect their assets, maintain operational integrity and build stakeholder confidence,” he said.
“A robust compliance strategy involves aligning with international frameworks, such as ISA/IEC 62443 and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST’s) Cybersecurity Framework, as well as local and industry-specific regulations. Regulatory compliance should not be seen as a barrier but approached strategically as a powerful enabler of trust and growth. Automation in reporting, alignment with global standards and the cultivation of a compliance-focused culture can position organisations to meet legal obligations and, importantly, to differentiate themselves in competitive markets,” de Klerk emphasised.
The power of collaboration
He went on to highlight the critical role of strategic partnerships, affirming an increasing recognition by industrial organisations that traditional approaches no longer keep pace with today’s demands. Partnerships help to accelerate deployment and enhance scalability, and by collaborating with trusted technology and business partners, industrial organisations can access expertise, share risk and leverage best practices. Partnerships also create pathways for continuous improvement, ensuring that resilience, security and compliance are at the core of business operations.
“With this collaborative approach, we achieve efficiency and instil business resilience. We use technology to gain foresight – and we move beyond ensuring survival to achieve a competitive advantage and secure growth.”
Integrated visibility
Adding to these insights, Andre Froneman, OT Solutions Specialist at Datacentrix, highlighted the role of integrated visibility in driving sustainability. He emphasised electrical metering for precise tracking of energy usage and demand peaks; visual and thermal process inspections for real-time defect detection and predictions of potential equipment failure; and ESG reporting which enables organisations to attribute emissions to specific processes and achieve audit-ready optimisation and compliance with regulations such as the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) Carbon Tax Act and global Carbon Disclosure programmes.
In closing, Singh said: “Datacentrix goes beyond the delivery of technology. We aim to co-create value – together with our clients and technology partners – to empower industry by enabling the integration, automation and visibility needed to facilitate data-driven decisions and strategic outcomes.
“For industrial businesses, the path forward, as we see it, is clear: embrace industrial digitalisation strategically, fortify operations with resilience, security and compliance, and harness partnerships to unlock sustainable growth and competitiveness.”
For more information visit: www.datacentrix.co.za/