Industry: manufacturing
IT support that keeps the line running, not just the laptops
A manufacturing business that loses its IT loses its shifts. Quotes don't go out, MRP stops talking to the floor, and a ransomware incident can idle a plant for a week. The right IT partner treats the factory floor with the same seriousness as the finance system.
Looking at the bigger picture across IT support, cyber security, AI and digital transformation? See the full manufacturing technology overview.
Why it matters
IT support is operational risk for manufacturing businesses, not back-office plumbing
Most manufacturers are now running a mix of Microsoft 365 in the office, ERP or MRP at the heart of the business, and a long tail of operational technology on the production floor - some of it older than the people operating it. The two halves rarely speak to each other cleanly.
When IT support is generic, the office side gets attention and the production side doesn't. That's how you end up with a single ageing PC, sat next to a CNC machine, running an unpatched copy of Windows 7 that nobody dares touch.
The challenges
What makes manufacturing IT support genuinely different
Downtime has a meter on it
Every hour the line is down has a number against it. IT issues that would be an annoyance in a professional services firm are a P&L event here.
OT and IT live different lives
PLCs, SCADA, HMIs and bespoke machine controllers don't get patched the way laptops do. They need to be segmented, monitored and protected differently.
Legacy ERP is load-bearing
The ERP that runs scheduling and stock is often a generation behind. Migrating it is hard, leaving it is risky, and integrations are usually held together with overnight CSV jobs.
Cyber attacks now target plants
Ransomware groups have figured out that manufacturers will pay because every hour offline costs more than the ransom. Insurers know this too, and premiums reflect it.
Skills are thin on the ground
Recruiting an internal IT lead who understands both Microsoft and shop-floor systems is hard, especially outside the major cities. Most teams need a partner who has both already.
Non-negotiables
What effective IT support for manufacturing looks like in practice
Segmentation between office and floor
Production networks isolated from corporate IT, with controlled paths for the data that genuinely needs to cross.
Out-of-hours coverage that's real
Lines run on shifts. A service desk that closes at 5:30pm is a service desk that's offline for half the production week.
Backups that survive an attack
Immutable, off-tenant backups of Microsoft 365 and ERP, tested by restore rather than by spreadsheet.
A documented recovery plan
If the plant came under attack tomorrow, the answer to 'what now' shouldn't be a four-way phone call.
What good looks like
A partner who's done this before saves you the first 12 months of learning
A good manufacturing IT partner shows up speaking both languages. They'll tidy up Microsoft 365 and Intune for the office, segment the OT network properly, and make sure the ERP integrations stop being a single point of failure. They'll also be honest about what to leave alone - some legacy controllers genuinely should not be touched, but they should be ring-fenced.
The work that pays back most quickly tends to be unglamorous: identity hygiene in Entra ID, sensible conditional access, proper backup of Microsoft 365 and the file shares the planners actually use, and a tested recovery runbook.
Outcomes you should expect
- Production downtime caused by IT issues reduced and measured
- OT network segmented and monitored, not just assumed safe
- ERP integrations documented and supported, not tribal knowledge
- Insurance and Cyber Essentials evidence ready when asked for
Tell us about your site, your ERP and your shift pattern. We'll match you with a UK partner that already supports manufacturers.
Get matchedLooking for IT support for your manufacturing business?
We'll match you with a UK partner that already supports manufacturing firms - no cold calls, no fee to you.