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The convergence of IT and OT is happening more rapidly than IT expects. Once upon a time, IT was so expensive that enterprises built entire departments to prioritize spending and efficiently manage those costly investments. Now, IT is so inexpensive that any individual who wants IT can buy it (or rent it). This is \u201cShadow IT\u201d: information technology that the IT organization does not know about. IoT puts OT on the same path.<\/p>\n
Nurses at a hospital in the US Northeast decided to use IoT to help doing rounds. They put motion and moisture detecting pads in thirty hospital beds on one ward, with remote monitors in the nurse\u2019s station. Instead of walking into each room every hour or two overnight, nurses monitored the patients for signs of motion or possible spills centrally. This improved patient care. Patients who were sleeping soundly remained undisturbed, while those who needed attention got it quickly. The nurses had more time to manage paperwork, prepare medications, and attend to other duties.<\/p>\n
These devices were very inexpensive \u2013 home versions retail for $50 or less. In contrast, an FDA-approved smart hospital bed can cost from $10,000 to $40,000 (a standard hospital bed costs around $6,000). Clearly the nurses would not succeed asking IT for an additional $4,000 to $30,000 per bed, but spending $50 per bed for non-clinical supplies doesn\u2019t require that level of approval or scrutiny.<\/p>\n
The experiment was so successful that sensors were installed on beds across the hospital \u2013 over 1,000 in total. They use WiFi and do not communicate over the hospital\u2019s corporate network. Then the administration directed IT to take over management of the devices. IT was blindsided by the request. They are coping with this new technology.<\/p>\n
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