Andromeda IT services:
Aligned with industrial production IT/OT priorities

Andromeda fully embraces a production-floor-centric IT network design, maintenance, and response philosophy. Your Industrial/Manufacturing business cannot afford anything less:

• With over 30 years of experience, Andromeda brings the necessary knowledge, system design expertise and service efficiencies/responsiveness to produce IT office/Cloud network systems that effectively and safely interact with always-on production floor OT systems.
• With today’s industrial systems requiring tighter two-way integration between office IT and MES/OT, effective security and response prioritization demand the proven expertise of an IT service provider like Andromeda to reduce risk and avoid common cybersecurity pitfalls.
• Andromeda has amassed ample experience working cooperatively with both client-internal and external MES/OT specialists to efficiently, productively, and securely define IT-OT bridge/segmentation that fulfills the needs of both sides. In addition, we have established partnerships with several companies specializing in OT systems should a client need additional help in that realm.

To that end, we have developed and live by these:

Andromeda "Manufacturing Mantras" for IT Design & Services

1. Leverage Andromeda’s past experience with manufacturing clients and MES/OT engineering teams to design robust IT networks quickly and efficiently.

   An effective office IT system for a manufacturer or industrial process client must accommodate, securely communicate with, and often prioritize interaction with MES/OT systems governing an always-on production floor environment.  The goal is always to efficiently design and safely integrate IT and MES/OT networks without compromising desired functionality, uptime or system integrity. Through ~30 years of experience servicing clients with industrial processes, Andromeda has formalized the most fundamental IT architecture elements to achieve that goal for new clients.

   But our experience has also taught us that every business has its unique requirements and concerns—especially concerning the interaction of IT with the production floor. Early in-depth communication with a new client’s management—and, especially, any engineering team responsible for their MES/OT systems—is paramount. Experience is our guide; applying that experience to individual client needs is the most important lesson learned. 

2. Production-prioritized IT begins with a structured, MES/OT-aware onboarding and network assessment process

   Andromeda accomplishes this through a well-defined, pre-planned initial onboarding project which has proven effective over a host of our industry-sector clients. Such a project involves two critical components:

   • An in-depth audit/analysis of a new client’s current data network(s) and their structure and implementation including any shortcomings such as security risks. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the communication and/or data sharing between embedded OT production systems with office IT, Cloud, or remote IT systems.
   • The creation of a full IT network design which takes into account:
     • the client’s current IT network setup as characterized by our audit
     • the client’s near-term needs and long-term scaling vision
3. With proper communication protocols and security segmentation, office/management/remote IT networks should never interfere with the client’s production or OT system operation.

   Non-interference with production/OT typically requires sensitivity to the efficiency, timing, and security of IT/OT communications, monitoring, and incident response. Andromeda is highly experienced with the design and implementation of architectures which execute on those needs such as:

   • Industrial DMZ (IDMZ) implementation
   • Firewall rule design between IT ↔ OT
   • VLAN and micro-segmentation strategy
   • Identity Boundary Design with separate OT domain
   • Jump host architecture for OT access
   • Production-safe implementation of office IT Cloud/SaaS applications
4. Provide tight identity/permissions control over who can access ERP, MES, and OT&emdash;especially remote workers and vendors.

   This is an absolute necessity in any modern industrial setting. Andromeda is well-versed in implementing systems that rigorously employ Zero-Trust and Principle of Least Privilege access and permissions with tools like Entra Private Access and AndroForge^TM Entra ID/AD-based integration and conditional Access policies for suppliers and remote workers.

5. Any office IT downtime should never stop manufacturing and production floor operations.

   With its deep history serving industrial/manufacturing clients, Andromeda brings awareness, flexibility, and accommodation of production floor OT system priorities and segmentation requirements:

   • Redundant firewalls, switches, ISPs
   • HA (High Availability) domain controllers per site with redundant nodes (Active-Passive or Active-Active), automatic failover mechanisms, and real-time data replication to minimize downtime
   • Deployment of multiple, synchronized DC nodes to eliminate single points of failure, ensuring continuous authentication and DNS services
   • Plant-aware network design (local authentication fallback, WAN failover for ERP/MES access)
   • Production-aware maintenance windows
   • Formal change approval processes
6. Maintain secure systems without surprise outages
   • Patch management deferral aligned with production scheduling
   • Implementation of “allow lists” for engineering workstations
   • Endpoint Protection (EPP) for the prevention of known threats
   • AI-enhanced continuous monitoring Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) mechanisms to respond to advanced threats that bypass prevention to uncover and mitigate suspicious behavior on devices like laptops, desktops, and servers
   • External media control/restrictions (e.g., Huntress and Defender)
   • Network evaluation/scanning
   • Advanced Wi-Fi analyzer implementation to troubleshoot and maintain stable Wi-Fi across large building campus (e.g., Ekahu)
7. If a threat materializes, protect the client’s production floor operations first.
   • 24×7 SOC (Security Operations Center) with industrial context: monitoring of identity, firewalls, VPNs
   • Deep backup: ERP systems, M365, engineering data (e.g. Datto)
   • OT-aware escalation procedures
   • Ransomware containment playbooks
   • IT isolation while preserving OT uptime
   • Recovery sequencing (OT→ IT→ MES→ ERP)
8. Provide proof—not promises—using evidence-based compliance, security, and service support:
   • Andromeda’s compliance to the NIST800‑171 framework provides assurances of client data and access integrity
   • Andromeda has experience providing and complying with evidence requirements for industrial clients over many compliance frameworks including: NIST800‑171, ISO 27001, SOC 2, CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification), and HIPAA:
     • IT system reporting and security audit information (e.g., Blumira)
     • Building/running IT security roadmaps
     • Aid in implementing controls for adherence to client compliance policies
     • Provision of risk assessments
     • Provision of incident response protocol/procedure documents and commitment declarations
   • Measured weekly, Andromeda provides manufacturing clients with accountability and verifiable improvements in ticket resolution speed, efficacy, and reduction as well as client survey feedback scores on our service:
     • Service ticket reduction—typically >50% over the first 3-9 months—helps your business run with fewer disruptions and greater reliability.
     • Phone pickup time (typically under 2 minutes)
     • Service ticket response time by a qualified technician: typically <40 minutes
     • Same-day ticket resolution metric: typically >90%
     • Published Customer Ticket Satisfaction Ratings: typically >90%
9. Be an IT partner that understands manufacturer needs, not just service tickets:
   • Provide quarterly risk and roadmap reviews as standard operating procedure
   • Provide plant and production-aware planning (Nodeware; Jupiter quarterly)
   • Andromeda supports clearly defined RACI (Responsible-Accountable-Consulted-Informed) for project management, updates, and other tasks across IT, OT & vendors.
   • Provide predictable flat-rate managed services
   • Do the work; provide clear, fully-defined project scopes
   • Technical on-site troubleshoot abilities across all 50 states
   • 24/7/365 Service Desk options
   • Aid client with their compliance needs: Andromeda has experience providing certain vCISO consultation/service functions for industrial clients over many frameworks including: NIST800-171, ISO 27001, SOC 2, CMMC, and HIPAA:
     • IT system reporting and security audit information (e.g., Blumira)
     • Advisement to client Executive/Leadership on security, translating risk into business impact
     • Building/running IT security roadmap
     • Aid in implementing controls for adherence to client compliance policies
     • Provision of risk assessments
     • Aid in alignment of security goals with business priorities.
     • Provide incident response during breaches including communicating with the executives of our clients and other parties as necessary.

Choosing Andromeda as your new IT managed services provider and partner brings a host of advantages critical to the success of your Industrial/Manufacturing business.