Craig Duckworth of Velta Technology on IIoT & Digital Safety
Craig Duckworth is the President and one of the co-founders of Velta Technology, responsible for providing Digital Safety, operational integrity, and cybersecurity for industrial manufacturing and critical infrastructure environments.
“Communication between IT and Operational Technology (OT) teams is vitally important, and we believe OT needs to own the safety and security of the plant floor. IT security tools and solutions can’t be overlayed onto equipment in the Industrial Control System (ICS) environment. The two environments and skillsets to successfully manage and protect the technologies of each are very different.”
Velta Technology’s partnership with Claroty
Velta Technology’s leadership team made the strategic decision to work only with the top players in the industrial cybersecurity space – with Claroty one of the leaders in providing asset visibility and monitoring solutions for industrial networks.
“We get approached by technology partners all the time. While we’ve evaluated countless offerings, many don’t stack up. Since engaging with Claroty almost five years ago, we’ve been full steam ahead,” said Duckworth. “Overall, I would say we bring value to Claroty’s clients because of our deep understanding of the inner working of OT and IT environments, as well as the full potential of their industrial security solution. We bring knowledge and experience of both IT and OT, a depth of experience working with industrial equipment on the plant floor.”
“Velta Technology is not an IT cybersecurity technology company trying to move into the OT space. We have a deep understanding of process integrity and the inherent risks of plant floor equipment, which are unique to industrial equipment environments. We help our mutual clients fully embrace the scope of what Claroty and our expertise at Velta Technology can offer,” said Duckworth.
One of Velta Technology’s unique advantages is their team. “Our leadership team has over a hundred years of OT practitioner experience,” said Duckworth. “In addition, when we choose our team members we look for degreed engineers that understand process integrity, the industrial control system environment, and how to maximize Claroty’s solutions within the OT space.”
The Future of IIoT and OT according to Velta Technology
As we’ve moved further into Industry 4.0, IIoT has made securing OT / ICS manufacturing equipment and environments exponentially more difficult. The OT team are experts with the technology used for production of physical products and outcomes. They are in the best position to take the steps necessary to ensure safety and process integrity of equipment in industrial environments.
Over the next year, Duckworth sees Velta Technology poised for continued growth as a market leader.
“We continue to develop our relationships with cutting-edge technology partners like Claroty, who rely on partners like Velta Technology to also help them scale,” said Duckworth. “Our deep understanding of the Claroty platforms combined with our rich knowledge of Industrial Control Systems, allows Velta Technology to highlight the value of Claroty and what they do for the OT space.”
