OMRON, Cognizant Partner to Integrate IT, OT in Manufacturing Industry

OMRON Corporation (TSE:6645) and Cognizant (NASDAQ:CTSH) have entered a strategic partnership to integrate information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) in the manufacturing industry. The collaboration positions Cognizant as the engineering partner for OMRON’s industrial automation business (IAB) products.

The partnership combines OMRON’s advanced automation technology, including sensors, controllers, servo motors, safety equipment, and robots, with Cognizant’s IT expertise in areas such as cloud, AI, IoT, and digital twin technologies. Together, the companies aim to provide a comprehensive solution that targets several sectors, including automotive, semiconductor, electronics, industrial manufacturing, life sciences, and consumer goods.

“OMRON is the only manufacturer of control equipment in the world that owns all the equipment used in the production line. Cognizant, on the other hand, is one of the world’s leading global IT services companies supporting the digital transformation of a wide range of industries with advanced digital technologies such as AI, IoT, and cloud,” Junta Tsujinaga, CEO of OMRON Corporation, said. 

“Through this partnership, we will promote the integration of IT and OT to solve urgent issues faced by manufacturing sites, such as significantly improving productivity, reducing operational losses, and speeding up management decisions.”

The integrated platform includes consultancy, on-site implementation, operation, and maintenance, offering a pathway to sustainable manufacturing. The solution aims to enhance productivity, improve workforce efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant, said, “Clients are looking for a strategic partner with deep industry and domain expertise, end-to-end capabilities, and the ability to manage complex technologies at various layers of a digital factory.”

Furthermore, the collaboration will use OMRON’s extensive product lineup, with over 2,00,000 SKUs gathering high-quality field data for Cognizant’s Asset Performance Excellence (APEx) platform and its Industry 4.0/5.0 maturity assessment tool OnePlant™. The data will help analyse IT-side issues and prioritise improvements, ultimately improving both on-site operations and management.