Microsoft solutions for Manufacturing
Connect the plant floor to the business without connecting it to the internet.
What this sector is dealing with
Manufacturing runs two estates that were never meant to meet: operational technology on the plant floor, and IT in the offices. The business wants production data in reports and Copilot, while security wants the line isolated from anything that can carry ransomware.
We use the Microsoft stack to bridge that gap deliberately. Segmentation and OT-aware detection on one side, ERP and analytics on the other, and identity and device controls that work for shop floor workers who do not sit at a desk.
The problems we get called in for
IT and OT convergence
Plant systems need data flowing to the business without becoming an entry point into production.
Downtime is the real cost
A security incident on the line is measured in stopped production, so controls have to be delivered without stopping it first.
Frontline workers without desks
Shop floor staff need shared devices, kiosk experiences, and licensing that fits how they actually work.
Supply chain visibility
Planning, inventory, and quality data sit in separate systems, so the picture is always assembled by hand.
What Microsoft brings to manufacturing
The products that genuinely apply to this sector, and what each one is actually for here. Much of this sits inside licensing you may already hold.
Microsoft Defender for IoT
This is the piece most manufacturers are missing. Defender for IoT discovers what is actually on the OT network, including the unmanaged equipment nobody documented, and detects OT-specific threats passively, without agents on production systems. It feeds straight into Defender XDR and Sentinel so plant and IT alerts land in one investigation.
Microsoft Intune
Shop floor devices are the hard part, and Intune is built for it. Shared device mode and kiosk configuration for line terminals and scanners, Android Enterprise dedicated enrolment for handhelds, compliance policy so a device that drifts loses access, and Autopilot so a replacement terminal provisions itself instead of waiting for IT to visit the plant.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management covers production planning, inventory, and warehouse operations, with Finance behind it. Field Service handles maintenance and engineer scheduling. This is where the manufacturing-specific business logic lives rather than in spreadsheets.
Microsoft Sentinel
One detection layer over both estates, with the OT connectors bringing plant signals in alongside identity and endpoint, so an incident that starts in email and reaches the line is one timeline.
Microsoft Azure
Azure IoT and landing zone segmentation to move production telemetry into the business safely, with network design that keeps the flow one directional where it should be.
Microsoft Power BI
Production, quality, and OEE reporting from live data instead of a spreadsheet assembled every Monday, with Power Apps and Power Automate covering the shop floor forms and approvals that still run on paper.
Typical engagements in this sector
The projects we are most often brought in to deliver for manufacturing, from full implementations to targeted uplifts.
Defender for IoT OT visibility
Passive discovery of what is actually on the plant network, including the undocumented equipment, then monitoring alongside IT in Sentinel.
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain implementation
Production planning, inventory, and warehouse operations in one ERP, with Finance behind it and the spreadsheets retired.
Intune frontline device rollout
Shared device, kiosk, and Android Enterprise dedicated configuration for line terminals, scanners, and handhelds, delivered shift by shift.
IT and OT segmentation
Network and identity boundaries drawn deliberately, with the crossings that remain monitored rather than assumed safe.
Frameworks that shape the work
These are the frameworks and regulations we most often design against in manufacturing. We map Microsoft controls to the framework you are actually held to, and build the evidence trail as we go rather than reconstructing it the week before an audit.
IEC 62443
The standard for industrial automation and control system security, written for environments where availability outranks confidentiality.
NIST CSF
A framework for organising security around identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover. Useful as the spine that other frameworks hang off.
ISO 27001
The information security management standard most enterprise buyers and auditors ask for by name. It wants a system, not a set of tools.
ISO 9001
Quality management. It cares that your processes are defined, followed, and evidenced, which is the same discipline security audits want.
GDPR and UK GDPR
Lawful handling of personal data, with real duties around retention, subject access, and breach notification timelines.
Where to go next
The solutions we most often deliver for this sector.
Microsoft 365 & Intune
Devices enrolled, compliant, and provisioned without a technician in the room.
Explore Microsoft 365 & IntuneDefender XDR
Correlated protection across identity, endpoint, email, and cloud apps in one investigation.
Explore Defender XDRD365 Finance & Operations
Finance, supply chain, and operations in one system, implemented around how you work.
Explore D365 Finance & OperationsManaged Network
Segmentation, connectivity, and firewall policy managed as the estate changes.
Explore Managed NetworkWe work across sectors
Working in manufacturing? Let us look at your estate.
Book a discovery call and we will walk through what you already own, what is switched on, and where the gaps are that matter in your sector.