Data is at the heart of everything when it comes to monitoring an industrial environment. Across your OT, IIoT, and IT infrastructure, countless devices, systems, sensors, robots, and production lines are constantly generating information — information that, if captured and used correctly, gives you real-time visibility into your entire operation. And let's be honest: in today's world of increasing automation, the volume and complexity of that data is only growing. For a sound holistic monitoring concept, there are two fundamental questions you need to answer: what data do you actually need, and how are you going to get it? Let's work through both.
Here's the thing: every industrial environment is different. The monitoring requirements of a pharmaceutical production facility look nothing like those of an automotive factory. The nature of your production process, your infrastructure setup, and your operational goals all shape what data matters to you. There's no universal playbook here — and anyone who tells you otherwise probably hasn't spent much time on an actual factory floor. What it really comes down to is this — define your goals first, and the data requirements will follow.
Knowing your goals helps you figure out what kind of monitoring data you actually need. Some goals require real-time data from across OT, IT, and IIoT systems. Others might mean retrofitting older machines or deploying new sensors on-site. To make this concrete, here are five common goals in industrial monitoring — and what data you'd need to achieve them.
How much energy are your machines actually consuming? Tracking energy consumption across your industrial operations isn't just about reducing bills — it's increasingly tied to sustainability goals and regulatory requirements. Many devices have built-in measurements, but many don't. For those that don't, you'll need something like a power meter or smart sensor that feeds data into your monitoring system. Once you have that data, you can analyze it over time, spot inefficiencies, and make better decisions about where to optimize.
SCADA systems, MES, and PLCs are the backbone of most industrial operations. If any of these control systems underperform — even slightly — the effects ripple through the entire production process. Think of it like a chain: one weak link, and the whole thing is at risk. That means you need continuous, real-time monitoring of their status, performance metrics, and functionality. It's not enough to know that a system is "running." You need to know how it's running, whether it's operating within expected parameters, and whether there are early signs of degradation that could affect product quality or operational efficiency down the line. A good case study example: manufacturers who monitor their SCADA and MES systems in real time regularly report fewer unplanned stoppages and measurably better process control — simply because they see problems coming before they hit.
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Is the data from your factory floor actually reaching its destination? It sounds like a basic question, but in practice, it's one of the trickier things to guarantee. Whether data needs to get to a data center, a cloud platform, or an ERP system, there are plenty of components that could get in the way — unavailable interfaces, bandwidth bottlenecks, broken connections at the gateway level. If that data pipeline breaks down, so does your ability to make informed decisions and streamline your industrial processes. This is one of those use cases where monitoring isn't glamorous, but it's absolutely critical. Without it, you're flying blind.
Once you've defined what data you need, you can figure out how to actually collect it. There are three main factors that will shape your data acquisition approach: connectivity, communication protocols, and security permissions.
How your devices and systems are connected determines how you can reach them. In modern industrial environments, OT infrastructure might run over classic factory LAN, industrial WLAN, or newer wireless standards like 5G or LPWAN. Each of these comes with its own characteristics — and its own challenges for industrial monitoring. Understanding your connectivity landscape is step one.
Industrial environments have historically relied on FieldBUS protocols for communication on the factory floor. But as the Industrial Internet of Things and IT/OT convergence have taken hold, a much broader mix of protocols is now in play. Standards like OPC UA and MQTT Sparkplug have become increasingly important, enabling interoperability between different systems and vendors in heterogeneous industrial environments.
Access to a data source requires the right permissions — full stop. Authentication, port access, and firewall rules: these aren't just bureaucratic hurdles. They're a fundamental part of your cybersecurity architecture and a key element of process control. Make sure your monitoring concept accounts for this from the start, rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Collecting data is only half the battle — and honestly, it's the easier half. What you do with it is where the real value lies. Well-designed dashboards and clear visualization of your monitoring data make the difference between raw numbers and actionable insights. When your team can see at a glance which systems are healthy, which are showing deviations, and where the next potential issue might be coming from, decision-making gets faster and smarter. No more digging through logs or waiting for someone to escalate a problem. Whether you're dealing with an unexpected incident or planning the next maintenance window, having that real-time overview — across your entire industrial infrastructure — is what turns a monitoring system into a genuine operational tool. It's also what allows you to streamline your workflows and reduce the kind of reactive firefighting that drains your team's time and energy.
Of course, all of the above is strategic, and is only a small part of putting together a monitoring concept. For more information, download our white paper, "Support IT/OT convergence with holistic monitoring", by clicking on the banner below. In it, we cover various considerations for defining a monitoring strategy, including the challenges of monitoring IT and OT, how to visualize your monitoring data, and the importance of notifications and alerts.
PRTG helps you monitor OT, IIoT, SCADA systems, PLCs, and your entire IT infrastructure — all in one place, in real time.