Manufacturing IT is different. I don’t mean a little different. I mean completely different from what most IT companies are used to dealing with.

Had a manufacturing client call us because their previous MSP kept trying to treat them like they were just another office environment. Same security policies, same software recommendations, same everything.

Problem is, when you’ve got production equipment that can’t be updated the same way as office computers, when you’ve got shift workers who need different access than day-shift office staff, when downtime costs you thousands of dollars an hour… generic IT support doesn’t work.

Their old IT company never got that. Kept pushing standard solutions for non-standard problems. Kept treating manufacturing like it was just an office with some extra machines.

Why Manufacturing IT Is Actually Complicated

Most IT companies think they understand manufacturing because they’ve worked with a few small shops. But there’s a huge difference between a 10-person machine shop and a 150-person manufacturing operation.

The Equipment Problem

Manufacturing equipment often runs on older operating systems. Sometimes much older. I’m talking Windows 7, Windows XP, even older proprietary systems that control million-dollar machines.

Generic MSP approach: “You need to upgrade everything to Windows 11 for security.”

Reality: That CNC machine controller from 2015 doesn’t run on Windows 11. The software that runs your production line isn’t compatible with modern operating systems. Upgrading means replacing equipment that’s perfectly functional and costs more than most people’s houses.

So you need IT people who understand that security has to work around your equipment, not the other way around.

The Network Complexity

Office environment: Everyone’s on the same network, same security policies, same access levels.

Manufacturing: You’ve got office staff, production floor workers, equipment that needs network access, vendors who need temporary access to specific systems, maybe even customers who need to see production status.

Each group needs different levels of access. Different security requirements. Different uptime requirements.

Your accounting software can be down for an hour without the world ending. Your production control system goes down for an hour and you’re looking at serious money.

The Shift Work Reality

Office IT: Everyone works roughly the same hours. Problems happen during business hours when IT support is available.

Manufacturing: You might run two shifts, three shifts, maybe 24/7 operations. IT problems don’t wait for business hours.

Had a client whose production line went down at 11 PM on a Friday. Their previous MSP’s “24/7 support” turned out to be a call center that could reset passwords but couldn’t help with anything related to their actual production systems.

Cost them a weekend of downtime. In manufacturing, that’s real money.

What Manufacturing Companies Actually Need

People Who Understand Your Environment

Not every IT person gets manufacturing. Working around active production equipment. Understanding that some systems can’t be touched during certain hours. Knowing that your ERP system integration with production equipment isn’t just nice to have – it’s critical.

We work with manufacturing clients where touching the wrong server during production hours could shut down an entire line. Your IT people need to understand that kind of environment.

Security That Works With Your Equipment

Standard office security doesn’t work when half your equipment can’t run modern security software. You need people who can design network segmentation that protects your office systems without interfering with production equipment.

Air-gapped networks for critical production systems. VLANs that separate office traffic from equipment traffic. Security policies that account for equipment that can’t be updated.

Most IT companies have never had to design security around a 10-year-old machine controller that can’t be updated but needs network access.

Is your current IT provider treating your manufacturing business like just another office environment? That’s a problem.

Backup and Recovery That Understands Downtime Costs

Office environment: If the file server goes down, people can’t access some documents for a few hours. Annoying but not catastrophic.

Manufacturing: If your production control system goes down, you’re losing money every minute. And getting it back up isn’t just about restoring data – it’s about making sure all your production equipment comes back online correctly.

Your backup and recovery plan needs to account for the fact that some of your systems are more critical than others. And some of them have interdependencies that office IT never has to deal with.

The Integration Challenge

Here’s something most IT companies don’t understand about manufacturing: Everything has to talk to everything else.

Your ERP system needs to talk to your production equipment. Your quality control systems need to integrate with your inventory management. Your scheduling software needs real-time data from the production floor.

Break any of those connections and your whole operation gets less efficient. Or stops working entirely.

Office IT is mostly about making sure people can use email and access files. Manufacturing IT is about keeping complex systems working together.

Common Mistakes Generic IT Companies Make

Treating All Downtime the Same

Generic IT company: “We’ll schedule server maintenance for Sunday morning.”

Manufacturing reality: Sunday morning might be your second shift. Or your biggest production day. Or when you do quality testing that can’t be interrupted.

You need IT people who understand your production schedule before they start planning maintenance windows.

Pushing Standard Software Solutions

“You should use this cloud-based inventory system. It’s great for small businesses.”

Maybe it is great for small businesses. But can it integrate with your production equipment? Does it handle the specific compliance requirements for your industry? Can it work with the batch tracking you need for quality control?

Most business software is designed for office environments. Manufacturing has specific requirements that generic software doesn’t handle.

Not Understanding Compliance

Different manufacturing industries have different compliance requirements. FDA regulations for food production. ISO standards for automotive suppliers. Environmental regulations for chemical processing.

Your IT systems need to support compliance, not get in the way of it. That means understanding what data you need to track, how long you need to keep it, who needs access to it.

Generic IT companies often don’t know what they don’t know about industry-specific compliance.

What to Look For in Manufacturing IT Support

Experience With Your Type of Manufacturing

IT company that’s worked with automotive suppliers understands different things than one that’s worked with food processing. Different compliance requirements, different equipment, different challenges.

Ask about specific experience with your industry. Not just “we work with manufacturers” but “we work with companies that do what you do.”

Understanding of Industrial Networks

Your IT people need to understand the difference between office networks and industrial networks. Different protocols, different equipment, different security requirements.

If they start talking about treating your production equipment the same as office computers, that’s a red flag.

24/7 Support That Actually Means Something

Not just a call center that can reset passwords. People who understand your production systems and can actually help when something goes wrong at 2 AM.

Ask them: “What happens when our production line goes down on a weekend?” If they don’t have a real answer, keep looking.

The Real Cost of Generic IT Support

Manufacturing companies that try to use generic IT support usually end up spending more money, not less.

You end up hiring specialists anyway when your generic IT company can’t handle your equipment integration. You end up with downtime that could have been prevented by people who understood your environment.

You end up with security problems because your IT people applied office security policies to industrial equipment.

Most expensive of all: you end up with IT that gets in the way of production instead of supporting it.

Making the Right Choice

Manufacturing IT isn’t just office IT with some extra machines. It’s a completely different discipline that requires people who understand industrial environments.

Don’t let an IT company learn about manufacturing on your dime. Find people who already understand your challenges and know how to solve them.

Your production depends on it. And in manufacturing, if production stops, everything stops.