As the new Director of Automation at Interstates, Michael shared his 23-year journey at Interstates. Take a look at his career path and the growing field of automation. https://bit.ly/3N8aR7D

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Our project managers dig deep to find the why behind every project. Understanding a client's goals ensures they receive exceptional value on their project. Discover what we need for successful scope management. https://bit.ly/3KLjP8T Read Less

Are you trying to weather the storm by doing more with less? Manufacturing plants face a competitive market, but we have a few best practices to optimize plant floor automation and integration. Read more. https://bit.ly/3pPF7e2 Read Less

Take control of your facility and network with software-defined networking. With SDN, you have more security, control, and visibility of your OT network. Discover SDN and why you no longer need to settle for less. https://bit.ly/3vWCkRK Read Less

Daren Dieleman, Director of Operations, recently joined the CSIA Board of Directors. Congrats! "I'm excited and humbled to serve on the CSIA Board! I look forward to contributing and learning from great leaders from other system integration companies." Read Less

Our clients see long-term benefits from using remote solutions, including remote start-ups. They can lower costs and offer on-demand expert assistance from anywhere. Hear how remote start-ups work and if it's right for your plant. https://bit.ly/3yNSvAU Read Less

See what's in this issue of Current Connections 1. How value engineering took a wastewater project to the next level 2. Why scope management makes a difference in a project 3. How leaders can be intentional with their recognition https://bit.ly/3x7nAPQ Read Less

Did you know we have a quarterly newsletter with project stories and company news? Hear from our leaders and experts as they provide insight into our industry. Read the latest Current Connections in our Winter 2021 issue. https://bit.ly/3c8hzc6 Read Less

For the 7th time, we've become CSIA certified. This extensive audit ensures we're meeting CSIA’s Best Practices for system integrators. Ultimately, we want you to be reassured that we're delivering a top, quality project. Read Less

Brandon Bohle, Systems Analyst at Interstates, joined Automation World to discuss cybersecurity basics, best practices and effects from COVID-19. Listen to his insights and see if there are areas where your company can improve. https://bit.ly/3jkgvU4 Read Less

As online grocery shopping rises, so does the need for cold storage facilities. While there isn't an easy fix, a good first step is choosing the right vendor. Read our take on the current issue and how we may be able to help. https://bit.ly/3mTaArh Read Less

Interstates becomes two-time recipient of System Integrator of the Year Award. http://www.controleng.com/single-article/interstates-control-systems-sioux-center-iowa/4e4a9fc8d5c5aec178c8e012a08bc1d9.html

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Interstates Companies is pleased to announce that Ben McDermott, Service Technician, Interstates Construction Services, earned top honors in the instrumentation fitting category of the Associated Builders...

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The last decade has seen a widening gap between how traditional, IT-oriented patch management works and how it needs to be approached in manufacturing environments. If you’re still on the fence about the importance of cybersecurity in manufacturing, consider these recent statistics: In 2015, 46 percent of cybersecurity victims were in the manufacturing industry, with the technology industry being hit second hardest at 19 percent. The average dwell time from infection to detection in manufacturing is 314 days. Response time from detection to eviction is, on average, 28 days. Given this reality, end users should not underestimate their vulnerability when it comes to patch management and system and information integrity. Keeping up with patches can be overwhelming, but implementing a successful patch management solution can prevent attacks and help maintain normal operations. A common challenge at industrial network sites is not being able to test patches before deploying them to the production environment. Too often, production environments do not have downtime windows to reboot a server or workstation to apply a patch. Many of these environments are also managed by non-technical service technicians focused on the electrical and mechanical needs of the facility. These technicians often lack the knowledge and expertise of what issues a patch might create as well as how to back out of an installation. The benefits to end users from using the services of personnel trained in industrial IT to properly test and apply vendor-approved patches include: fewer issues with compatibility and access to expertise in the software and communication needs of the systems to properly test, deploy, and validate the patch service. In corporate IT, most systems are similar and/or cloned to be the same. This makes it easy and predictable to deploy basic patches through normal IT services. As a result, there is usually no testing done and all systems get all patches. In the industrial IT space, however, sites may have many different software packages as well as numerous versions of the same package. This can require a patch solution to not only recognize the vendor brand but also the version it is running. Look for a patch management solution that covers both of these scenarios. An effective solution should check the vendor and version to reference an approved patch baseline from the system to present and apply when the operator has a downtime opportunity. This also allows integrators to look at compliance of applied patches based off the approved patches from these vendors. Read Less