IT Support for Manufacturing Companies
An IT plan for a manufacturer has to respect the production schedule and the equipment already on the floor. NetSys supports the networks, identity, servers and recovery behind that work. Separate office and plant responsibilities, involve equipment vendors and test the workflows that release orders and keep production moving.
The short answer
Manufacturing IT support runs the office and the shop floor as one environment with two sets of rules: help desk and 24/7 monitoring, ERP servers with tested backups, network zones that keep machine controllers away from email and the internet, and vendor remote access through named sessions that expire. NetSys schedules the work around shifts, month to month, and leaves machine controls and ERP configuration with their vendors. At a large manufacturing plant in Virginia, we manage 160 computers, run password management for 125 employees and provide managed EDR across production and office devices.
Sound familiar?
- Machine controllers on an old Windows release that the machine vendor will not let anyone patch
- One flat network from the CNC floor to the receptionist's PC, so one infected laptop can reach the line
- An ERP server that has never been restored from backup and holds every open order
- Remote access for machine vendors and integrators through shared passwords nobody has rotated
- A defense prime asking for a NIST SP 800-171 score and nobody sure how to produce one
- Purchase-order and invoice fraud aimed at buyers and accounts payable
What we deliver for manufacturers
Shop Floor and Office, Separated
- Network segmentation between operational technology and the business network, designed around how data moves between them
- Legacy controllers isolated and monitored instead of exposed
- Vendor remote access through an attributable, time-limited path instead of a standing VPN
- Plant Wi-Fi built for scanners, tablets and a metal-heavy floor
ERP and Production Systems, Kept Up
- ERP, MES and CAD file servers monitored 24/7 and patched around shifts
- Dynamics 365 Business Central migration and support for shops outgrowing their accounting package
- Immutable backups of ERP databases, drawings and quality records, with restores timed
- A written recovery order, so the floor restarts before the front office
Ransomware Defense Built for a Plant
- Managed endpoint detection on office and engineering workstations
- Email defense tuned for supplier impersonation and altered bank details
- Privileged access management so administrator rights stop living on shared accounts
- More than 30 ransomware incidents handled in three years, every one fully recovered
CMMC and Customer Requirements
- NIST SP 800-171 gap assessment, system security plan and plan of action for shops with defense contracts
- Controlled unclassified information kept inside a defined enclave rather than across every PC
- Evidence organized for prime contractor questionnaires and audits
- AI automation for quote follow-up and order status updates where it takes work off the office
Manufacturing compliance: defense work, export controls and data law
Most of a manufacturer's obligations arrive through contracts and customers rather than one regulator. Your contracts manager and counsel confirm what applies; we implement the technical controls and keep the records.
CMMC 2.0 (32 CFR Part 170)
The Department of War suspended the program's Phase II requirements on July 13, 2026, ahead of their November 10 start. Phase I continues: Level 1 is an annual self-assessment and affirmation against the 15 requirements in FAR 52.204-21, and Level 2 is a self-assessment every three years, affirmed annually, against the 110 requirements of NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2. NetSys is not a C3PAO.
DFARS 252.204-7012
The suspension did not touch this clause. Contractors holding covered defense information still implement NIST SP 800-171, report cyber incidents to the Department within 72 hours, preserve affected images for 90 days and flow the clause down to subcontractors that handle the information.
Export controls: ITAR (22 CFR Parts 120 to 130) and EAR (15 CFR Parts 730 to 774)
Technical data for controlled parts cannot be released to foreign persons without authorization, and a shared drive or cloud tenant can do that quietly. Controlled drawings need restricted folders, named access and a storage location chosen with the export rules in mind.
OT security guidance: NIST SP 800-82 Rev. 3
Not a law, but the reference most plant security plans are built on. It covers separating operational technology from business networks, controlling remote vendor access and planning recovery for equipment that cannot be patched on an office schedule.
NY SHIELD Act (GBL §899-aa and §899-bb)
Employee records, direct deposit details and customer account logins held by a manufacturer that employs or sells to New Yorkers need reasonable safeguards, and affected residents must be told within 30 days of discovering a breach.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your obligations with counsel.
Manufacturing software we support around
ERP, CAD and CAM applications run the order book and the programs that reach the machines. We support the servers, workstations, network zones and backups underneath them and coordinate upgrades with each vendor; application configuration stays with the vendor or your integrator.
- Dynamics 365 Business Central
- Epicor Kinetic
- SAP Business One
- SOLIDWORKS
- Mastercam
- AutoCAD
Product names are their owners’ trademarks. We manage the devices, accounts and access around these applications and work with each vendor’s support. A listing here doesn’t mean we resell an application or partner with its maker.
IT services for a manufacturing shop that could not lose a second shift
The specific engagements behind this profile are under NDA, so it is written as a generalization rather than a named client. Our published, client-approved outcomes are in case studies.
A precision machining company ran two shifts on a mix of new machining centers and older equipment whose controllers ran an operating system the vendor stopped supporting years ago. Everything sat on one network. The ERP ran on a server in a closet beside the compressor, backups went to a drive on that same server, and a prime contractor had just asked for the shop's NIST SP 800-171 score before renewing a long-standing part number.
- The network redesigned into zones: machine controllers and their file drops in one, engineering workstations in another, office and guest Wi-Fi in a third, with rules written for the traffic that must cross
- Older controllers left in place but isolated and monitored, since replacing the machines was never on the table
- ERP moved to supported hardware with immutable backups and a restore performed during a planned weekend
- Vendor remote access replaced with named, MFA-protected sessions that expire
- A system security plan and plan of action written for the 800-171 requirements, scored honestly, with the gaps dated as they closed
The intended result is a score the owner can sign and send to the prime with a plan behind it, an office network an infected laptop cannot use to reach a machine, and a written, rehearsed order for which systems come back first if the worst happens.
Work we have done for manufacturing clients
- Manufacturing
Large manufacturing plant in Virginia
Password management for 125 employees, management of 160 computers, and managed EDR antivirus across production and office devices.
- Manufacturing
Precision machining company recovering from ransomware
Recovery and restoration of 3 servers and 45 workstations, followed by EDR deployment and immutable backup implementation.
Client names are withheld. Each card is the scope of a real NetSys engagement, as delivered.
Manufacturing IT FAQs
What should be agreed before an IT provider changes plant systems?
Identify the production owner, equipment vendor, supported configuration and approved maintenance window. Document the current connections and backup or recovery method, then agree a test and rollback decision. A standard office patch policy should not be applied to a machine controller without checking its operational requirements.
How should a manufacturer compare managed IT proposals?
Compare the same office, plant and site inventory. Ask who owns ERP infrastructure, machine-vendor coordination, network segmentation, after-hours escalation and recovery testing. Distinguish recurring support from equipment changes, migrations and separately scoped compliance work so price comparisons reflect the same responsibilities.
Do you provide IT services for manufacturing companies with old machines on the floor?
Yes, and old machines are the normal case. Controllers on unsupported operating systems are not going anywhere, so we isolate them: separate network zones, tight rules for the file traffic they need, monitoring on the path in and out, and no direct exposure to email or the internet. That protects the line without asking you to replace equipment that still cuts good parts.
What does ransomware cost a manufacturer?
In operational terms it costs shifts. If the ERP, scheduling or file server is encrypted, orders cannot be released, routings cannot be printed and shipping cannot confirm what left the dock. Recovery time is the number that matters, and it depends on whether backups are immutable and whether anyone has practiced a restore. For a precision machining company recovering from ransomware, NetSys restored 3 servers and 45 workstations, then deployed EDR and immutable backups. IBM's X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2026 names manufacturing the most attacked industry for the fifth consecutive year, which is why we plan the recovery before the incident.
Do we need CMMC if we only supply a prime contractor?
Usually. If your parts are for a defense program and the drawings are controlled unclassified information, the requirement flows down through the prime. Since Phase II was suspended on July 13, 2026, Levels 1 and 2 are met by self-assessment, and DFARS 252.204-7012 still applies. We scope the CUI enclave narrowly. This is general information, not legal advice.
Can you support our ERP system?
We support the servers, network, backups and access around whichever ERP you run, and we coordinate with the ERP vendor on upgrades and problems so you do not sit between two support desks. For companies moving off a small accounting package, we migrate and support Dynamics 365 Business Central. Either way, the ERP database gets immutable backups and a timed restore, because it holds the orders.
How do you patch systems without stopping production?
Maintenance windows follow your production calendar. Office and engineering systems patch on a schedule outside shifts. Plant systems patch only in coordination with the machine vendor and the production manager, and some never patch at all and get isolated instead. Monitoring runs 24/7, so a problem overnight gets attention before the first shift arrives.
Do you require a long-term contract for manufacturing IT?
No. Agreements run month to month, including for plants with segmentation projects and CMMC work in progress. Project work is scoped in writing with its own milestones, and the ongoing agreement continues only while it is earning its keep. Shops that have been burned by multi-year IT contracts tend to ask this question first, and the answer does not change for larger plants.
What does IT support for manufacturers include?
It treats the office and the floor as one environment with two sets of rules. That means help desk and monitoring, ERP servers and backups, network zones that keep machine controllers away from email and the internet, vendor remote access through named sessions, and patching timed to the production schedule rather than an office calendar.
What should we look for in a manufacturing IT company?
Look for experience with plant networks, not only offices. Ask how they segment machine controllers, handle equipment vendors' remote access, coordinate with your ERP vendor, schedule maintenance around shifts and prove a restore of the ERP database. If you hold defense work, ask what they do for NIST SP 800-171 and what they claim to certify.
How do machine vendors get remote access without a standing VPN?
Through named sessions that someone approves and that expire. The vendor signs in with its own account and MFA, reaches only the machine it supports, and the session is logged and closed when the work ends. The production manager knows when a vendor is connected, and no shared password sits in a controller's notes.
Do export controls affect where we store drawings?
Yes, if any of your parts fall under ITAR or the EAR. Controlled technical data should sit in restricted folders with named access, away from general shares, and access by foreign persons needs a licensing check first. Many defense suppliers keep that data in Microsoft's GCC High environment; the right option depends on your contracts and classification.
How does onboarding work for a manufacturer?
Discovery comes first and touches nothing on the floor: office and engineering devices, ERP and file servers, plant network gear, machine-vendor remote access, licenses and admin credentials, written down with the risks ranked. Admin rights then move to named accounts, monitoring, endpoint protection and backup tools go on office and engineering systems, and the first fixes land: shared vendor passwords, MFA gaps and an ERP backup that has never been restored. Network segmentation and any change near a machine controller are quoted as projects and scheduled with the production manager and the equipment vendor.
How is manufacturing IT support priced?
Per user per month, on month-to-month terms. Headcount and devices, plants and sites, ERP and other servers, the plant network we manage, CMMC or customer compliance work and on-site needs move the figure. Segmentation projects, ERP migrations and hardware are quoted separately, and we publish no rate card.
Who handles support and escalations when production is affected?
NetSys engineers answer the help desk seven days a week from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern, which covers early and weekend shifts, and monitoring and emergency service run 24/7. Your named account manager is the escalation route, and the agreement states response times by severity. Machine-controller problems go to the equipment vendor through the named, time-limited access path, with us on the call.
Guides for manufacturing leaders
- Define network ownership between the office and plant
- Set recovery priorities for ERP and production dependencies
- IT Support for Manufacturers: Common Questions
- Cybersecurity for Small and Mid-Size Manufacturers
- AI Automation for Manufacturers
- CMMC Compliance
- cybersecurity for manufacturing
- Where CMMC stands after the Phase II suspension
- Dynamics 365 Business Central migration for growing shops
- IT for government contractors handling CUI
- Patch management timed around production shifts
- Managed firewalls between the plant and the office
- NIST SP 800-171 checklist for defense suppliers
- IBM X-Force 2026: industry trends, manufacturing included
- CMMC Level 2 Requirements: The 110 Controls Explained
Other industries we support
Services behind this work
Plan support around production, not just user counts.
Tell us your sites, ERP platform, critical plant dependencies and maintenance windows. Request a call to define support responsibilities and the systems to address first.