Why OT Visibility Matters More Than Ever
In today’s industrial landscape, operational technology (OT), industrial control systems (ICS), and IIoT environments are no longer isolated silos. The convergence of OT, IT, and IoT brings operational efficiency – but also dramatically expands the cyber attack surface. As organizations modernize factories, utilities, and critical infrastructure with connected devices and remote access, the imperative becomes clear: you cannot defend what you cannot see.
That’s where OT visibility platforms come in – they provide the foundational “map” of your environment: which devices exist, how they are connected, how they communicate, and how they behave over time. Only with clear visibility can security teams implement effective segmentation, detect anomalies, manage vulnerabilities, and respond to threats – without jeopardizing uptime or process safety.
In this article, we compare the top 10 OT visibility platforms, examining their strengths, differentiators, and suitability for different industrial use-cases.
What “OT Visibility Platform” Really Means
Before diving into platforms, it’s important to clarify what we mean by “OT visibility.” In the context of industrial cybersecurity, visibility encompasses:
- Asset Discovery & Inventory: Identifying every device – from legacy PLCs and HMIs to modern IIoT sensors and edge controllers – across OT, IT, and IoT layers.
- Network Topology & Communication Mapping: Understanding how devices are connected, which ones communicate with each other, which protocols are used, and what data flows across the network.
- Behavioral & Protocol Analysis: Inspecting industrial protocols (Modbus, OPC-UA, DNP3, etc.), firmware versions, configurations, and communication patterns – to detect anomalies, misconfigurations, or unauthorized changes.
- Continuous Monitoring & Contextual Security Insights: Maintaining up-to-date asset inventories, tracking firmware/OS versions, correlating vulnerability data (e.g., CVEs), and enabling risk-based prioritization for patching or mitigation.
In short: visibility is more than a one-time scan. It’s a continuous, OT-native foundation for detection, response, segmentation, and compliance.
The Top 10 OT Visibility Platforms (2025) – Overview & Comparison
Here’s a curated list of ten leading platforms in the OT/ICS/IIoT space, each offering strong visibility capabilities. The ordering here is not strictly a ranking – instead, the list is structured to highlight different strengths, approaches, and types of deployments.
1. Dragos Platform
Why it stands out: Purpose-built for OT – not retrofitted from IT. Uses a “passive-first” approach to asset discovery, with support for 600+ industrial protocols, enabling safe visibility even in legacy and sensitive ICS environments.
Key strengths:
- Real-time, automated, non-intrusive discovery of OT/IT/IIoT assets – even legacy PLCs and SCADA systems.
- Continuous asset inventory updates as the environment changes.
- Vulnerability mapping (with OT-specific context), risk prioritization via a “Now / Next / Never” framework – focusing only on critical vulnerabilities needing immediate action.
- Deep protocol insights & industrial-centric threat detection: a foundation for incident response, segmentation, and defense.
Best suited for: Critical infrastructure, heavy industry, utilities – environments where uptime and safety are non-negotiable, and where there’s a mix of legacy and modern equipment.
2. Cisco Cyber Vision
Why it stands out: Leverages the network itself as a sensor – meaning visibility is built into the industrial network infrastructure rather than requiring extra appliances.
Key strengths:
- Automatic, agentless inventory of industrial assets connected to the network. Visibility of communication activities, detection of malicious traffic or anomalous behavior, and highlighting of exploited vulnerabilities.
- Enables adaptive network segmentation, zero-trust remote access, and unified IT/OT visibility – helping bridge traditional silos between IT and OT teams.
- Good for scaling across large industrial networks without deploying dedicated hardware appliances.
Best suited for: Organizations already using or planning to use industrial networking gear, looking for integrated OT security without disrupting network operations.
3. Forescout Continuum (or Forescout Platform)
Why it stands out: A broad, unified solution that spans IT, OT, and IoT – providing continuous visibility, control, and orchestration across diverse device types.
Key strengths:
- Real-time asset discovery and classification – agentless, covering everything from PLCs to IoT sensors.
- Automatic enforcement of security policies, network segmentation, compliance monitoring, threat detection, and response orchestration.
- Seamless integration with existing IT/OT infrastructure, third-party tools, and security workflows – suits hybrid environments well.
Best suited for: Enterprises with large-scale, mixed IT/OT/IoT deployments requiring unified visibility and centralized policy enforcement.
4. Nozomi Networks Vantage
Why it stands out: Recognized as a leader in OT/ICS security, offering high-fidelity visibility, real-time monitoring, and machine-learning-based anomaly detection.
Key strengths:
- Continuous asset discovery (passive), recognizing even devices that are idle or rarely communicate.
- Real-time network monitoring, behavioral analysis, and alerts on anomalous or potentially malicious activity – aiding threat detection and incident response.
- Strong support for compliance, risk management, and reporting for industrial/regulatory standards.
Best suited for: Industrial operators, utilities, critical infrastructure – especially where continuous monitoring and compliance are top priorities.
5. Claroty Platform
Why it stands out: A purpose-built OT security platform with broad protocol support and comprehensive network mapping capabilities.
Key strengths:
- Supports hundreds of proprietary and industrial protocols – enabling deep visibility even in complex, mixed-protocol environments.
- Provides 3D visibility – detailed device discovery, topology mapping, and understanding of inter-device relationships across the network.
- Well-suited for environments with extensive IoT/xIoT deployments alongside traditional OT infrastructure.
Best suited for: Enterprises with diverse device types and heavy IoT/IIoT adoption seeking robust visibility and mapping.
6. OTORIO Titan
Why it stands out: Offers a more holistic, asset-centric view – combining visibility with risk assessment, security gap analysis, and IT/OT context.
Key strengths:
- Deep asset discovery that integrates OT, IT, and IIoT systems; helps build a unified asset inventory.
- Contextual analysis: mapping assets to business impact, performing security gap assessments, and enabling vulnerability management.
- Helps improve metrics like Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) – critical for timely threat mitigation.
Best suited for: Organizations looking for visibility plus contextual, risk-aware insights – especially where OT/IT convergence is significant.
7. Mission Secure Platform
Why it stands out: Strong focus on visualization and detailed mapping of both assets and network interactions, even capturing devices that might not currently communicate.
Key strengths:
- Real-time, configurable network maps showing all assets, connections, traffic flows, and historical communications.
- Passive discovery combined with targeted active scans (when safe), enabling detection of silent or idle devices that might otherwise be missed.
- Provides detailed device-level information: firmware version, OS, communication activity, and more – supporting deep analysis of device posture and risk.
Best suited for: Industrial environments where visibility must include idle or rarely communicating devices – often overlooked by passive-only solutions.
8. Fortinet Security Fabric / FortiGate OT Security
Why it stands out: A mature network-security vendor extending its capabilities into the OT domain – offering DPI, intrusion prevention, segmentation, and integrated OT visibility.
Key strengths:
- Deep packet inspection and robust IDS/IPS tailored for industrial network traffic, identifying advanced threats.
- Supports rugged, industrial-grade hardware suitable for harsh OT environments.
- Scales well – integrates with broader security ecosystems for unified IT/OT threat management and compliance.
Best suited for: Organizations combining traditional network security with OT, especially those looking for familiar tooling extended to OT environments.
9. Armis Agentless Device Security Platform
Why it stands out: Provides broad, agentless asset discovery across OT, IT, and IoT – useful where deploying agents on devices is not feasible.
Key strengths:
- Comprehensive coverage of wired and wireless devices, including legacy OT and IoT assets.
- Helps identify rogue or unmanaged devices – vital in complex industrial environments where shadow-IT/OT exists.
- Reduces attack surface by enabling segmentation, policy enforcement, and continuous monitoring without endpoint agents.
Best suited for: Organizations with heterogeneous asset pools and limited ability to install agents – such as facilities with legacy or constrained devices.
10. SCADAfence Platform
Why it stands out: Focused on continuous monitoring, compliance, and governance – offering centralized visibility and policy-based monitoring tailored to OT environments.
Key strengths:
- Accurate asset inventory and network visibility that helps eliminate spreadsheet-based device tracking and manual oversight.
- Behavioral monitoring with custom rule-based alerts – helpful for early detection of abnormal operations or unauthorized changes.
- Centralised governance portal supporting compliance with standards like IEC 62443, NERC CIP, and other industrial/regulatory requirements.
Best suited for: Enterprises that require strong governance, compliance tracking, and continuous oversight across multiple sites.
How to Choose the Right Platform for Your Organization
Given the variety of needs across industries, there’s no one-size-fits-all OT visibility platform. The right choice depends on a combination of factors:
| Consideration | What to Evaluate |
| Legacy vs Modern Assets | If you have many legacy PLCs, SCADA systems, or proprietary devices – choose platforms with deep protocol support (e.g. Dragos, Claroty, Cisco Cyber Vision). |
| Scale & Complexity of Deployment | For large, distributed networks or mixed IT/OT/IIoT environments – Forescout, Armis, or OTORIO Titan may offer better scalability and unified management. |
| Compliance & Governance Requirements | For heavy regulatory or standards compliance (e.g. IEC 62443, NERC CIP) – SCADAfence, Nozomi, Cisco Cyber Vision provide strong governance and policy enforcement features. |
| Operational Risk / Uptime Sensitivity | In critical infrastructure or high-availability environments – choose passive-first platforms (e.g. Dragos, Mission Secure) or network-based visibility (Cisco Cyber Vision) to avoid disruptions. |
| IT/OT Convergence | If your organization is bridging IT and OT domains – unified platforms like Forescout, OTORIO, or Armis provide visibility across both terrains. |
| Resource Constraints | For facilities where installing agents or dedicated sensors is impractical – agentless or network-based platforms (Armis, Cisco, Forescout) work well. |
Often, a hybrid approach works best – combining a “visibility-first” platform with complementary tools (for segmentation, anomaly detection, or compliance) to build a layered, defense-in-depth OT security strategy.
Evolving Threat Landscape & Why Visibility is Now Non-Negotiable
Recent years have underscored a sobering reality: OT environments are being targeted – not just as collateral damage from IT attacks, but as primary targets. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) and specialized ICS/IIoT malware have emerged (for example, toolkits that can compromise PLCs or SCADA components).
Without complete visibility, attackers can hide inside networks for a long time, using legacy vulnerabilities or exploiting misconfigurations – often in systems operators believe are unreachable or “air-gapped.”
Moreover, as industrial systems evolve toward more automation, remote operations, and IT/OT convergence – the potential for accidental misconfiguration or insider threats increases. Visibility gives you the baseline: what exists, how it behaves, and when it diverges from expected patterns.
Consequently:
- Vulnerability management becomes realistic only when you know what devices exist and their firmware/OS levels (so you can prioritize patching or mitigation).
- Network segmentation and “micro-perimeterization” become enforceable – when you know which devices talk to which, and control communications accordingly.
- Anomaly detection, incident response, and forensics become feasible – when logs, behavioral baselines, and network-wide communication maps are in place.
- Compliance with standards (e.g. IEC 62443, NERC CIP) becomes demonstrable – when documentation and audit trails of asset inventories and network configurations exist.
Recommendations for Industrial Cybersecurity Leaders & CISOs
Based on the comparison above, here are strategic recommendations when adopting an OT visibility platform:
- Start with a passive-first discovery and visibility tool. Avoid solutions that require endpoint agents or intrusive scanning – especially in legacy OT environments where downtime or disruption is unacceptable.
- Aim for a “single source of truth” for your asset inventory. Use the platform to build and maintain a living inventory of all OT, IT, and IIoT devices – with device metadata (vendor, firmware, protocol) and connectivity context.
- Overlay risk, vulnerability, and business-impact context. Don’t stop at inventory – enrich it with vulnerability data, asset criticality, process impact, and compliance posture.
- Use visibility to justify and implement network segmentation / micro-zoning. Once you know which devices communicate, apply segmentation to restrict lateral movement and isolate critical systems.
- Integrate with incident response and SOC workflows. Ensure your visibility platform feeds into logging, alerting, and alert-investigation workflows that can trigger remediation or containment.
- Review and update regularly. OT environments evolve – new devices come online, firmware changes, network configurations shift. Visibility must be continuous to stay relevant.
Conclusion
As OT, ICS, and IIoT environments evolve and converge with IT networks, the risk landscape becomes more complex and connected. In such a scenario, visibility isn’t a “nice-to-have” – it is the foundational pillar on which any robust industrial cybersecurity program must be built.
The platforms examined above – from purpose-built OT solutions like Dragos and Claroty, to network-embedded visibility tools like Cisco Cyber Vision, to broad, unified architectures such as Forescout or OTORIO – represent the leading approaches to mapping and understanding modern industrial environments.
Selecting the right platform depends on your infrastructure, scale, regulatory requirements, and risk tolerance. But regardless of choice, the first step remains the same: see clearly what’s in your network – then protect what matters.
For readers managing industrial networks, controlling critical infrastructure, or overseeing OT/ICS security – adopting one (or a combination) of these visibility platforms is no longer optional. It’s essential