Live from CSIA, Skkynet CEO Gary Tillery discusses the vibe shift in industrial automation, the hidden tensions in vendor-integrator partnerships and why failing fast remains a superpower for technology providers in a world of committee-driven bureaucracy.
At the 2026 Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Conference in Baltimore, discussions around industrial data, cybersecurity and digital transformation were impossible to avoid. Among the voices contributing to those conversations was Gary Tillery, CEO of Skkynet, who joined the Ctrl+Alt+Mfg podcast to discuss the realities of moving industrial data securely, supporting system integrators and navigating the industry’s evolving architectural debates.
Tillery brings more than three decades of experience in operational technology (OT), with leadership roles spanning system integration, Wonderware, Schneider Electric, AVEVA and now Skkynet. Throughout the conversation, he emphasized that industrial technology decisions must ultimately serve operational realities.
One of the clearest examples came when discussing cloud computing and edge architectures.
“The operator can’t wait for the latency of the cloud and the analytics and the insights that it could get,” Tillery said. “So you have to operate at the edge.”
That perspective reflects a growing shift within industrial automation, where organizations increasingly recognize that cloud analytics and enterprise visibility must be balanced with real-time operational requirements.
From NASA roots to industrial connectivity
Tillery’s interest in technology began early. Growing up in Houston during the Apollo era, he was surrounded by the engineering culture that defined NASA’s lunar missions.
“We called us NASA brats,” Tillery said. “So I was born into technology. That’s kind of what I tell people.”
That early exposure eventually led him into industrial automation, beginning with work for a system integrator, which continues to influence how he views the role of system integrators today. While industrial software vendors often focus on platforms and technologies, Tillery argues that system integrators remain foundational because they combine technical expertise with customer trust.
“They’re the foundation of this industry,” he said.
Why system integrators remain essential
Throughout the interview, Tillery repeatedly returned to the importance of system integrators (SIs) in helping manufacturers implement and sustain technology initiatives. According to Tillery, technical competency alone is no longer enough. The most successful SIs combine engineering expertise with strategic thinking and business discipline.
“We also look at from the standpoint of a perfect one to be more of a progressive living in the future a little bit more,” he said. “Not just the day to day of the quarter but looking at the industry as a whole.”
He also emphasized that today’s integrators perform far more sophisticated work than earlier generations.
“They’re not just wrench turners, screw drive turners, and things,” he said. “They’re developers, they’re engineers, they’re architects.”
This evolution is occurring as manufacturers increasingly seek partners who can navigate cybersecurity requirements, data integration challenges and enterprise-scale digital transformation projects.
Managing channel conflict through collaboration
One issue that frequently surfaces in discussions between vendors and system integrators is channel conflict. Integrators often worry that vendors will bypass them after gaining direct access to customers. Tillery acknowledged the challenge and described it as an issue Skkynet actively works to manage.
“We spend a lot of time on this because we don’t want the conflict because conflict then ruins the relationship,” he said.
Rather than relying on rigid rules, Skkynet evaluates opportunities based on customer relationships, project ownership and business realities.
“We kind of look at who leads, who brought the project or the customer in,” Tillery explained.
While some situations require direct engagement with enterprise customers, Tillery stressed that partner participation remains important. This approach reflects a broader industry challenge as software providers seek growth while preserving the trusted relationships that integrators have developed over years of service.
Cybersecurity moves into the boardroom
Cybersecurity represented another major topic during the discussion. Industrial organizations increasingly face ransomware attacks, network intrusions and operational disruptions that can directly affect production. Tillery noted that cybersecurity conversations have expanded well beyond IT departments.
“It’s become part of the risk analysis that every company has to do,” he said.
He referenced real-world incidents in which manufacturers have faced difficult choices after cyberattacks.
“I know of one company, I can’t mention the name, very large company, shut down production instead of paying the ransomware,” Tillery said. “They shut down production for two months.”
For manufacturers, such decisions can carry enormous financial consequences. For system integrators, they create opportunities to act as trusted advisors.
That advisory role becomes particularly important as organizations attempt to secure increasingly connected environments where operational technology and information technology (IT) systems must exchange data while remaining protected.
Bridging the iT-OT divide
The challenge of sharing information between operational and enterprise systems remains central to many digital transformation initiatives. Tillery described what he referred to as the ongoing IT-OT battle, a familiar dynamic for many industrial organizations.
Historically, operational teams prioritized reliability and uptime while enterprise IT teams focused on standardization, security and governance. As industrial data becomes more valuable for analytics, artificial intelligence and business optimization, those worlds increasingly overlap. According to Tillery, successful architectures must enable data sharing without introducing unacceptable security risks.
“We can actually facilitate where there’s no concerns around sharing data between Cogent Data Hub and the secure, no inbound port being opened from an attack surface on the other side,” he said.
The goal is to allow data movement while maintaining network segmentation and reducing exposure to potential threats.
Rethinking the unified namespace debate
One of the more technically focused sections of the conversation centered on unified namespace (UNS) architectures, which have gained significant attention across industrial automation circles. While Tillery supports the objectives behind UNS strategies, he challenged the assumption that a single, centralized architecture always represents the best solution.
“We’re not against that,” he said. However, he argued that practical deployment realities often require a more distributed approach.
“What we’re saying is that a lot of instances that we have found when you have these segmented networks or you have the issue of sites that are not in a plant, they’re spread out over a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system,” Tillery said. “There are complexities that that brings.”
Rather than relying on one centralized repository, Tillery advocates for architectures that align with network structures and operational requirements.
“Why send data that you don’t need to in general?” he asked. “You can create more issues for yourself that way.”
The approach aligns with growing industry interest in federated architectures, edge computing and distributed intelligence, particularly in environments where bandwidth, latency or security considerations make centralized models less attractive.
AI’s emerging role in industrial operations
Artificial intelligence also entered the discussion, particularly regarding how system integrators may use AI to improve customer support and operational efficiency. Rather than focusing exclusively on advanced automation or autonomous decision-making, Tillery highlighted practical business applications.
“They need to find those common areas that they can kind of commonize their support and things like that for those customers without having to deploy two or three times more engineers,” he said.
Many integrators manage hundreds of customized applications across diverse customer environments. Maintaining expertise across those deployments can be difficult. According to Tillery, AI-powered knowledge systems may help organizations scale expertise more effectively.
“The idea of going a little bit deeper into the support and having more of a knowledge base on a custom application — you got two or three hundred custom applications — becomes a daunting task,” he said.
The result could be faster support, better customer retention and more efficient use of engineering resources.
Agility as a competitive advantage
Tillery also discussed one of the advantages he sees in smaller technology companies: speed. Reflecting on his transition from larger organizations to Skkynet, he highlighted the ability to move quickly and make decisions without excessive bureaucracy.
“I can fail three times and figure it out on the fourth one by the time the bigger companies have actually got it in front of a committee,” he said.
That mindset influences not only company operations but also how Skkynet approaches partnerships, product development and market opportunities.
As industrial technology continues to evolve, manufacturers, system integrators and software providers all face increasing pressure to adapt. Future success may depend less on pursuing the latest technology trend and more on balancing innovation with operational realities.
Whether discussing cybersecurity, AI, cloud architectures or industrial data strategies, Tillery consistently returned to the same principle: Technology must ultimately support the people operating the systems.
The Ctrl+Alt+Mfg Podcast
Make sure to check out other episodes of the Ctrl+Alt+Mfg podcast, where hosts Gary Cohen and Stephanie Neil discuss a range of digital transformation insights. The last five episodes are listed below:
Ep. 12: Why system integrators matter more than ever in the age of AI, with Adrienne Meyer of CSIA
Ep. 13: Bad data, broken maintenance, with Paul Ross of Limble and Ross Fergerson of RBC Bearings
Ep. 14: From data silos to smart factories, with John Dyck of CESMII and John Harrington of HighByte
Ep. 15: Industrial AI’s reality check, with Josh Peeno of JPeeno Innovation Group
Ep. 16: The system integrator playbook, with Daniel Gomez of Omnicon
