Manufacturing IT Resilience Maturity Assessment
Resilience is the ability to keep making and shipping product when something fails. This ten question assessment gives IT managers a quick view of where they stand and what to fix first, using plain language rather than a heavy framework.
1. How are your ERP and MES backups protected?
Think about ransomware and accidental deletion.
2. When did you last restore the ERP database to a test server?
3. How would you describe redundancy for the ERP and database servers?
4. How is the plant network segmented?
5. How do you handle patching of servers and network gear?
6. What monitoring do you have over core systems?
7. How current is your asset inventory and network documentation?
8. How well is the power and environment for the server room protected?
9. Do you have a written, tested disaster recovery plan for ERP?
10. How do you manage vendor and remote access to plant systems?
How to use the assessment
Answer each question for your main plant or data centre, picking the option that matches what is true today rather than what is planned. Involve the people who run backups, the network and the plant floor, because answers differ by role. The score gives a band and a short list of actions. Re-run the assessment every six months to track progress.
- Answer from evidence, not intention
- Use the worst case across your critical systems
- Share the result with operations leadership
- Retake after each improvement project
What the ten questions measure
The questions cover backup protection, restore testing, redundancy, network segmentation, patching, monitoring, documentation, power and environment, disaster recovery planning and remote access. These are the areas that most often decide whether an ERP outage lasts hours or days. They reflect common guidance such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework functions of identify, protect, detect, respond and recover.
Reading your band
Exposed and Basic scores mean that fundamentals need attention before advanced projects. In Managed, the gap is usually practice: plans exist, but were not exercised or measured. Resilient does not mean risk free; it means you know your recovery times and have rehearsed them. Compare the score to the cost of an hour of downtime in your plant to prioritise spend.
Common mistakes
Self assessments tend to be optimistic, especially for backups and documentation. Ask for proof, such as a restore log. Another mistake is looking only at servers and ignoring the shop floor dependencies: label printers, scanners, CNC network drives and the MES. Include them in your scope.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a formal audit?
No. It is a self assessment for planning. It does not certify compliance with ISO 27001, IEC 62443 or any other standard, and it is not a substitute for a qualified assessor.
What score should I aim for?
Aim to remove zero scores first, then raise each area to at least two. The right target depends on the cost of downtime. A plant that loses a large amount per hour should reach the Managed or Resilient bands for ERP and the network.
Which area should I improve first?
Usually backups and restore testing, because they limit the damage from almost every failure. Then segmentation and remote access, then monitoring and documentation.
How often should I redo it?
Every six months and after major changes such as an ERP upgrade, a data centre move or an acquisition. Keep earlier results to show progress to management.
If you want a second opinion on the result, Netray can review your ERP and data platform recovery design. The assessment is complete and free without contacting us.
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