Emerson and OPSWAT announced a global strategic reseller agreement on April 16, 2026, embedding purpose-built OT patch management into Emerson's Ovation Automation Platform to address escalating cybersecurity threats across power and water infrastructure. The partnership marks the first enterprise-wide collaboration between the two companies on the Ovation platform, extending a prior alliance that already covered Emerson's DeltaV Automation Platform. With more than 800 Ovation sites worldwide already utilizing Emerson's cybersecurity technologies, the deal offers immediate reach across critical infrastructure operations in the power, water, and wastewater sectors.
Background
Unlike standard IT networks, OT systems often run continuously and support physical processes where downtime can affect safety, output, and public services. This creates a difficult balance for operators who must close security gaps without interrupting control systems managing power stations, water treatment facilities, and other essential infrastructure.
Critical infrastructure operators, including power generation and water/wastewater utilities, face rising cyber threats, regulatory pressure, and operational risk from unpatched vulnerabilities. OPSWAT's solution for the Ovation Automation Platform delivers a patch management approach designed specifically for industrial environments, addressing challenges posed by a mix of modern and legacy tools and the ongoing surge of nation-state and ransomware activity targeting the energy and water sectors.
Regulatory pressure has compounded these operational risks. Enforcement actions have elevated energy sector vulnerability management from an IT checkbox to a board-level imperative. The NIS2 Directive in Europe and NERC CIP standards in North America now carry penalties severe enough to make executives personally accountable for cybersecurity failures. NERC's 2025 Work Plan Priorities included a directive to create a roadmap ensuring CIP standards provide baseline protection for an evolving risk environment.
Details
OPSWAT and Emerson announced the global strategic reseller agreement to bring OPSWAT's cybersecurity technologies to Emerson's power and water industry customers. The first initiative integrates OPSWAT's OT patch management capabilities into the Ovation Automation Platform. The solution secures the Ovation Platform through OPSWAT's MetaDefender Endpoint and My OPSWAT Central Management On-Premises, part of Emerson's purpose-built power and water cybersecurity suite.
The agreement expands an existing relationship between the two companies under the DeltaV Alliance, which covers OPSWAT's MetaDefender Kiosk and MetaDefender Unidirectional Security Gateway for the DeltaV Automation Platform.
"Our customers need cybersecurity solutions designed specifically for operational technology - not adapted from IT," said Robert Yeager, President of Emerson's power and water solutions business, in the company's official announcement. "They benefit from purpose-built OT cybersecurity solutions that protect critical, real-time industrial systems while supporting availability, performance, and safe operations. Collaborating with OPSWAT enhances our ability to help operators protect their Ovation Automation Platform with a modern, OT-appropriate approach to patch management."
Benny Czarny, Founder and CEO of OPSWAT, stated that as automation and digital transformation accelerate across power and water infrastructure, the attack surface expands equally fast. He added that "in environments where safety and availability are mission critical, cybersecurity cannot rely on traditional IT assumptions but must be deterministic, scalable, and engineered specifically for OT realities."
In practice, the agreement broadens access to tools for secure remote access, network segmentation, removable media protection, and patching controls tailored to operational systems. The partnership reflects a strategic move by Emerson to collaborate with established cybersecurity providers - a shift driven by evolving international regulations and the need to address new vulnerabilities consistently.
Outlook
For OPSWAT, the agreement opens access to a broader installed base of utilities and industrial operators through Emerson's channel and product portfolio. Regulatory frameworks are expanding globally, from NERC CIP updates in North America to Australia's SOCI Act, Singapore's Cybersecurity Code of Practice, and additional international mandates. As compliance timelines tighten, the cross-utility standardization model underpinning the Emerson-OPSWAT collaboration is likely to draw increased scrutiny from multi-vendor OT ecosystems evaluating interoperable security approaches across shared infrastructure segments.
