Secure Access to HART Device Data Without Re-Architecting the Plant

Most production environments are built on decades of operational technology. They are stable, regulated, and deliberately hard to change, especially in the process industry. Yet as digital transformation accelerates, asset owners face pressure to digitize field data, modernize commissioning workflows, and reduce reliance on site visits. The gap between these two worlds is where many initiatives stall.

How can oil and gas operators securely access and utilize HART device data with modern, software-based methods without redesigning networks, replacing hardware, or introducing new operational risks?

Westcon demonstrated how this challenge can be addressed in practice, using Portainer to support the edge application layer and Softing smartLink SW-HT to provide HART connectivity within a real-world industrial architecture. This alignment allows joint customers to integrate these capabilities more seamlessly within their existing environments.

Why accessing HART device data remains a challenge in oil and gas facilities

HART-enabled field devices are already widely deployed across oil and gas assets. They provide the data needed for commissioning, diagnostics, and lifecycle management. The challenge is not device capability, but access.

In many environments, interacting with those devices still relies on local tooling, specialized hardware, or on-site physical presence. This limits scalability, slows projects, and raises costs. It also introduces security concerns when remote access is bolted on after the fact.

What decision-makers truly ask for is simple:

• Secure, remote access to device data
• No changes to firewall rules or control networks
• No dependency on proprietary hardware
• A model that scales across sites and vendors

This demonstration was designed to test those requirements against a realistic edge deployment.

Keep OT stable, add capability at the edge

The approach is built on a simple idea: avoid modifying the OT environment. Instead, add software-defined capabilities at the edge.

In the project environment, a Softing smartLink SW-HT instance operates as a containerized application on a virtual machine. It communicates with HART devices via the existing PLC infrastructure using standard HART-IP. There is no protocol modification or proprietary gateway hardware involved.

Portainer is used to deploy and manage that application at the edge. The edge node establishes an outbound, encrypted connection to a central Portainer server. There is no inbound access to the site, and no firewall rule changes are required.

This inverts the risk model: sites remain closed by default, control stays local, and access is explicit and auditable.

What changes on the ground

Faster commissioning and replacement workflows

Engineering teams can remotely access HART devices using standard tools such as Control Expert or PACTware. This reduces site visits and shortens commissioning cycles for new or replacement equipment. Once implemented in one plant, the same solution stack can be replicated across additional sites without modifying existing OT equipment, supporting consistent standards and scalable rollout

Improved visibility without centralizing control

Device data can be accessed when needed without centralizing operational authority. Edge environments continue to operate independently, supporting resilience and safety requirements.

Lower infrastructure and lifecycle cost

By using software-based connectivity and containerized deployment, operators avoid installing and maintaining dedicated hardware gateways – licensing scales with device count rather than physical assets.

Security aligned with OT constraints

All communication is initiated from inside the site. There are no exposed edge endpoints. This aligns with modern security models while respecting the realities of OT environments.

A proven edge deployment model for modernizing brownfield oil and gas assets

For those leading digital transformation, the importance of this demo is not the technology itself. It is the pattern.

Modernization doesn’t require replacing control systems or redesigning networks. It doesn’t require turning OT teams into software platform experts, nor does it mean accepting new cyber risks in exchange for progress.

What it requires is a clear model: preserve existing OT investments, introduce software-defined capabilities at the edge, and manage them centrally without creating a single point of failure.

That model is repeatable. It works in oil and gas. It functions where control networks are closed, regulated, and intentionally difficult to modify. And it is compatible with the teams and infrastructure you already have.

Why oil and gas digitization depends on the right industrial partners and deployment approach

For oil and gas enterprises, the question is no longer whether to digitize field data. It’s about how to do so without increasing risk or complexity. Solutions like this don't exist in isolation. Moving from a pilot to a full program means working with partners like Westcon who understand the industrial reality, not just the technology stack.

This example offers a practical foundation for those aiming to modernize access to field data while maintaining alignment with safety, security, and operational priorities.

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Download the full technical summary of the architecture used in this demo

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