Most manufacturing companies in Beijing are in the industrial parks of Shunyi, Changping, Tongzhou and Daxing — anywhere from a few dozen to two or three hundred people, with workshops, warehouses and office buildings. IT for this kind of company is a completely different matter from IT for an office-tower company.We are Beijing Siwen Lide Technology & Trade Co., Ltd. Our company is in the Shunyi Airport Economic Core Area, surrounded by industrial parks, and we have spent 14 years doing IT outsourcing and low-voltage & cabling projects for small and mid-sized enterprises. This page does not pretend to be neutral.
Factory IT differs from office-tower IT in five ways
| How it differs | What it means |
|---|---|
| When the network goes down, production stops | ERP can’t issue orders, barcode scanners can’t scan, the workshop dashboard goes black. This isn’t “no internet” — the production line is waiting. Response times have to be measured in hours |
| Large floor areas, harsh conditions | Workshops of several thousand square meters, with dust, high temperatures, electromagnetic interference and forklifts running over cables. The demands on cabling and wireless coverage are on a different level from an office building |
| Equipment must be networked, but can’t be touched | CNC machine tools, injection molding machines and testing instruments have their own built-in computers, with old operating systems that can’t be patched and can’t run antivirus. They need connectivity and isolation at the same time |
| Surveillance, access control and attendance systems are all IT | Dozens of cameras, access control, license plate recognition, time clocks — all on the same network. Who manages them? |
| Operating from two locations: the plant and a downtown office | Sales and finance are downtown, production is in the park. ERP is needed in both places, and it must not be exposed to the public internet |
Five questions to ask before hiring IT outsourcing for a factory
- If the production line network goes down, how long until you’re on site? Ask where their office is and how long the drive to your plant takes. Anyone who can’t give you a specific address is most likely dispatching from downtown.
- Are workshop cabling, wireless coverage and surveillance, and the ongoing operations afterwards, all handled by the same company? If you split them, then when something goes wrong the cabling vendor says it’s an equipment problem and the operations vendor says it’s a cabling problem.
- How do production machines get networked? The correct answer is a separate isolated network segment: data can be collected, but nothing outside can reach them. Don’t sign with anyone who answers “just connect them to the office network.”
- How do ERP and the downtown office connect? You need multi-site networking and remote access that expose nothing to the public internet.
- How are backups handled? ERP databases, drawings and process documents, on-site plus off-site, and they must be recoverable.
The kinds of providers a Beijing manufacturer can turn to
- Systems integrators: engineering firms that build campus-level networks, surveillance and server rooms. They work project by project, leave when the job is done, and don’t handle day-to-day operations. Suited to one-off projects at a newly built plant.
- ERP or MES vendors: they manage software, not networks or computers.
- Mid-sized and large IT outsourcing firms: their offices are usually downtown, they bill per head, and on-site visits to industrial parks take a long time.
- All-in-one IT service providers for SMEs: our category. Low-voltage cabling, wireless, surveillance and ongoing operations are all handled by the same team, under one contract, paid monthly. Suited to manufacturers with 30 to 300 people in the industrial parks of Shunyi, Changping, Tongzhou and Daxing.
Here is specifically what we do for factories
- Plant cabling and wireless: structured cabling for workshops, warehouses and office buildings, with industrial-grade AP coverage, so forklifts and PDAs stay connected on the move.
- Equipment network segmentation: production equipment on its own network segment — data can be collected, but nothing outside can reach it.
- Surveillance and access control: cameras, access control and license plate recognition done together, on the same set of drawings as the network.
- Connecting two sites: networking between the plant and the downtown office, so everyone uses one ERP system; field staff get role-based access through sTrust, our in-house zero trust remote access solution.
- Backups: ERP databases, drawings and process documents, on-site plus off-site.
- Full day-to-day coverage: computers, printers, barcode scanners, dashboards, Wi-Fi, email — unlimited service requests. Same-day arrival within Shunyi District, about 40 minutes to eastern Changping and Tongzhou.
- Network equipment: firewalls, switches and APs are provided by us and covered by warranty for the contract term; the rules for ownership at contract end are written into the contract.
What we don’t do:
- MES and ERP selection and implementation, PLCs and the programs on the equipment itself — go to equipment and software vendors; we handle the network, isolation and backups.
- Unified IT governance for several hundred people or more across multiple plant sites — go to a mid-sized or large outsourcing firm or a systems integrator.
- 24/7 on-site staffing — we provide remote support plus on-site visits, not resident staff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: For a factory with 80 people, one plant and one downtown office, how much does IT outsourcing cost per month?
A: A full monthly package (including network equipment, backups and remote access for both sites) is usually RMB 5,000–8,000 per month; one-off projects such as cabling and surveillance are quoted separately by information outlet and camera point.(September 2026 market reference; not a quotation or commitment.)
Q: The computers on our older equipment run XP or Win7 and can’t be upgraded. What should we do?
A: Don’t upgrade them — isolate them. A separate network segment, only the necessary ports open, and no outside access. This is standard industry practice.
Q: Someone has already done cabling at our plant. Can you still take over?
A: Yes. We start with an on-site survey, map out the cabling and equipment and produce drawings, then take over operations. We see plenty of plants with no drawings at all.
Want to talk about your factory first?
Siwenlide has spent 14 years providing all-in-one IT services and low-voltage & cabling projects for small and mid-sized enterprises, and our company is right here in the Shunyi industrial park. We can start with a free on-site network and IT health check at your plant. Call 400-686-2011.
Further reading:IT case study: a 150-person manufacturer · IT operations companies in Shunyi · IT operations companies in Changping District · How to choose a low-voltage engineering company in Beijing
