First article of a series of 3
If we are honest, remote connectivity has been around for quite a while. It may have had other names like “telemetry,” and it may have involved dial-up modems or other legacy connection methods, but it still involved the connection of system components spread over a wide geography. These methods generally were challenging to setup, configure and deploy securely. Technology evolution has allowed the capabilities and demands to change dramatically. New terms have emerged like “Internet of Things (IoT)” or “Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)” which take remote connectivity for granted and focus on the endless possibilities enabled by the sudden availability of massive amounts of data from a larger resource pool spread over an even bigger geography.
When it comes to delivering on the “endless possibilities,” remote connectivity remains a challenge for most system integrators. Remote connectivity enables fast and cost effective delivery of technical support, reducing the need to fly technicians to customer locations. Each project nevertheless faces the reality of dealing with customer IT infrastructure and the reduced odds of getting access to the VPN from the end user to establish a remote connection.
Fortunately, there are ways to overcome the challenges presented by end user VPN restrictions. Through the setup of secure, encrypted VPN connection to industrial automation devices, including PLCs, HMIs and drives, these assets can be safely serviced remotely. This provides a win-win situation. The end user benefits from higher uptimes for existing infrastructure and faster production ramp up for new infrastructure or products, as the early weeks are traditionally the most critical for the success of new product. The service provider, such as the machine builder or system integrator, can benefit from the ability to leverage the technician’s availability by potentially working on multiple projects at once without the burden of travel to each project location.
In the next article we will explore service opportunities for system integrators enabled through IoT.
eWON is a Belgian manufacturer that addresses the complexity of remote access for industrial control systems and allows anyone to configure and deploy a secure, encrypted solution to any system or project. eWON has been used over 4,000,000 times to create secure, encrypted VPN connections to industrial automation devices including PLCs, HMIs, drives and more to solve the challenges that system integrator face. Imagine being able to configure and deploy remote access without needing to ask how a customer IT network is designed. Most system integrators do not have the resources to securely manage IT security infrastructure. eWON offers the convenience of FREE cloud technology, named Talk2M, which manages, users, access and devices. Moreover, as security is at the core our the eWON solution, an IT connection report, Two Factor Authentication (2FA) and system segregation is included to provide a robust, secure and scalable solution.