How to advances secure remote access for industrial automation

HMS Networks' Doug Flanders explains remote connectivity at Automate 2026

Key Highlights

  • Ewon remote-access products enable users to remotely connect to and manage industrial equipment across multiple locations.
  • Ewon Edge adds stronger security and simpler access through single sign-on, multi-factor authentication and firewall capabilities.
  • A modular architecture, Wi-Fi 6, WPA3 and cellular connectivity options give Ewon Edge flexibility for evolving industrial remote-access requirements.

Remote connectivity has become an increasingly important part of industrial automation, particularly for equipment and assets deployed far from centralized operations. In this presentation from Automate 2026, Doug Flanders, global market director of oil & gas/energy at HMS Networks, outlines the evolution of the company’s Ewon remote-access portfolio, from established products such as Netbiter, Flexy and Cosy to the new Ewon Edge platform. Flanders highlights how these technologies provide remote access to industrial equipment while addressing requirements for ruggedness, connectivity, security and easier management of multiple devices and locations.

Flanders discusses Netbiter, a rugged remote-management product operating through the Argos cloud that is commonly used with generator sets and mobile applications. Rated for operation from -20 °C to 60 °C, Netbiter supports templates for equipment from generator manufacturers such as Caterpillar. He also discusses the Ewon Flexy and Cosy products, which operate with the Talk2m cloud and have developed a large installed base. “We have over 600,000 subscribers that use these products out across the world,” Flanders says. While emphasizing that these established products remain viable, he explains that HMS is now expanding the portfolio with Ewon Edge and its Ewon Cloud platform, offering increased throughput and a choice of 300- and higher-performance 400-series devices.

Security and flexibility are central to the new platform. The Ewon Edge 400 series includes single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication and firewall capabilities, allowing users responsible for numerous machines, sites or domains to authenticate once rather than repeatedly entering separate credentials. “With one credential, with one account,” Flanders explains, users can authenticate through a phone or tablet and then reach multiple domains from a single device. Ewon Edge also features a modular architecture designed to accommodate capabilities such as cellular connectivity, along with Wi-Fi 6 and WPA3 support.

About the Author

Mike Bacidore

Mike Bacidore

Editor in Chief

Mike Bacidore is chief editor of Control Design and has been an integral part of the Endeavor Business Media editorial team since 2007. Previously, he was editorial director at Hughes Communications and a portfolio manager of the human resources and labor law areas at Wolters Kluwer. Bacidore holds a BA from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He is an award-winning columnist, earning multiple regional and national awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He may be reached at [email protected] 

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