With the new remote maintenance solution from B&R, service technicians can access machines from anywhere in the world. A certificate-secured and encrypted VPN connection is established between the SiteManager on the machine and a gateway, which is typically located at the machine manufacturer's service center. The SiteManager has integrated digital inputs and outputs, so a key switch can be connected, for example, to enable maintenance access only after the key switch has been actuated. An integrated firewall protects against unwanted access by third parties. Where a connection via LAN or WLAN is not possible or desired, the VPN connection can be established via GPRS and UMTS mobile radio.