A global pharmaceutical manufacturer secures offline control systems with RealVNC Connect
A global pharmaceutical manufacturer runs automation and process control systems across its production sites. These environments are built on Siemens PCS 7 control systems and sit on isolated networks with no connection to the public internet. Keeping them secure, stable and serviceable across a multi-year lifecycle is critical to keeping production running.
As part of a scheduled lifecycle migration of its automation systems, the manufacturer needed a secure, reliable way to support production machines that live on offline networks. It selected RealVNC Connect to replace an ageing free VNC tool and to standardise on a single secure remote access solution that runs entirely within its own environment. The rollout starts with the non-production test estate before extending across production, covering several hundred devices in total.
The problem
Securing Remote Support for a Modernised Manufacturing Control Estate
Every six years, the manufacturer lifecycles its automation systems, rebuilding them on current Windows versions to keep the control estate supported and secure. The latest migration spans a large virtual estate: around 170 machines in the non-production environment and more than 300 in production.
These control systems run on isolated networks with no internet access. Shop-floor operators sign in with their own credentials to run the machines day to day. The challenge is support. When an engineer needs to troubleshoot a machine, they need secure, dependable remote access to it, without ever opening the network to the outside world.
The manufacturer had relied on UltraVNC, a free remote access tool. It coped in a sandbox, but at production scale its performance and security limitations became a problem. For a regulated manufacturing environment, a free tool with limited security was no longer fit for purpose.
The solution
Implementing Enterprise Remote Access for Industrial Automation
RealVNC Connect is recommended by Siemens for use with its automation systems, giving the manufacturer early confidence that the solution would work cleanly with its PCS 7 control estate.
The manufacturer selected RealVNC Connect Device Access, which licenses each end device individually and supports fully offline deployment. Engineers can make secure connections to any enrolled machine, with no dependency on the internet and no data leaving the network.
To manage the offline estate, the manufacturer is adopting RealVNC’s On-Prem Management Console. Installed on a server inside its own network, the console gives administrators a single dashboard to distribute and manage licences, track how they are used, and audit connection activity, all without an internet connection. Across an estate of several hundred devices, that replaces a largely manual process with centralised control and visibility.
Because the automation systems are designed to stay static across the six-year lifecycle, the manufacturer is standardising on a multi-year subscription, aligning its remote access tooling with the working life of the control system itself.
The Future
Centralised Visibility for a Growing Offline Environment
The manufacturer is completing testing on its non-production environment before extending RealVNC Connect across its full production estate. As the offline deployment grows, the On-Prem Management Console will give administrators a single secure view of every licensed device and connection, entirely within their own network.
"Moving from a small-scale deployment to an estate of several hundred industrial control systems requires a different level of security, visibility, and control. We're pleased to support the manufacturer as it standardises on RealVNC Connect, enabling secure offline remote access and centralised management that aligns with the long-term requirements of its automation environment."
