Software configuration and status information of one or more business office appliances operating behind a firewall are controlled remotely by a software patch management application. The software patch management application is connected to a network and transmits instructions and software patches via electronic mail to a network connection on the other side of the firewall. A device management application receives the instructions and/or software patches and communicates the instructions and/or software patches to one or more business office appliances for execution and/or installation without requiring re-boot of the business office appliances.