MES Adoption Hits Plateau as Integration Emerges as Key Hurdle
Event summary
- 93% of manufacturers have deployed MES, but only 23% have fully integrated it across ERP, PLM, quality, and OT systems.
- 44% of manufacturers rank integration as their top MES buying requirement, while 33% cite it as their biggest data integration problem.
- 46% of manufacturers experienced a cyber incident in the past year, making security and compliance the second-highest MES buying requirement.
- Rockwell Automation's report surveyed 1,560 decision-makers across 17 countries, with 58% from organizations exceeding $1B in annual revenue.
The big picture
Rockwell Automation's report highlights a critical shift in the manufacturing sector from MES adoption to enterprise-wide scaling, with integration emerging as the primary obstacle. This trend underscores broader industry challenges in digital transformation, where disconnected systems and underutilized data are limiting the value of existing investments. The findings also reflect growing concerns around cybersecurity, positioning resilience as a key differentiator for manufacturers navigating operational risks.
What we're watching
- Integration Challenges
- How manufacturers will address the gap between MES adoption and full enterprise integration, particularly across disparate systems.
- AI Readiness
- Whether manufacturers can effectively utilize collected data to support AI ambitions, with 54% of processes expected to be AI-supported by 2030.
- Cybersecurity Priorities
- The pace at which security and compliance will become a standard requirement in MES deployments following a rise in cyber incidents.