# Cloud MES: Cloud-based manufacturing execution system

> What a cloud MES is, which questions it helps you answer, and how you can roll out OptiPeople Data Platform one step at a time instead of in one big IT project.

URL: https://optipeople.com/blog/cloud-mes-cloud-based-manufacturing-execution-system

OptiPeople Team, 2022-02-16

Production, resources, scrap, shifts, operators, maintenance, machine control and orders are hard to plan when every department sits with its own piece. A cloud MES brings it all together in one place.

## What is cloud MES?

Cloud MES stands for **cloud-based Manufacturing Execution System**: a system for running production that lives in the cloud.

It is a SaaS platform you open in a browser. In practice, it connects machines, systems and people across your production.

A cloud MES is typically connected to systems such as:

- SCADA
- ERP
- PLCs

It gives you the connection between systems that people often associate with Industry 4.0, and it builds a bridge toward Industry 5.0.

## Why use a cloud MES?

A cloud MES helps you answer questions such as:

- How much capacity do we have left?
- Where are the bottlenecks?
- What can logistics or sales safely promise customers?
- Where should we plan the next maintenance?

Instead of going on gut feeling, you can make these decisions based on numbers from the shop floor.

## OptiPeople Data Platform as a cloud MES

OptiPeople Data Platform is a cloud MES you can introduce step by step. You don't need a big IT project that has to be finished all at once.

You can start with one clear goal, for example:

- understanding your availability
- finding the bottlenecks
- helping logistics plan better

Then you can add more steps, for example:

- ERP integration
- SCADA integration
- maintenance planning
- predictive alarms that warn you before something goes wrong

OptiPeople Data Platform covers this on the [cloud MES module page](https://optipeople.com/modules/mes), including a step-by-step rollout for a small plant and a comparison of cloud vs on-premise MES.

## The practical advantage

The big advantage of a cloud MES is that you can build it up a bit at a time.

Instead of putting your whole production at risk with one large transformation, you can start small, learn as you go and expand the system as it proves its value.