Matt Barber
The MES/MOM market is going through a period of growth and transformation. This article looks at how big it is, why demand is rising, how the vendor landscape is changing, and what that means for buyers.
The market is growing, and much of it is untapped
Estimates of market size vary with what's counted. MarketsandMarkets puts the global MES market, software and services together, at around $16 billion in 2025, rising to almost $26 billion by 2030 (MarketsandMarkets). Services make up the larger share, which reflects how much implementation and integration work sits behind each project.
The bigger opportunity is how much of the market hasn't started yet. IoT Analytics estimates that only 8% of plants use a commercial MES. 54% still run production with pen and paper or spreadsheets, and the rest use an extension of their ERP or SCADA, or a homegrown system (IoT Analytics, 2025). Very few markets this established have so many potential customers still to go.
Adjacent markets are moving faster still. MarketsandMarkets expects the connected worker market to grow at 18.5% a year, from $8.6 billion in 2025 to around $20 billion by 2030 (MarketsandMarkets, 2025).
Compare that with ERP. Most manufacturers are on their second or third ERP system, while many are buying MES/MOM for the first time. It helps explain why ERP knowledge is widespread in the industry, and MES knowledge much less so.
Why demand is rising
- The workforce. Experienced people are retiring and new starters stay for shorter periods. Factories need systems that guide people and capture knowledge, as well as record what happened.
- AI ambitions. Leadership teams want AI, and AI on operations needs good shopfloor data. That leads to MES/MOM.
- Traceability and compliance. Customers and regulators expect faster, deeper traceability, and sustainability reporting increasingly needs operational evidence.
- Composable ERP. As ERP vendors focus on core business functions, more of the shopfloor is left to specialist applications built for it. More in What is ERP.
Investment is following. Deloitte's 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey found that 78% of large manufacturers allocate more than 20% of their improvement budget to smart manufacturing (Deloitte, 2025).
How the vendor landscape is splitting
The first split is between legacy and modern products.
Legacy toolkit applications are the older, heavily customised MES solutions, often built up over years through acquisitions or custom development. They still make up a large part of the installed base, but many are hard to upgrade and slow to adopt new capabilities.
The modern market then divides in two.
Platforms for builders give manufacturers tools to build their own shopfloor applications, often with low-code. They're common in smaller companies with tech-savvy teams. They're quick and flexible, but rely heavily on internal skills, and can end up as a collection of separate apps rather than a joined-up operation.
Configurable enterprise platforms are pre-built MES/MOM products, configured rather than customised, and designed for large or complex operations. Their focus is global standardisation, and roll-out across many sites.
| Legacy toolkits | Platforms for builders | Configurable enterprise platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Heavily customised system | A toolkit to build with | A product to configure |
| Typical buyer | Existing installed base | Smaller firms with strong internal teams | Large or multi-site manufacturers |
| Strength | Deeply embedded in current processes | Speed and flexibility | Breadth and standardisation |
| Watch out for | Upgrade cost and slow innovation | Skills dependency and app sprawl | Bigger upfront decision |
Platforms for builders and configurable enterprise platforms aren't really competing. They serve different kinds of business. A 50-person manufacturer with two engineers who enjoy building has very different needs from a 40-site manufacturer that wants a standard way of working. I compare the approaches in more detail in Code, build, stitch or configure.
Other trends worth watching
Scope is broadening. Many platforms now cover the whole operation rather than production alone. That's the shift from MES to MOM covered in MES vs MOM. Connected worker is increasingly built in rather than bought separately.
Licensing is moving to subscription, often alongside cloud delivery. More in Cloud vs on-premises MES.
AI is moving into the product. Generative AI assistants and natural-language reporting are appearing across the market. Vendors with rich, contextualised operational data are best placed to use it.
Configurability is expected. Buyers increasingly expect configuration and low-code rather than heavy customisation. See Configure, don't customise.
What it means for buyers
- Know which type you're buying, and why. The trade-offs are very different.
- If you want to build, make sure you have the people to sustain it, and a plan to avoid new silos.
- If you want a standard way of working across many sites, look at configurable enterprise platforms.
- If you run a legacy system today, ask your vendor hard questions about its roadmap and upgrade path.
How to choose an MES covers the selection process.
My view
This is an exciting time for the market. Unless legacy toolkit providers can genuinely innovate, I see tough times ahead for some of them, with decline or acquisition likely over the next decade. Builder platforms can be brilliant for the right company, and some are doing very well. For large manufacturers that want one standard way of working, I think configurable enterprise platforms are where the market is heading. Subscription licensing is broadly good for buyers, because predictable revenue funds ongoing product investment.
Do you see the same trends? Where would you disagree?
