On-premise, cloud, or hybrid: Which MES architecture is right for your production?

Cloud solutions are the norm in many business areas today.

But do the same rules apply to an MES in production?

Availability, response speed, data security, and control play a crucial role, especially in production systems. After all, production should not depend on whether an external internet connection is available.

That is why a key question arises when implementing an MES:

Where should the actual "brain" of the system reside—locally on-site, in the cloud, or in a combination of both?

On-Premise: The MES stays in-house

With an on-premise solution, the central MES infrastructure is located directly within the company.

For production environments, bfa solutions recommends a 100% on-premise approach as the foundation. This ensures that production plans, datasets, and control processes remain within your own infrastructure.

This offers three key advantages:

Fast response times

Data is generated at a very high frequency in production. Every single cycle needs to be captured and processed immediately.

With a local infrastructure, this information does not need to be transmitted to an external data center and sent back again.

Control over data

Sensitive information such as cycle times, process data, datasets, or production plans remains within your own infrastructure.

This allows the company to retain control over where production data is stored and processed.

Control over IT infrastructure

Backups, updates, and security measures can also be managed in a controlled manner via your own infrastructure.

Why not just put everything in the cloud?

A pure cloud solution is technically possible. However, for the core MES, bfa solutions does not recommend this approach in a production environment.

One reason for this is the dependency on an external connection.

Furthermore, if production data must be transmitted continuously, cloud storage can become a factor with high-frequency machine data.

However, this does not mean that the cloud has no place in an MES architecture.

This is where the hybrid approach comes into play.

Hybrid: Local control with global transparency

Once the local infrastructure is running stably, it can be expanded with selected cloud functions.

In this setup, the actual MES remains local to the company.

Only specific information is transmitted to a web-based dashboard, for example:

• Live OEE    
• Current machine status
• Shift targets    

This allows a production manager, for example, to see how production is currently running on their smartphone while on the go.

Production remains local – transparency becomes mobile.

External read access, but full control remains internal

An important component of this hybrid approach is the clear separation between reading and writing.

Selected production information can be viewed via the external dashboard.

However, a new order or a machine data set cannot simply be sent back to the machine through it.

This lack of direct write access from the cloud is intentional. Functions such as modifying data records or starting new jobs remain local to the production environment.

If you still need to access the local system from outside or schedule a job, a VPN connection to the local installation is required.

Data flow as a one-way street

Architecture also plays an important role in external communication.

In the hybrid approach described, no inbound ports are opened in the firewall.

Instead, the MES actively sends selected data outward – similar to sending an email.

The data flow therefore functions like a one-way street: from the inside out.

As a result, there is no open return channel through which an external server can directly access the production network.

At the same time, IT retains control over firewalls, servers, backups, and updates.

On-premise for the core MES. Hybrid where external transparency creates real added value.

This combines local control over production data and control processes with the ability to view selected key performance indicators from anywhere.

Or, to put it simply:

Production stays within the company. Yet, relevant information can still be available anywhere.

Digitalization does not have to mean giving up control over your own production – but rather expanding it in a targeted way.

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