中文Cerm will launch O2, a new cloud-based management information system (MIS) for label, flexible packaging and folding carton converters, at Loupe Americas 2026. The browser-based platform combines cloud technology, automation, an enhanced user experience and built-in print industry intelligence, with an API-first architecture supporting integrations with technology providers including Esko, Hybrid Software, ABG and Screen.
O2 draws on Cerm’s four decades of industry experience and the development of its CERM7 MIS, used by more than 500 companies worldwide. The company said its 2025 acquisition of Omikai added cloud development expertise and technology that helped accelerate the new platform. Jan Heyse, CEO of Cerm, said: “We continue the development of our well-proven CERM7 suite while adding a next-generation, cloud-native MIS product to our offering. Built by a dedicated team, it relieves customers from IT infrastructure and security concerns while giving them access to 40 years of label and packaging workflow experience in a modern stack.”
Rather than reproducing the full scope of CERM7 immediately, Cerm will introduce O2 progressively. The initial version focuses primarily on specific use cases for small and medium-sized label converters seeking digitalisation and automation without the complexity of a traditional enterprise MIS implementation. Functionality designed specifically for flexible packaging and folding carton production will arrive in a second phase, with the platform expanded gradually to support more sophisticated environments and workflows.
“Our goal is to create a platform that companies can grow with,” Heyse added. “We are starting with specific use cases where O2 can immediately provide value and will continue expanding its capabilities as both the platform and our customers evolve.”
The emphasis on small and mid-sized converters addresses a real gap. Enterprise MIS platforms can be powerful but heavy, demanding infrastructure, integration effort and change management that smaller shops struggle to justify. A cloud-native, API-first alternative lowers the barrier to digitalisation, letting converters adopt automation where it pays off without a wholesale re-platforming.
For an industry long served by heavyweight, on-premise MIS platforms, the appeal of a cloud-native alternative is straightforward. Smaller converters have historically been locked out of sophisticated workflow and business intelligence tools by the cost and complexity of implementation. O2’s promise is to remove that barrier, delivering proven label and packaging logic through a browser with no servers to maintain, no security patches to manage, and no capital outlay for infrastructure.
The API-first design is central to that value. By supporting integrations with Esko, Hybrid Software, ABG and Screen, O2 sits within the existing prepress and production ecosystem rather than competing with it. Converters can connect the systems they already use, preserving investment while gaining a unified operational view. For a label shop juggling imposition, workflow and finishing from multiple vendors, that connectivity is often the difference between a tool adopted and a tool ignored.
O2 will officially launch on 15 September at Loupe Americas, held 15-17 September at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. The timing places it squarely in front of a North American converter audience evaluating exactly this kind of modernisation.
Cerm will also demonstrate Lexis, an AI agent that converts incoming customer emails and attachments into validated sales orders; Smart BI Enterprise; the Cerm Tempo scheduling platform; and enhanced quality management and traceability functionality. Together these show a roadmap in which cloud MIS is the hub and intelligence, both rules-based and AI-driven, reduces the manual overhead of running a converter.
For the industry, the launch reflects a broader shift toward software-as-a-service delivery in print MIS. The appeal is familiar from other sectors: lower upfront cost, faster deployment, automatic updates and reduced internal IT burden. For Cerm, O2 extends a proven franchise into a model better suited to a new generation of converters who expect software to be elastic, connected and accessible from anywhere.
A further consideration for converters is total cost of ownership. Cloud delivery shifts capital expenditure to operating expenditure, which can smooth cash flow and make budgeting more predictable, but the cumulative subscription cost over several years can exceed a once-off licence if the platform is retained long term. Cerm’s progressive feature rollout is designed to let converters start lean and add capability as adoption proves its value, which moderates that risk by tying spend to realised benefit.
The competitive backdrop is crowded. Established MIS vendors and newer cloud entrants are all targeting the same digitalisation budget, and converters are wary of lock-in. O2’s API-first stance is Cerm’s answer: rather than asking converters to abandon existing prepress and production tools, it positions the MIS as a connective layer. Whether that openness proves decisive will depend on how readily third-party developers and integrators build against the platform in the months after launch.
The staged rollout is a pragmatic acknowledgment that converters adopt at different speeds. By proving value in label use cases first and layering flexible packaging and folding carton capability later, Cerm can refine the product against real workflows before asking larger, more complex operations to commit. It is a measured path to a platform intended to grow with its customers, and a clear signal that the centre of gravity in print MIS is moving decisively to the cloud.
Source: Labels & Labeling, published 4 September 2026.
