Driven by Data [From the Editor]

Abstract

Once upon a time, control systems were connecting sensors and actuators. Nowadays, they primarily process “data” like any other machine belonging to the modern age. Data are the new gold: the new source of wealth and power. Peter Sondergaard, global head of research at Gartner, said, “Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine.” Eric Schmidt, executive chairman at Google, stated, “There were 5 exabytes of information created between the dawn of civilization through 2003, but that much information is now created every two days.” It is all just data. More is better.