Trend Data becomes both the power source and the chief risk of innovation systems

Summary

STEPI's innovation-system outlook argues that in an ultra-fast, hyper-connected digital era, speed and data have become baseline conditions for any innovation system. Data records observable facts and serves as an asset for predicting, absorbing and recovering from risk across labs, fabs, sites and markets. Because nearly every activity is now datafied, innovation systems and data have become mutually dependent, so any loss of data reliability or stability spreads quickly and can be fatal. Global data generation and replication is shown rising from 2 zettabytes in 2010 to 181 zettabytes in 2025. The author concludes that the need is shifting from raw speed to 'stable speed', with data acting at once as the engine and the hazard of the system.