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A cyber-physical system (CPS) is a system is which digital networks and physical systems are tightly connected. Gartner began using the term in 2022, and in 2025 published its first Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for CPS Protection Platforms, where Nozomi Networks is named a Leader.
The term cyber-physical systems goes back nearly two decades, however. It was first coined in 2006 by Helen Gill at the U.S. Nation Science Foundation. Her work helped launch a new field of research into complex systems in which computational, networking and physical processes are deeply intertwined.
Despite the re-emergence of CPS, the terms industry control system (ICS), industrial automation and control system (IACS) and simply operational technology (OT) are more commonly used to describe networks and devices that automate, monitor and control physical processes in the real world. With so many terms already used interchangeably, why is CPS taking hold now? That question may be best answered by looking at the growing array of point solutions and platforms designed to protect these complex systems and their increasing attack surfaces.
Gartner VP Analyst Katell Thielemann is largely credited with resurrecting the term cyber-physical system in 2022, arguing that it more accurately captures the convergence of IT, OT and IoT assets and networks, including wireless, that are now commonplace in production and mission-critical environments. Thielemann went on to coin the term “CPS protection platform,” a market that Gartner now defines as “products and services that use knowledge of industrial protocols, operational/production network packets or traffic metadata, and physical process asset behavior to discover, categorize, map and protect CPS in production or mission-critical environments outside of enterprise IT environments.”
The 2025 Magic Quadrant for CPS Protection Platforms elaborates on the need for more precise terminology to define a growing market:
Until recently, “OT security” was seen as a catch-all security market encompassing everything from intrusion detection/prevention services (IDS/IPS) vendors, point solution firewall vendors, data diodes vendors, USB kiosk vendors and professional services providers. Three years ago, Gartner established specific cyber-physical categories due to both rising end-user demand and rapid vendor innovations in response to a growing focus on CPS security.1
The Nozomi Networks platform meets the definition of a CPS protection platform, as evidenced by our status as a Leader in this Magic Quadrant. Purpose built for complex industrial, commercial and critical infrastructure environments, our platform combines visibility from the endpoint to the air with continuous monitoring and AI-powered analysis to minimize cyber risk and maximize operational resilience.
Whether you’re looking for an OT security platform, industrial cybersecurity platform, CPS protection platform or other comprehensive solution, our platform provides the combination of asset inventory, risk scoring, threat detection and response needed to help industrial organizations meet regulatory requirements and protect their environments.
1 Gartner, Magic Quadrant for CPS Protection Platforms, Katell Thielemann, Wam Voster, Ruggero Contu, 12 February 2025
A cyber-physical system (CPS) is a system is which digital networks and physical systems are tightly connected. Gartner began using the term in 2022, and in 2025 published its first Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for CPS Protection Platforms, where Nozomi Networks is named a Leader.
The term cyber-physical systems goes back nearly two decades, however. It was first coined in 2006 by Helen Gill at the U.S. Nation Science Foundation. Her work helped launch a new field of research into complex systems in which computational, networking and physical processes are deeply intertwined.
Despite the re-emergence of CPS, the terms industry control system (ICS), industrial automation and control system (IACS) and simply operational technology (OT) are more commonly used to describe networks and devices that automate, monitor and control physical processes in the real world. With so many terms already used interchangeably, why is CPS taking hold now? That question may be best answered by looking at the growing array of point solutions and platforms designed to protect these complex systems and their increasing attack surfaces.
Gartner VP Analyst Katell Thielemann is largely credited with resurrecting the term cyber-physical system in 2022, arguing that it more accurately captures the convergence of IT, OT and IoT assets and networks, including wireless, that are now commonplace in production and mission-critical environments. Thielemann went on to coin the term “CPS protection platform,” a market that Gartner now defines as “products and services that use knowledge of industrial protocols, operational/production network packets or traffic metadata, and physical process asset behavior to discover, categorize, map and protect CPS in production or mission-critical environments outside of enterprise IT environments.”
The 2025 Magic Quadrant for CPS Protection Platforms elaborates on the need for more precise terminology to define a growing market:
Until recently, “OT security” was seen as a catch-all security market encompassing everything from intrusion detection/prevention services (IDS/IPS) vendors, point solution firewall vendors, data diodes vendors, USB kiosk vendors and professional services providers. Three years ago, Gartner established specific cyber-physical categories due to both rising end-user demand and rapid vendor innovations in response to a growing focus on CPS security.1
The Nozomi Networks platform meets the definition of a CPS protection platform, as evidenced by our status as a Leader in this Magic Quadrant. Purpose built for complex industrial, commercial and critical infrastructure environments, our platform combines visibility from the endpoint to the air with continuous monitoring and AI-powered analysis to minimize cyber risk and maximize operational resilience.
Whether you’re looking for an OT security platform, industrial cybersecurity platform, CPS protection platform or other comprehensive solution, our platform provides the combination of asset inventory, risk scoring, threat detection and response needed to help industrial organizations meet regulatory requirements and protect their environments.
1 Gartner, Magic Quadrant for CPS Protection Platforms, Katell Thielemann, Wam Voster, Ruggero Contu, 12 February 2025
