Smart Cities – Solutions, not technology is the Key

A decade back, the buzz of smart city sounded like a corporate project. In my experience,the majority of them were quick fixes to existing schemes and solutions through better management empowered by digital technologies. This created a perception of upgrade to existing cities make it fully Smart.

It evolved further as a massive centralization of all the potential information like (a) recording events from sensors, (b) transmitting through the networks, (c) computing and analyzing it etc. This recognized the economics of centralized information and power to access that information for betterment of entire ecosystem with digital connections (Global internet). 

The evolution continues and it certainly changes the perspective but the intention of harnessing the city for multifaceted knowledge that help achieve our social, economic and environmental goals should be intact.

Information and knowledge are very different terms. The marketplace is full of various innovative products, hardware and software, However, Selecting the right smart city solution is difficult. The challenge is not selecting the correct technology but applying appropriate solution that transforms the features into user’s benefits. 

Few key principals become inevitable to make the smart city work for its inhabitants,

• User experience matters the most
• Solution-oriented approach is the key
• Services and infrastructure should be seamlessly interconnected

Digital transformation is being carried by the process of maturing the technologies and showing its benefits when used best to its potential for business benefits. The success stories of Converged infrastructure, IP everywhere, Fiber to The Home / Last-mile connectivity, 4G Wireless technologies are major drivers for digital transformation. To achieve this, Cities will implement advanced infrastructures to make their network faster, ubiquitous, reliable and more importantly secure. 

Planning and design must consider a holistic approach that should be derived in consultation with experts of IoT and Network connectivity.  

I am not going to predict any trends here, but 2019 is surely a year that brings thoughtful, long-term, well designed solution-centric approach to Smart Cities.