The Evolution of Smart Cities: 4 Key Developments

I recently attended a Smart Cities Expo held by the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) and US Ignite. The event showcased a wide array of smart city demos along with thought leadership presentations. Here are 4 key developments:

1. Most Cities Are Still in the Experimentation Stage, but Full Scale Rollouts Are Coming Soon

Cities ranging from Barcelona and Copenhagen to Kansas City, Portland, and many others, continue to make impressive gains in the use of smart city technologies. In most cases, these pilot projects focus on a specific area, such as transportation or citizen engagement. Because this market is still evolving there are varying opinions on what constitutes a smart city. However, the trend line is clear: municipalities will continue to invest and continue to make progress along the smart cities adoption curve.

2. Beyond the Technology, There is Much to Be Done on the People and Process Fronts

There are many moving parts to smart city initiatives. The technology components may include sensors, devices, network infrastructure, wireless connectivity, software, machine-to-machine learning, analytics, apps, security safeguards, and system management. As the many smart city demos at the NIST Expo attest, these technologies are quickly coming together to form complete solutions. Technology alone, though, will not lead to the types of benefits and ROI cities seek. Entrenched processes often require a complete makeover. People – city staff, political leadership, citizens, and local businesses, may need training, support or even convincing that smart city initiatives are a worthwhile pursuit. The process and people elements always take longer than expected, which means smart city growth will see some short-term gains and many more longer-term gains. Note: for more insight into smart city and IoT ecosystems, see CompTIA’s Sizing Up the Internet of Things research brief.

3. The Incredible Diversity of Smart City Innovation Will Create Many Opportunities as Well As Challenges

Just about any city structure, service, system, or entity is a potential candidate for enhancement through technology. With the steady decline in the cost of computing power, data storage, and sensors, we are just now scratching the surface of the many possible applications of smart city technologies. These innovations will typically fall into one of five categories:

1. Energy and Environment (i.e. smart grid, intelligent water mgt., smart building controls)
2. Transportation (i.e. traffic management, app-enabled parking meters)
3. Public Safety and Health (i.e. smart emergency response, community alert network)
4. Process Improvement (i.e. efficiency improvements of forms, fines, permits)
5. General Quality of Life (i.e. citizen engagement, parks, recreation)

Nearly every exhibitor or speaker at the Expo referenced security in some way. With greater interconnectivity, comes greater exposure to security risks. Concern was especially acute in the area of critical infrastructure, such as a water treatment plants or power grids. While the level of concern over smart city security risks seems to be at the appropriate level, the reality is that no one knows the full extent of possible security risks in a rapidly developing market.

One other often overlooked challenge of smart city initiatives is the need for ongoing management, maintenance and troubleshooting. For example, sensors may need replacing, software updated, or new devices integrated. It’s unlikely city IT staff will have the capacity to take on extensive smart city management responsibilities. For local IT solution providers or MSPs willing to invest in the necessary tools and expertise to manage and support these systems, opportunities will inevitably emerge.

4. Public + Private Partnerships Are Key

Keynote speaker, Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation, for the White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) emphasized the importance of continued government investment in enabling technologies. This may entail R&D investments in nanotechnology, battery technology, wireless spectrum allocation, and other basic and applied science developments relevant to smart city initiatives. Many of these efforts involve the intersection of government agencies, universities and technology companies.

With many smart city initiatives, municipalities are doing more than just buying technology – they may be fundamentally changing the way citizens experience some aspect of their city. With this mind, the more technology vendors can view their engagement as a true public + private partnership, the better positioned they will be to take advantage of these opportunities.