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* By Antonio Brito
10 years ago, who could have imagined that small sensors would make a great idea like smart cities even bigger?
The concept of smart cities has existed for a decade and has always been related to more efficient and affordable services and better government deliveries, which are closer to the daily lives of voters. However, over time, it has undergone considerable changes with the emergence of important technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT).
The first IoT device was a connected toaster. But the idea of sensors connected to everyday appliances, which collect and transmit data on status and operation, became a powerful business tool with 8.4 million online equipment in use worldwide in 2017, according to Gartner . These numbers highlight the potential for a new generation of IT systems that can further develop, and more quickly, smart cities beyond what some of their creators may have imagined.
IoT systems are versatile and reliable enough to support public planning. With sensors attached to most vehicles and devices in a city, IoT is able to optimize asset management, delivering more confidence at a considerable lower cost. The technology is able to predict possible collaborations between departments and divisions, or regional governments with their private sector partners.
Another important point is the use of Business Intelligence (BI) systems, which can produce invaluable data for a matrix - from managing parking lots to preventing crime; from emergency services to facility maintenance. In addition, it manages to support a modern, cloud-based enterprise resource planning system to break down silos in a large and complex organization.
And if the possibilities of today are exciting, those of the future are even more so. With multiple emerging technologies being developed in parallel and at an exponential pace, cities of the future will need IT centers to be able to keep multiple systems in sync, while allowing new and sophisticated opportunities to surface.
Software and devices in constant evolution have created new and great opportunities for governments to leverage commercial intelligence. With sensors gathering information, corporate resource planning systems processing that data and BI systems to interpret them, tomorrow's smart cities will be able to make better and faster decisions, delivering necessary services to citizens at a low cost.
The IT behind smart cities will also be an essential enabler for new technologies that are on everyone's radar, such as connected and autonomous automobiles. The benefits start with a much safer and more reliable route from point A to point B. It continues with the potential gains that some city planners attribute to driverless cars - such as reduced road congestion or the end of the daily struggle to park in city centers. cities - and the IoT emerges as a key piece of the puzzle that keeps all the others in place.
Smart cities need smart partners
Those who wonder how regional governments can make the leap to the systems of the future are not alone. The last Infrastructure Report Card, published by the American Association of Civil Engineers, rated the country's physical assets with a D + score, which may explain why only 6% of the most populous cities had the means to include technologies of the future in their long-term plans, accordingly with the National League of Cities.
The biggest challenge of all is to get from here to the future. Cities have no time to waste and will need to optimize each dollar to the fullest to make this transition. Partnerships with smart and responsible IT suppliers will be essential for city planning to be successful.
It is time for communities to put IoT at the center of the journey and align the support and partnerships they will need to get the job done.
* By Antonio Brito, Sr. Principal, Digital & Value Engineering, Infor LATAM
Warning: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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