Increasingly, major cities around the world are striving to transform themselves into more innovative spaces through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Their use not only leads to improvements in service provision, but also paves the way to turn our cities into true Smart Cities.
To be qualified as a ‘smart city’, it is not enough to be sustainable in only one area. The implementation of new technologies, citizen participation in public life, the search for efficiency in the management of available resources, the increase in the quality of life of citizens and visitors are some of the characteristics that make a city smart.
Keys to understanding the importance of Smart Cities
- The Internet of Things (IoT). Currently, only 1% of all invented tools, products or services are connected to the Internet. The potential for IoT in our homes, therefore, is enormous. It is predicted that by 2020, 40% of all global data will come from IoT sensors.
- The Smart City concept encompasses several industries: transport, waste, e-Health, giving universal coverage to our citizens with better tools and in less time, or energy, one of the industries that can obtain the greatest range of efficiency.
- Fast IT. According to experts, in order to start this digital transformation on time, it is necessary to adopt a more efficient model called Fast IT. The large multinationals that are driving the world’s evolution should generate 40% innovation for every 60% of their operations, thus accelerating the pace of innovation globally.
- In Spain, a National Smart Cities Plan has been created with a budget of 152.9 million euros.
At Esferize we always welcome this kind of news with excitement. They make us imagine new challenges and scenarios in which we can be part of an important transformation thanks to our experience. In key areas such as cybersecurity, the creation of Internet access infrastructures or the implementation of intelligent environmental control systems, among others.
