Smart City

Smart City Sentinel

GlobalData Study Identifies Keys to Smart City Success

By Ken Briodagh

Increased urbanization can create many problems for cities in infrastructure, economic development and sustainability. To effectively tackle these issues, local and national governments, and Internet of Things (IoT) providers have been keen to forge partnerships and launch Smart City initiatives. To achieve success, identifying specific needs and engaging local communities is key to the success of smart city projects, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

There have been successful ‘smart city’ projects. For example, Orange Business Services (OBS) has enjoyed success working with Saudi Arabia on large-scale projects. OBS has helped ski resorts identify where visitors are travelling from and how they can make it easier for them to visit their resort. 

Joel Stradling, Technology Analyst at GlobalData, said, “This is not strictly a smart city program, but the projects point to important aspects of why projects seeking to use technology to aid communities can succeed and fail. Many of the large-scale smart city projects that have succeeded have been in political environments where governments can more easily force through technological and cultural changes. Even in these instances, it is often when building new cities or within regeneration projects in existing cities. In contrast, in liberal Western democracies, there are more material concerns about what data is used, how and for what purpose, making the move towards adopting smart city solutions more politically challenging.”

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is one important factor in Europe in particular. Technology companies are becoming more cautious in how they use even anonymized data due to GDPR. The upset caused by the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other high-profile data leaks such as Dixons Carphone breach in the UK have increased public awareness and fostered political caution. 

Beyond data security, there are cultural concerns as to whether smart city technology may become coercive and force certain behavior patterns, which may benefit local authorities or enterprises rather than the population as a whole.

Stradling continued, “OBS’ success in helping ski resorts highlights an important route to success—targeting a clear objective. Smart city projects often start with a grand vision and no detail. Identifying specific needs increases the chance of success. Demonstrating clear benefits can also increase the likelihood that local citizens will support and engage with the project.”

In July 2018, Deutsche Telekom partnered with the German Association of Towns and Municipalities to launch a new initiative: The Executive Program Digital Cities and Regions. The partners plan to develop intelligent, bespoke smart city solutions that cater to the specific needs of towns, cities and communities in Germany.

“This program has not succeeded yet, but it points to a better way of delivering smart cities,” said Stradling. “Deutsche Telekom has put identifying specific local needs and engaging local communities at the heart of its program and stands a greater chance of delivering material benefits.”


Ken Briodagh is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars.

Edited by Ken Briodagh
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

Editorial Director

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

'Smart Gas Meter Penetration Rate in Europe Reached 45% in 2023'

By: Alex Passett    3/13/2024

According to new data from Berg Insight, he installed base of smart gas meters in Europe amounted to 55.9 million in 2023, equivalent to a penetration…

Read More

Smarter Grid Planning and Operations: Itron Acquires Elpis Squard to Expand Grid Edge Intelligence Portfolio

By: Alex Passett    3/11/2024

To accelerate the energy transition needs for grid planning, operational and engineering teams and processes, Itron officially announced the strategic…

Read More

IoT Evolution Expo Gold Sponsor Libelium is Changing the Electric Grid with Smart DLR Solutions

By: Alex Passett    2/13/2024

IoT Evolution Expo 2024 is taking place from February 13-15 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Under the grand umbre…

Read More

A New Record for Connectivity: 'World's Longest-Range Wi-Fi HaLow Solution' Demonstrated by Morse Micro

By: Alex Passett    2/6/2024

Morse Micro recently announced the success of what it has called "the world's first live demonstration of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow technology extending t…

Read More

'The World's First Smart Rainforest': How NTT and ClimateForce Plan to Use Smart Technology for Environmental Restoration

By: Alex Passett    1/30/2024

ClimateForce and Smart Management Platform (SMP) technology company NTT have announced their partnership with the goal of creating the world's first "…

Read More