Lessons from the Smart Cities Challenge

In 2011, IBM announced the Smarter Cities Challenge, worth $5 million in consulting services, to 100 cities with big problems and big goals. IBM sent teams of three to six to each city for three weeks to address issues ranging from healthcare to pollution and traffic to energy poverty.  Both IBM and the selected cities learned several lessons from the engagements that all cities can employ. Key technology was developed and deployed during and immediately following the engagements that can be utilized in other locations in the future.  Although the 2012 engagements have just completed, and the 2013 recipients have just been announced, the results of 2011 have shown promise, and demonstrated the value...

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Posted in: smart city

Why oil-rich countries are investing in solar

This week, the world’s largest concentrated solar plant went into operation. Shams 1 is a massive 100-megawatt power plant in Abu Dhabi with some impressive numbers. The $750 million project produces enough energy to power 20,000 homes and stretches across an area  of desert, west of the United Arab Emirates capital, the size of 285 football fields. “With the demand for energy rising exponentially, the region is undergoing a major transformation in how it generates electricity,” said Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, the state-owned company behind the power plant. “In fact, the Middle East is poised for major investments in renewable energy, and Shams 1 proves the economic and environmental advantage of deploying large-scale solar...

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Living Lab: Urban Planning Goes Digital in Spanish 'Smart City'

Cities around the world aim to become "smart cities," but in Santander,Spain, the goal has already become a reality. Thousands of sensors help alert residents to traffic jams, regulate the watering in city parks and dim the street lamps. Cities all around the world have set the same goal for themselves. Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Dubai, Helsinki, San Diego, Stockholm, Nanjing, Vienna, Yokohama -- they all share an aspiration to become "smart cities." That sounds like an appealing aim, yet when urban planners try to explain more precisely how they plan to lead their cities into the digital future, their answers are less convincing, with each proposing a different plan. Despite the many symposiums that have been held on...

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IBM joins Montpellier smart city project

IBM and the local authority of greater Montpellier, France, have agreed to create an urban living laboratory to design new urban services for residents and support local leaders' economic development goals. The smart city project, based on an intelligent dashboard from IBM, will involve the Universities of Montpellier 1 and 2, and the Idate research institute on the digital economy. Its initial focus will be to create an open platform to improve information sharing within the district in areas such as transport, water management, emergency management and mobile commerce.  The technology will be hosted in IBM France's first public cloud data centre. A demonstration centre will be opened later this year, followed by an operations...

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12 business skills that will never, ever go out of style

This is the digital age — throw everything we’ve ever known about succeeding in business out the window, right? Wait a second, not quite everything.  There are basic rules for business success that haven’t gone away with the digital age — in fact, they have only become more important. The skills listed below could have appeared in any career book of the 1990s, 1980s, or even 1930s — and continue to withstand the test of time: Communication skills. Management is still tight with budgets, and needs to be sold on new project ideas. The ability to construct an argument and make your case forcefully and clearly to your boss, client or coworkers will move your ideas to fruition. Computer systems can provide all the information you need,...

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Why Smart Cities Need Smart Grids

The correlation between smart cities and smart grids is strong.  Around one-third of the smart city projects that Pike Research is currentlytracking in North America and Europe are primarily focused on smart grids or other energy innovations. Almost half of smart city strategies include energy-focused projects. The huge investment being made in smart meters on both continents will provide cities with a platform for energy efficiency improvements, new customer services, and network optimization. Cities also provide important pilot environments for a range of smart grid innovations, including the integration of distributed renewable energy, support for EV charging, and the introduction of demand management programs. ...

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Smart city spending to reach $20 billion by 2020

As more and more people flock to urban centers, the idea of smart cities has increasingly captured the mind share of civic leaders and planners around the world. Consider that cities already are responsible for approximately 70 percent of global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, according to some estimates, and you can see why city planners are scrambling for some semblance of control. "City leaders face the continuous challenge of meeting rising citizen expectations within tight financial constraints," according to a smart cities report that Pike Research released in February. "In North America and Europe in particular, the tough economic climate is forcing local governments to become even more innovative in their use...

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