MashBlur

There are many advantages to becoming a smart city. But chief among them could be the potential they have for boosting regional economies as the result of the cities being made a more appealing place for businesses and tech-savvy professionals alike.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently announced a Smart Cities policy that would create a new unit for infrastructure finance with the goal in mind of providing the resources needed to create smart cities throughout Australia’s metropolitan regions.

Part of this plan is to create what is being dubbed as “30 minute cities” which describes a city where anyone can commute to work, school, and its various lifestyle services in 30 minutes or less. This would require some major overhauls to Australia’s current transportation system, especially in cities like Melbourne where traffic congestion is a considerable problem.

Turnbull’s Smart Cities Plan is the first of its kind, focused on creating a long-term investment strategy that focuses on major cities and their metropolitan areas. By giving big cities the infrastructure improvements it would need, citizens in the surrounding area will have an easier time traveling through and accessing businesses and services.

Having smart IoT technologies in place such as better traffic sensors tied to a centralized control system, widespread access to fiber connections, and other important advancements lead to a better quality of life for citizens, and a more appealing place for businesses to call home.

Turnbull’s plan is not without its challenges. For one, this is a major investment undertaking which will require the creation of a new infrastructure financing unit. This unit would work closely with the private sector to create financing solutions for these government projects.

Turnbull believes that by investing in smart city infrastructure, the government of Australia will save a lot more in the long run. Exactly how much, is unclear. Smart cities require proper planning from every level of development.

However, a recent estimate from the Bureau of Infrastructure warned that urban traffic congestion alone costs Australians $16.5 billion each year, with a forecasted increase to between $27.7 and $37.7 billion by 2030.

The Ipswich City Council, located in one of Australia’s fastest growing regions, recently announced plans to move forward with a “smart city” agenda.

Global consulting firm Accenture has been selected to manage this transformation and help implement plans. Blueprints will be developed to improve community engagement, examine city operations and grow digital technology.

See Also: Smart cities require smart construction

Councilor Paul Pisasale, mayor of Ipswich, stated that the initiative is an effort to create more jobs, establish a flourishing economy, utilize data to anticipate and help prevent problems and digitize city services to improve the overall functioning of the city as a whole.

“We are a city which leads by example, embracing the positive impact of technology and digital trends for the benefit of our local businesses and community,” Pisasale said.  “We really believe digital cities are better enabled by digital governments who are not afraid to adopt a more human-centered approach in order to better serve their citizens.”

Accenture was chosen for this project based on their vast global ‘Smart City’ experience, expert knowledge in the industry and analytical skills. Having worked with clients in over 120 countries, Accenture offers a vast array of services and solutions.  The company focus for this current project will be to identify and develop new strategies to both maintain and improve the city, making it a safer, more connected and productive city to live in.

Accenture’s Health & Public Service Leader for Australia and New Zealand, Catherine Garner,  explained, “Rather than proposing a product driven, technology-centric solution, we have embedded our consulting and strategic approach around the vision and needs of the Ipswich community. Innovation is at the heart of a strong economy. When done well, it keeps a city competitive, cutting edge, creates jobs and maintains a high standard of living.”

Australia is currently pushing to upgrade cities across the continent to employ the latest smart technologies.

Ipswich is one of Australia’s most rapidly growing regions and it has developed a reputation for being a progressive and motivated city.  This new ‘Smart City’ project may set the standard for other cities to follow suit.

A new report shows healthy revenues for 21 benchmarked Internet of Things (IoT) companies in the last quarter of 2015, with revenue growing by almost 15% to levels approaching $7 billion. Cloud computing and IT infrastructure are especially potent drivers of IoT revenues, as vendors help companies cope with ever increasing rivers of data.

In a press release Technology Business Research (TBR) reported that commercial IoT opportunities drove year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter by 14.8% among the 21 companies it tracks in its regular Commercial IoT Benchmark report. Total revenues for the quarter were $6.7 billion among benchmarked vendors that include Verizon, Microsoft, Intel, Google, Amazon, Siemens, Cisco, Ericsson and Oracle.

See also: Hackers drive huge growth in IoT security market

“Effectively, every type of IT and operational technology (OT) vendor will have a stake in the growing commercial IoT market, as IoT solutions will drive increased use of diverse IT and OT products and services,” said Dan Callahan, a TBR analyst specializing in devices and IoT.

TBR says revenue growth is being driven by a rise in go-to-market refreshes by top vendors who are striving to become known as early leaders in the commercial IoT space.

“In addition to building interest in established IT products, commercial IoT will create growth in specialized business consulting, hardware, network, development, management and security components,” said Callahan. “IT and OT vendors that are quick to capture IoT opportunities within their current customer base, and attract new ones through developer programs and investing in growing mindshare, will enjoy additional, immediate, revenue opportunities.”

TBR’s report showed vendors are looking to become early IoT leaders in order to drive profits in this emerging industry. Vendors who take an early IoT leadership position are benefiting because there is less competition, customers have limited outsourcing options due to early IoT’s security challenges, and clients require custom solutions due to the lack of technology standards.

Cloud computing services posted the highest year-over-year revenue growth rate of 79% to record $604 million in the quarter. This growth is being propelled by the vastly increasing need being created for platforms to process and store data.

TSR also noted strong growth in IT services and ICT infrastructure, which charted a 51.4% growth rate in revenue for the quarter. This subsector is benefiting from the increasing capacity requirements created by the huge streams of IoT data that is being generated, as more companies struggle to tame the growing flood of information into actionable insights.