Downers Grove, IL --- Government officials have favorable expectations for the benefits and value that smart cities solutions will deliver, according to a new research brief from CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the technology industry. CompTIA’s Building Smarter Cities finds that one-half of local, state and federal government personnel surveyed believe the Internet of Things – and by extension, smart cities – will definitely provide value. Another 39 percent say it will probably provide value.
Staff productivity and cost savings from operational efficiencies – both closely related to data-driven decision-making – rank second and third as smart city value proposition factors. Accomplishing these goals will require an investment in staff training and workflow optimization technology.
Government officials are mindful of other challenges and obstacles to widespread adoption of smart cities solutions. Factors such as upfront and ongoing costs, security, complexity and interoperability must be considered. In some cases public-private partnerships may be used to overcome expertise or staff time constraints. In other situations cities will rely on technology solution or managed services providers.
A net 36 percent of respondents reported having some type of IoT initiative underway.
The impact of IoT and smart cities is already being felt in areas such as waste management, the power grid and utilities and public safety. Over the next two to four years smart cities and IoT will continue to impact those areas, as well as transportation (citied by 72 percent of respondents), transparency and open data (74 percent) and parks, recreation and the environment (74 percent).
Data for CompTIA’s Building Smarter Cities was collected through an online survey of 172 government personnel with some degree of technology decision-making responsibility. The survey was conducted in June and July.
The free research brief is available at https://www.comptia.org/resources/building-smarter-cities?cid=download