Infotech Lead India: Cumulative investment in smart government technology between 2011 and 2017 will be almost $4.8 billion.
Annual investment in smart government technologies in North America alone will cross $1 billion in 2017.
Moreover, annual investment in cloud services for smart cities will touch nearly $1.4 billion worldwide by 2017.
“Cloud-based computing, in particular, offers new options for cities that reduces capital expenditure, provides access to new skills, and reduces time-to-deployment of new solutions,” said research director Eric Woods at Pike Research.
Cloud-based systems also enable cities to take advantage of the huge amounts of operational data they collect to improve efficiency and develop new services.
City leaders are looking at investment in technology as a means of spurring economic growth. This includes a range of strategies: making the city a center of cleantech development and innovation (e.g. Denver, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam); creating new types of digital commerce and development (e.g. New York and Manchester); being at the leading edge of technology adoption (e.g. Barcelona and Friedrichshafen); becoming an exporter of technology (e.g. Seoul); or retaining or establishing a position as a regional trading hub (e.g. Singapore and Songdo).
Pike Research said each of these approaches requires a vision of where the city is heading, an investment in infrastructure, and a commitment to innovation.
City leaders face the challenge of delivering economic growth while meeting sustainability targets and rising expectations about the quality of municipal services, in the face of budget reductions. This is forcing many city leaders to improve efficiency and drive further innovation in the creation and delivery of services.
