| | 9 DECEMBER - JANUARYpace previously unheard of. Access to real time data feeds to understand the busy-ness of cities, adherence to social distancing and management of public space is a priority use case, while in the property and real estate sectors understanding how buildings, office and retail space is utilised and managed is now a must-have service. Prop-tech is one the sectors that is emerging as a big winner on the back of COVID. It is also encouraging to see Innovation in the business models of deploying such solutions with emergence of `data as a service' offerings while cost saving / sharing splits and smart financing options have reduced the barriers to entry.A recent report by Frost & Sullivan on smart cities predicted the market to grow to $2.46 trillion by 2025 with a call to action for "technology leaders to assess the emerging opportunities resulting from Covid-19 and innovate to build company-, society-, and consumer resilience"Another interesting trend is the emergence of start-ups, entrepreneurs and disrupters who are starting to grab market share and grow at record pace across the smart city global marketplace ­ E-scooters are a good example of this growth potential. It's a big shift from the days where big tech companies dominated. The cities that are succeeding in their smart city deployments are those that demonstrate strong leadership and are thinking beyond the traditional city siloes to realise the full benefits of the technology. However rather than a big-bang approach and overnight successes, deployments are happening in a more ad-hoc fashion. Some of the challenges to truly realise the benefits of smart cities will be to move away from this current fragmented approach. There is also a need to rethink our traditional IT mindset/culture in deploying technology and re-focus on a user driven and agile approach to deployments. My main advice to companies looking to succeed in this space it to think less about overnight transformation ­ smart city is a long-term project ­ try to deliver quick wins, build trust and the rest will follow. Where the real successes are happening are where the applications are addressing challenges with an emphasis on creating better outcomes for citizens. Don't lead with the technology ­ demonstrate how you are addressing issues that matter to citizens and city leaders. The next 5 years will deliver a pace of change like we have never experienced before. COVID-19 will accelerate this transition while the cities that have the right level of buy in and leadership will be the ones that score highly on future economic competitiveness. Top Trends include: · Continued growth in IOT applications as cities realise the initial benefits through smaller deployments; awareness builds across traditional city departments resulting in solutions will become embedded within large scale investment programmes. · Predictive modelling will play a much bigger role as data becomes more pervasive in cities· Innovation in business models will reduce barriers to entry and support scaling of solutions· There will be an increased push towards `privacy by design' ­ particularly leveraging edge -based computing and camera-based technologies that are less invasive. · There will be a much greater emphasis on data privacy and ethics across smart city deployments.· Smart health and application of new services to support the elderly and home assistance will see significant adoption. · Connectivity technologies such as LPWAN and the emergence of 5G will support a whole wave of new business opportunities and societal benefits. My main advice to companies looking to succeed in this space it to think less about overnight transformation ­ smart city is a long-term project ­ try to deliver quick wins, build trust and the rest will follow
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