Something To Build On

Transformational technologies like 5G, sensors, autonomous vehicles, AI, IoT, blockchain and the paradigms they enable allow cities to achieve significant cost savings, boost economic growth, meet sustainability targets, and improve convenience and costs for citizens to live in urban environments.

Key technology-driven smart city solutions include preventive maintenance of connected infrastructure like streetlights and commercial vehicle fleets, energy cost-savings though usage optimization, improved service delivery through eGovernment and chatbots, more efficient AI-based public safety systems, carbon-neutral commercial buildings, and congestion-reducing smart mobility. Additionally, IT/OT platforms power resilient infrastructure and demand-response optimized service delivery.  Increasingly, vendors offer turnkey technology solutions like air quality monitoring and smart parking systems via “as a service” business models.

What's Holding Smart Cities Back?

Key challenges city governments are facing include funding and financing, the management of technology lifecycles, engaging with the technology supplier ecosystem, and understanding the benefits offered by technology-driven paradigms.

In particular, many cities lack a long-term vision and clear strategy and often limit their smart cities efforts to single point solutions like smart street lights and smart bins as opposed to adopt cross-vertical, multi-point, and more holistic solutions to address major urbanization challenges like congestion, pollution, public safety, and cost of living in a fundamental way.

Smarter Intelligence For Smart Cities

ABI Research provides technology providers, governments, and partners with deep insight into the transformational aspects of smart cities technologies and approaches though detailed reports, opinion pieces, and interaction with analysts. 

Our research includes:

• Best practices through smart city use cases and pilots across all regions
• Understanding of the smart city technology supplier ecosystem through company profiles, solutions offered, rankings, and market share analysis and new engagement paradigms like market places
• Granular smart city technology forecasts including connections and revenues
• Insight into alternative financing options including vendor financing, public-private partnerships, digital currencies, as a service offers, and crowdfunding
• Guidance on which smart city IoT platforms support “pay as you grow” strategies, interoperability and standardization and cross-vertical solutions