Highly Competitive - software industry insights

Intelligent Transportation Systems for Midsized Cities

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When intelligent transportation systems are discussed, the focus is usually on mega-cities (populations of 10 million or more). But midsized cities (anywhere from 250,000 to 1 million people) face many of the same issues as larger cities, especially regarding forward-thinking planning for transportation systems. In fact, midsized cities are still a significant untapped market for intelligent transportation systems.

Right now transportation system technologies are evolving faster than overall management strategies. Adding to the management 'chaos': the proliferation of massive amounts of data related to transportation systems, including machine-generated big data. For midsized cities, data is a key asset for the planning, control and advancement of intelligent transportation systems.

When intelligent transportation systems take advantage of advanced data analytics, the value that results includes optimized infrastructure management and operations, as well as improved transportation services in terms of variety of modes, safety, reliability, and efficiency. Transportation data analytics also contribute greatly to real-time improvements to traveler / user experiences.

Categories of transportation data include:

• User or traveler behavioral data – survey data, social media sources, video, monitoring
• Travel demand and system use – monitoring data, machine-generated sources
• Socio‐Economic data – land use, demographics, income
• Transportation services – frequently as machine-generated data from sensors and meters
• Traffic management data – primarily machine-generated sources
• Infrastructure – roadways, facilities, vehicle fleets
• Environmental impact – emissions/air quality, local health concerns, other pollution/contaminants

Urban transportation networks frequently exist in an ecosystem of transportation modes and other urban governance entities in order to consolidate overall vision, resources and functions, which can lead to better outcomes for all. Intelligent transportation systems should support data sharing across modes, functions and stakeholders to show the value of collecting all relevant data, as well as being able to deliver data to different data management and analytics structures. And "stakeholders" aren't just humans – machines and automated systems are often around-the-clock consumers of transportation data.

 

Managed Services for Midsized Transportation Systems

I've written before about the differentiation that managed services providers can create by concentrating on specific industries and developing the distinct services that will make a difference to that industry. To provide niche or industry-specific services means developing in-depth expertise for the service offering, both in terms of the industry or niche and the problems that need to be solved.

Managed services can be developed to help midsized cities improve intelligent transportation systems through the use of advanced data analytics. The focus should be on new ways to deliver cost-effective services and solutions through cloud platforms, lower priced data analytics tools, and mobile applications.

Beyond services for the continuous data analytics needed to govern and improve urban transportation, managed services providers can help midsized cities understand how to apply analytics results to achieve significant improvements to transportation systems in multiple areas:

• Personalized interactions with citizens using transportation systems
• New services created more quickly
• Real-time operational responsiveness
• Measuring the effectiveness of current decisions and actions

Such services and solutions should be tailored for midsized cities to keep costs down and provide exactly what these cities need for faster, more effective transportation systems to better serve their citizens. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely works. Managed services providers need to craft core services and implementation templates that can be easily customized for different cities and their transportation systems.

 

Image source: swarco.com

 

This post was brought to you by IBM for MSPs and opinions are my own. To read more on this topic, visit IBM's PivotPoint. Dedicated to providing valuable insight from industry thought leaders, PivotPoint offers expertise to help you develop, differentiate and scale your business.

 

About the author: Julie Hunt understands the overlap and convergence of many business processes and software solutions that once were thought of as "separate" – and how this impacts software Vendors and Buyers, as well as the strategies that enterprises implement for how technology supports the business and its customers. Julie shares her takes on the software industry via her blog Highly Competitive and on Twitter: @juliebhunt For more information: Julie Hunt Consulting

Smart Cities Technology -- Opportunities for Midsized Vendors

 

The term 'smart city' is becoming familiar around the world as urban areas realize that a great deal of benefit can come from connecting physical and digital worlds to better serve the needs of citizens and the administration of the city. A smart city doesn't just result from changes in infrastructure and technologies – it must embody new ways of thinking and planning.

And smart cities aren't just limited to large metropolitan areas. Many midsized cities need smart city technologies to better manage growth and provide quality of life and work for their citizens. Just like large metros, many midsized cities want to ensure the sustainability of resources and services, by using technologies and digital systems to improve operations and efficiencies, and to innovate how cities and citizens interact.

At the core of smart cities is the Internet of Things (IoT) – where many systems and networks interact with each other and often run without human intervention. The Internet of Things for the smart city can include not only municipal systems, but machine-generated data created by citizen-owned items such as home environment management devices, smart appliances and vehicle sensors.

With midsized cities pursuing smart city strategies, opportunities are quite promising for midsized technology companies to help these cities realize their plans. Cutting edge and forward-looking initiatives – using the latest technologies – are often thought to be the domain of large vendors working with large cities. But many midsized and smaller cities need and want to take advantage of similar technologies and capabilities to operate more effectively. Often smaller technology vendors are the better choice as a strategic partner for midsized smart city projects that are frequently implemented incrementally and at lesser scale.

The market for smart city technology solutions is still very young and in formative stages, which means there's plenty of room for midsized companies to enter this solution space. Midsized technology vendors who fully understand the needs, desires and challenges that midsized cities have for smart city initiatives will find success in this market. Part of meeting midsized needs includes in-depth understanding of what will work for the people in these cities. So the right solutions aren't just about technologies but must have a strong focus on the sociology of living in a smart city today and into the future.

 

Midsized Smart Cities Need Big Data Analytics

One important technology solution area for midsized smart cities: big data analytics for the volumes of data created every day by city systems. This data increases exponentially as more smart city technologies are implemented. Technologies for transportation, utilities, communications, and many other aspects of urban life are evolving faster than overall management strategies. All cities lag on fully gaining advantage and innovative benefit from this information.

Big data analytics technologies are continuously evolving to better collect, integrate, process, and analyze this highly disparate information to both improve the systems of the smart city and to apply results to other needs and opportunities. Midsized technology companies have new ways to deliver cost-effective services and solutions through cloud platforms, lower priced data analytics tools, and mobile applications.

As a solution example, midsized technology vendors could provide services for midsized cities for the continuous data analytics needed to govern and improve urban transportation:

• Real-time operational responsiveness
• Personalized interactions with citizens using transportation systems
• Creating new services and changes to policy more quickly and accurately
• Measuring the effectiveness of current decisions and actions

Such services and solutions should be tailored for midsized cities to keep costs down and provide exactly what these cities need for faster, more effective implementations. Understanding future direction will help midsized technology vendors build in the right scalability, usability and interoperability capabilities to keep smart cities continuously smart in real time.

 

 

Image source: archivenue.com

 

This post was brought to you by IBM for Midsize Business and opinions are my own. To read more on this topic, visit  IBM's Midsize Insider. Dedicated to providing businesses with expertise, solutions and tools that are specific to small and midsized companies, the Midsize Business program provides businesses with the materials and knowledge they need to become engines of a smarter planet.

 

About the author: Julie Hunt understands the overlap and convergence of many business processes and software solutions that once were thought of as "separate" – and how this impacts software Vendors and Buyers, as well as the strategies that enterprises implement for how technology supports the business and its customers. Julie shares her takes on the software industry via her blog Highly Competitiveand on Twitter: @juliebhunt For more information: Julie Hunt Consulting – Strategies for B2B Software Solutions: Working from the Customer Perspective