Interoperable technologies are highly beneficial for cities and urban leaders are increasingly aware of the advantages of unified data architectures and connected systems and devices.
According to the attendees of our latest webinar “Futureproofing smart cities: navigating interoperability and open standards”, improved decision-making through data is the most important advantage of interoperability, together with the opportunity of boosting data sharing across different departments. City managers acknowledge that, when different systems share data effectively, trends and patterns can be analyzed more holistically, resulting in better decisions in critical areas such as urban planning, resource allocation, and environmental sustainability.
Interoperability also favors efficiency and cost savings, as pointed out by the webinar’s panelists Guillermo del Campo (IoT Laboratory of Madrid), Matthew Gillmore (OMA SpecWorks) and Valentina Taddeo (Paradox Engineering). Since allowing different systems to communicate with each other, interoperability reduces redundancies, minimizes the need for separate data management systems, and streamlines processes. This means cities can avoid the costs of building and managing siloed, incompatible infrastructures, making it simpler and less expensive to upgrade or scale existing systems without starting from scratch each time.
If interoperability is widely linked to innovation and urban growth, there are some barriers preventing cities from achieving it in full. 37% of the webinar’s attendees believe the lack of standardization across technologies still represents the most critical obstacle. Undoubtedly, navigating the standards landscape is not easy and cities are sometimes overwhelmed.
Implementing interoperability requires a strategy and strong collaboration across multiple sectors. Four practical steps are to be suggested to cities seeking long-term returns for their technology investments:
- Develop a clear vision and strategy, defining what the city wants to achieve through interoperability (enhancing citizen services, fostering innovation, improving public safety, etc.). Goals should be shared with key stakeholders to ensure support and collaboration from city officials, local businesses, service providers, and citizens.
- When selecting technology partners and solutions, assess their ecosystem and make sure they leverage unified data architectures, adopt open standards, support APIs and recognized data sharing protocols. This is paramount to maximize flexibility and scalability in present and future technological developments.
- Start small, begin with pilot projects to test technologies, identify possible challenges and refine interoperability practices before scaling them to the entire city. A small-scale Smart Lighting or Smart Parking installation is the testbed that many communities choose to kick off their smart journeys.
- Collaborate with industry experts and get advantage of proven interoperability frameworks, guidelines, and best practices for ensuring systems can connect and work together, always taking cybersecurity into consideration. A notable example is OMA SpecWorks that capitalizes the know-how and the achievements of the uCIFI® data model.
Implementing interoperability in a city is a complex but highly rewarding endeavor. When done properly, it can significantly enhance the quality of life for residents and make the city more efficient, sustainable, and responsive to citizens’ needs.
Did you miss our webinar “Futureproofing smart cities: navigating interoperability and open standards”? Watch it on demand!
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