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IBM’s ongoing “smarter planet” program, which includes a “smarter city” component, has been assisting the development of products and technology services which focus on green technologies, sustainable growth and the implementation of innovation. The “smarter cities program itself works with city governments in order to achieve the development and deployment of systems and services to achieve a Smarter Planet. The program has been running for five years and IBM projects its revenue from “smarter planet” to reach $10 billion by 2015.
Mr. Guru Banavar, vice president and chief technology officer of IBM’s global public sector unit has recently given an interview to Investor’s Business Daily about the efforts involved in the “smarter cities” program. Mr. Banavar explained how the program came about and what work has been carried out in the past five years that it has already been underway. He mentioned how the program has been applied to many different cities around the world, with the implementation on Rio de Janeiro being used as a indication of the program’s current success and even brighter future prospects. Apart from the technologial and quality of life benefits, cities receive a return of investment after the successful implementation of smart city initiatives. Technology cannot accomplish everything, of course as there are other complex factors who play a part, but technology is crucial in order to achieve the next level of sustainability for cities. As Mr. Banavar explains, “becoming a smarter city is not something you go to the store and buy and it happens overnight. It’s a journey, and for every city it’s a different first step. Taking the first step and then the second requires political will, investment and leadership”.
The entire interview can be found in the investors.com website, here.