India's smart cities offer partnering opportunities for vendors

• IDC Government Insights’ recently published India Smart Cities report reveals that India is seeing increased interest and uptake in smart city initiatives to boost domestic productivity, quality of life and address the country’s pressing socioeconomic problems. 
• IDC believes that government officials play a critical role in driving the development of India’s smart city roadmap 2025 by leveraging digital and other technologies to boost government efficiency and productivity.
• IDC believes that smart city projects offer significant partnering opportunities between technology vendors and the government across various initiatives. 

IDC Government Insights’ recently published India Smart Cities report reveals that India is seeing increased interest and uptake in smart city initiatives to boost domestic productivity, quality of life and address the country’s pressing socioeconomic problems. IDC believes that government officials play a critical role in driving the development of India’s smart city roadmap 2025 by leveraging digital and other technologies to boost government efficiency and productivity. 

Rapid urbanisation has led to considerable infrastructure and socioeconomic problems. Indian cities annually require about 2.5 million new dwellings; but under 15% of what is required is being constructed. In order to mitigate the challenges, the Indian government has allocated Rs98,000 crore (US$15.3 billion) to execute 100 smart cities and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for 500 towns and cities in the next five years. The initiatives will promote smart solutions for the efficient use of available assets, offer economic activities, investment and employment opportunities, and improve the quality of life of a wide range of residents.

IDC believes that smart city projects offer significant partnering opportunities between technology vendors and the government across various initiatives. These include: 

• Integrators like IBM, Oracle and Accenture who provide unified integration of multiple components; Network service providers such as Cisco and Verizon, which offer collaborative networks and data analysis; 
• Product vendors like Honeywell, Schneider Electric, and Siemens that provide products that operate as main nodes of connectivity; and 
• Managed service providers like IBM and Infosys, which provide monitoring, management and consulting. 

"Many of the smart city projects are run in silos by government authorities without any consent of the citizens. The government should start focusing on open governance where the experience of citizens living will be taken into account to transform the future cities to achieve long term sustainability," says Gerald Wang, Head, Asia Pacific Government and Education, IDC Government Insights.

"The Indian government's vision for a smart digital India will enable state governments and urban local bodies to integrate ICT into their future city master plans, thereby increasing opportunities for IT vendors in the smart city space in the country," adds Shalil Gupta, Associate Vice President – Insights and Consulting, IDC India.

"IDC also recommends vendors to partner with local governments to support smart city pilots and initiatives as a channel to showcase solution functionality, best practices and business benefits. Citizens or consumers are a driving force in the public and private sector adoption of sustainability initiatives. Government leaders and city planners that play a significant role in improving the management and operations of the smart city projects will be key towards the long-term success of these programs. Sustained innovations and investing in emerging ICTs must eventually meet the socioeconomic outcomes of public needs," concludes Shreyashi Pal, Asia Pacific Market Analyst, IDC Government Insights.