GEC NEWS WIRENeedless to say, the Internet of Things (IoT), which we are already witnessing, is the foundation for the Internet of Everything (IoE). As a lead sponsor of the IoTX 2015, Dubai, Cisco showcased its world-class solutions to help organizations leverage digital transformation. EC MEA team talked to Ashley Woodbridge, Customer Solutions Architect, Cisco to understand how far Dubai has succeeded on its way to be the Smartest City
“Nowadays, cities worldwide are engaged in a constant competition to outdo each other in terms of the ease of transactions, services offered, cooperation from the Government, etc. And Dubai is definitely doing a great job by translating innovation in the IoT space to smarter services for the citizens.”
Ashley Woodbridge, Customer Solutions Architect, Cisco
The recently concluded IoTX 2015 exhibition held in Dubai witnessed Cisco highlighting the impact that the Internet of Everything (IoE) is already having in the Middle East region and how it is contributing to Dubai’s Smart City transformation in the build-up to hosting World Expo 2020 and beyond.
The wave of Internet of Things has swept the market, without any doubts. But the question arises- how is the Middle East market responding to it? Is it all smoke or is there a fire too? Ashley Woodbridge, Customer Solutions Architect, Cisco tells us that when it comes to market response, Dubai has definitely performed par excellence. Thanks to the constant encouragement for Smart City initiatives by the Government authorities, Cisco has been successful in engaging in various fruitful conversations pertaining to the implementation of IoT in the region. Currently, around 10-12 pilot projects are underway, which are unlike anything previously done and have the potential to be a complete game changer. The appetite of the Government and enterprises to innovate has fuelled Cisco’s plans even further. As Ashley shares with us, “We are even doing co-development with some of the customers wherein they are actually contributing directly to the product development process along with us”.
Ashley further adds, “There have been few customers from outside of the Gulf as well. However, they seem to be taking the “watch and see” approach as of now. They want to observe what’s happening but may be waiting for someone else to lead the way with example. Nevertheless, the interest has been tremendous from far and wide”.
While the public sector is definitely spearheading the transformation, private sector has started taking a keen interest too, of late. Even amidst the public sector, the lead is being taken by the manufacturing, aviation and oil and gas sectors; while the retail and banking sectors are trying to catch up with the trend of digital transformation.
When asked about the actual rate of adoption of the new technology in the region, Ashley explained beautifully through examples how Dubai has been leading the change. “The sheer number of e-gates at Dubai airport versus any other airport in the world is just an example of that. The technology industry is geeky; we always want to have better, newer and cooler things. However, a good balancing act is in place in this region. All the Smart City initiatives out here are citizen focused. Nowadays, cities worldwide are engaged in a constant competition to outdo each other in terms of the ease of transactions, services offered, cooperation from the Government, etc. And Dubai is definitely doing a great job by translating innovation in the IoT space to smarter services for the citizens.”
As Rabih Dabboussi, General Manager, Cisco UAE puts it across, “Smart city is not a project, rather a journey”. Ashley reaffirms the statement and adds that technology is the enabler to give comfort to people. Unless it gets adequate support from top down, it fails and this is something which has been favoring the smart transformation of the UAE since the Government here is focused on bringing the best of innovation to the citizens.
According to an ‘Internet of Everything Report’ published by Cisco – a staggering 2.5 billion new people will be online by 2020, while 37 billion new ‘things’ will be connected by the end of the decade. So, one tends to ponder- while talking of connections, is there a limit or a line beyond which connectivity can become more of a hassle than an enabler. Ashley personally is in favor of optimum connectivity and feels connected systems make work easier. He further adds that the current generation of Millennials is less worried about privacy as compared to the earlier generations. Needless to say, the amount of connectedness and the degree of privacy is a personal choice. However, Ashley recommends a connected system with proper measures in place to mask information when required and make it accessible only to the right audience.
IoTX Dubai 2015 also saw an excellent demonstration of smart city at Cisco’s booth. Video content and a live city display were utilized to demonstrate various ‘real life’ Smart City scenarios including Smart Energy, Smart Transportation, Smart Parking, Retail, Healthcare and Remote Diagnostics. Citing few examples, Ashley told us how secure bi-directional messaging and analytics can help to predict weather patterns and accordingly modulate different processes across the city to ensure a proper demand-supply balance of renewable resources; how intelligent healthcare will shape the smart cities of the future and how intelligent transport systems in school transport ensure no kid is left out alone. It’s definitely an exciting time for the world and the technology providers and Cisco is surely making the most out of it.
