Data analytics drive smart city projects 

 For cities throughout America, data analytics are the key to solving some of the biggest challenges facing municipalities in the 21st century. Many cities are adopting smart technologies that use data, analytics, and high-speed connectivity to glean insight into how to improve local government and the services it provides. From helping drivers find parking spaces to saving money with smart outdoor lighting that dims when there is no one nearby, smart technologies reduce costs and improve the quality of city life in innumerable ways large and small.

Data analytics is at the heart of these smart city projects, converting massive sets of real-time streaming data into intelligence that helps city leaders make better decisions. When deploying smart technologies, cities can benefit from an experienced partner that not only delivers advanced technology but invaluable expertise as well. That’s why, when designing and launching new smart initiatives, many cities nationwide have chosen Spectrum as a trusted technology partner.

How data analytics power smart city initiatives

Smart city technologies are driven by data. Thousands or millions of sensors throughout the city provide vast amounts of information about everything from transportation and utilities to infrastructure and public safety. To make sense of this raw data, cities need a powerful data analytics platform that can look for trends and anomalies as well as threats and opportunities.

Smart city data analytics enable municipalities to accomplish incredible things. For example, analytics can help to solve the transportation problems that are some of the most frustrating aspects of city living. To reduce congestion and shorten commute times, transportation officials can monitor traffic in real time, use data analytics to identify bottlenecks, and reroute traffic to optimal routes. Analysis of traffic patterns can help officials decide where to install traffic lights, stop signs, and left turn lanes to minimize congestion. Smart traffic lights can move cars, bicycles, and pedestrians through intersections more efficiently by dynamically adjusting green, red, and walk lights. And smart parking systems can automatically identify open spaces and direct drivers to the nearest available spot based on the destination entered in a GPS map application.

Data analytics can play a significant role in transforming many other areas of city government. By analyzing demand for energy and patterns of consumption, smart analytics platforms can help utilities to better conserve resources and reduce the cost of providing power and water. Analytics can help public safety officials monitor the activity at large gatherings and allocate resources to improve crowd safety. Analytics of smart city data from sensors within critical infrastructure can initiate predictive maintenance to prevent disasters. And law enforcement can use data analytics to sift through hundreds or thousands of live video feeds searching for signs of criminal activity or danger.

Building the infrastructure for smart analytics

Deploying smart initiatives requires cities to invest in several types of infrastructure that are common to all smart technologies.

A powerful data analytics platform is the brains of any smart project. A smart city analytics platform must be robust enough to collect information from thousands or millions of data-capturing sources, transform disparate data into usable formats, and perform a vast number of analyses that turn raw data into actionable intelligence. The ideal platform must be able to deliver near-real-time insight to city managers, citizens, and businesses.

Smart initiatives also require a large number of sensors, IoT devices, cameras, and other smart data collection technology that can deliver views of what’s happening at every level of city government and operations. From capturing information about traffic and public safety to data about critical infrastructure and utilities, smart sensors provide the real-time data that fuels every smart city project.

To enable smart data transmission, cities need a robust, ubiquitous, high-speed network that can reliably deliver data from sensors back to city servers in real time. The right network will provide the security that cities require and will be able to handle data in a wide range of formats.

To provide city workers, citizens, and businesses with the information and intelligence they need, smart city projects require a variety of interfaces that present insight in helpful and easy-to-digest formats. Mobile apps, digital signage, dashboards, applications, and websites are examples of the kinds of interface technology that smart city projects require.

Spectrum: connectivity for smart data analytics

Spectrum helps municipalities and local leaders reap smart city economic benefits. With a dedicated fiber network that reaches over 840,000 miles, Spectrum has built a foundation of connectivity in more than 8,500 cities across America. By investing in the network that is critical for smart city initiatives, Spectrum has already helped to make these municipalities ready for smart technology.

Spectrum offers a high-speed, reliable, secure, and dedicated fiber network. Data from thousands or millions of sensors, IoT devices, cameras, and smart phones can be transmitted to city servers in real time, regardless of the communications protocols used by each data source.

Spectrum also provides deep expertise built on extensive experience designing and launching smart city projects. And with Spectrum’s comprehensive ecosystem of partners, cities gain access to all of the technology, services, and knowledge they require to successfully create and deploy smart city technologies.

FAQs: What are smart data analytics?

What are smart cities?

Smart cities are municipalities and local governments that rely on data, analytics, and high-speed connectivity to develop actionable intelligence that can improve quality of life in their communities. Smart cities use data gathered from a myriad of sensors to better understand what’s working and what’s not within the city. This same data can also point to ways to enhance city services, reduce costs, and better meet the needs of residents and businesses.

What are smart data analytics?

Smart data analytics is a platform for analyzing real-time streaming data generated by a variety of sources within a smart city. Smart analytics platforms must accommodate massive data sets generated by sensors, IoT devices, cameras, smart phones, and drones. By evaluating a broad array of types of information, smart data analytics can help cities to reduce traffic congestion, improve public safety, enhance public utilities, protect critical infrastructure, and increase civic engagement.