Ipswich City Council recognised as smart city

The winners of IDC's 2018 Asia Pacific Smart Cities Awards have been announced.

Two projects from Australia were shortlisted as finalists in two of the 12 award categories. Ipswich City Council emerged as the winner in the Administration category.

The annual awards highlight and acknowledge outstanding smart city initiatives in the Asia–Pacific region and this year attracted over 180 entries.

"Ipswich City Council has revitalised itself by rolling out initiatives that aren't just about implementing emerging technologies, but about building a connected community by solving common problems in refreshingly innovative ways by deploying solutions in a very collaborative fashion," said Jaideep Thyagarajan, Senior Market Analyst at IDC Australia.

The Ipswich Smart City program is a testimony for what public–private partnerships can achieve. Its initiative goes beyond digital technologies, where it aspires to embrace new ways of working, learning and living as it works towards achieving its mission of being a truly connected community full of ideas, energy and innovation. Under its Smart City Program, it has projects which include smart parking and transport, smart lighting and energy management, autonomous lawn mowing and automation, and so on.

"After years of experimentation, there is a fair degree of awareness today amongst council leaders that smart city strategies do not start with technology, but with people and processes. It is good to see the shift from just installing cooler interfaces and streamlining day-to-day operations towards deliberately utilising data and technology at every stage to offer citizen-centric experiences and ultimately deliver a better quality of life," said Thyagarajan

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/jamesteohart

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