IDC Energy Insights Pioneers the IDC Smart Cities Index

IDC Energy Insights, in collaboration with International Data Corporation (IDC), has developed the IDC Smart Cities Index to independently analyze the evolution of the smart cities concept and smart city demonstration projects around the world and to facilitate the first application of the IDC Smart Cities Index in Spain.

In a pioneer study and release of the IDC Smart Cities Index in Spain, IDC Energy Insights ranked and compared Spanish cities on five smart dimensions (smart government, smart buildings, smart mobility, smart energy and environment, and smart services) and three enabling forces covering the characteristics of a city that could facilitate or hinder its evolution into a smart city (people, economy, and information and communication technologies).

The IDC Smart Cities Index produces two end results – a ranking and a matrix of the cities. The ranking combines the enabling forces and smartness dimensions, while the matrix plots the cities based on their separate enabling forces and smartness dimension scores. The IDC Energy Insights study (IDC Smart Cities Index and Its Application in Spain, #EIRS56T, October 2011) explores the need for large Spanish cities to evolve their current development and management models to establish the basis for a sustainable, intelligent, and socially acceptable future. The study is based on intensive interviews and additional research on the 44 largest cities in Spain (with over 150,000 inhabitants) to evaluate how "smart" these cities actually are at present and how smart their future roadmaps are.

As the high level of urbanization poses a number of significant new challenges for cities, IDC Energy Insights believes its IDC Smart Cities Index provides a better understanding of cities‘ efficiency, infrastructure, and service utilization capabilities, and suggests potential areas to work on to create a more sustainable environment for citizens.

"Cities are currently using more than two-thirds of the world’s energy, while housing  50% of the population," said Roberta Bigliani, head of Europe, Middle East, and Africa for IDC Energy Insights. "Smart cities are emerging as holistic playgrounds for low-carbon economies, creating synergies and fulfilling the interests of stakeholders of both the private and public sectors. As the city microcosm provides more immediate opportunities for innovation, IDC Energy Insights devised the IDC Smart Cities Index to help cities take an active role in and to invest in their future."

Rafael Achaerandio, research and consulting director, IDC Iberia, said, "During the recent Smart Cities Conference in Madrid, IDC was able to showcase its IDC Smart Cities Index. Some of the most advanced cities in Spain are exemplary in their smart city testing and project developments, leveraging real-time data and information to better manage cities. Best-of-breed cities are approaching smart cities holistically, tackling long-term sustainability via short-term initiatives impacting the economy, society, and quality of life, but mainly by shaping the mindset of their citizens to become future citizens of the world."

Quelle: IDC Energy Insights