In his recap of the Smart City Expo World Congress held in November, 2013, in Barcelona, Spain, Jonathan Andrews quotes Smart Cities Council Chairman Jesse Berst as well as Laura Ipsen, who is Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector, with Council Global Partner Microsoft.
It was in conjunction with the Barcelona event that the Council launched its Smart Cities Readiness Guide – the vendor-neutral handbook designed to help city officials develop a smart city roadmap. Its release was highlighted in the Cities Today article, with Berst noting that to his knowledge there is nothing else like it.
"There are guides presented from a single company’s viewpoints and general guides but nothing that really gives specific advice." With the Readiness Guide, Berst said, "Here are 27 guidelines and if you follow these 27 guidelines you can build a city safely and build a foundation that will support you for years and years of progress."
Ipsen, meanwhile, discussed the importance of opening up data and suggested reduced city budgets shouldn't be seen as a barrier but rather an opportunity to share data within government and across the city.
Read the entire Cities Today article here (page 76).
