Leaders struggling to do more with less should not ignore the benefits the Internet of Things (IoT) brings to internal government operations. Read about the many benefits IoT offers local governments and citizens in a new white paper from the Council and Lead Partner Microsoft -- 5 Ways IoT Improves Customer Service and Benefits Your Citizens. A brief excerpt appears below.
Wringing cost efficiencies out of government operations is on the to-do list of public agencies most everywhere. And those that are embracing the benefits of IoT are seeing results. Consider just two of the many ways governments can leverage the power of IoT to operate more cost efficiently.
1. Citizen services
Imagine a smart streetlight network that self-reports when a light is broken and needs to be replaced. Or sensors on the electric grid that alert utility operators when a neighborhood loses power.
With the infrastructure connectivity available today, operators don’t have to wait for citizens to report broken streetlights or power outages in their neighborhoods. Nor do they have to send crews out to hunt for problems. Thanks to IoT connectivity, they can monitor a cloud-based dashboard that shows where streetlights are out or homes are dark. Better yet, by analyzing historical data, they can see which streetlights or transformers are likely to fail next.
In the end, it is the citizens who benefit when government works better.
2. Water safety and security
This is a top-of-mind issue for people around the world today. And again, IoT can play an important role as these examples demonstrate:
- Philadelphia worked with Council Lead Partner CH2M to implement a Surveillance and Response System demonstration project under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Security Initiative. The objective? To integrate multiple forms of surveillance and data streams through information and communication technologies to promote early and quick detection of water supply contamination.
- Queensland, Australia’s utility was able to utilize IoT devices and cloud-based solutions to reduce the amount of time it took operators to identify and repair expensive water line leaks and blockages. As a result, the utility was able to save $1.9 million and increase water availability by 20%.
Get your copy of 5 Ways IoT Improves Customer Service and Benefits Your Citizens for more examples of how cities around the world are utilizing IoT to build better communities.
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