Judges give LocalIntel and CNX top honors
(Santa Clara, CA) – May 11, 2017 – Smart Cities Council honored two start-up companies for their commitment to providing solutions that help municipalities connect more effectively with the business community to spur economic development and innovation during Smart Cities Week held May 8-10 in Silicon Valley.
“Every new frontier has its trailblazers that go out and find paths that will lead the rest of us to a better place,” said Smart Cities Council Chairman Jesse Berst. “We are so pleased that we can showcase some of these pioneering companies and their inspired efforts to promote more livable, workable and sustainable communities.”
Startups participating in the Innovation Alley showcase were judged by a committee including Jason Anderson, President and CEO, Cleantech San Diego; Kip Tew, Partner, Ice Miller Public Affairs Group, and David Witkowski, Executive Director, Civic Technology Initiatives, Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
Judges honored Calgary-based Localintel for its set of economic development tools that make it easier for communities to promote their strengths, share market intelligence and support local business growth. The company’s catalog of tools brings together location and market data, GIS technology, powerful analytics and advanced user experience in one fully integrated cloud-based solution.
“We’re helping municipalities use their own open data to help local businesses grow and thrive,” said LocalIntel Co-founder and CEO Dave Parsell. With economic development tools that are affordable and low maintenance, he added, communities small and large can create more jobs and more opportunities.
Parsell said the Innovation Alley Award is a useful milestone as the young company highlights the work it is doing with other municipalities, such as the city of Seattle which in March of this year partnered with LocalIntel to launch a Business Decision Engine.
CNX, based in Bowling Green, Kentucky, was the other 2017 Innovation Alley Award winner. One judge called what the startup is doing to help cities unlock the value of their publicly owned assets for broadband expansion “a true game-changer.”
Through its software platform, CNX provides a one-stop-shop for collaboration between cities and companies seeking to use public assets for building and expanding communications networks. The CNX platform enables greater visibility into asset locations and meta-data, streamlined workflow and processing of site permitting applications, and seamless transactions pertaining to the use of city properties.
“We’re honored to come to Silicon Valley, the heart of global innovation, and be recognized by the Smart Cities Council with this Innovation Alley Award,” said CNX CEO Brian Mefford. “Smart cities require intelligent infrastructure and this recognition highlights the need for a platform where cities can collaborate with companies seeking to invest in communications networks - whether 5G, sensor-based, fiber optic or all of the above. CNX is proud to have created just that platform which provides the proverbial win-win for the public and private sector leaders who are driving network-dependent innovation in cities.”
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About LocalIntel
LocalIntel offers a catalog of online economic development tools that can be selected a-la-carte based on a municipality’s needs and budget. It provides the flexibility to then integrate the tools on an existing website or as a stand-alone microsite, making it easier for businesses to track down valuable information about the local economy, customers, competition and more. Since launching, the company has partnered with 22 municipalities and two regions across North America, ranging in size from 5,000 to 1.3 million people, including Seattle, Calgary and Edmonton. For more information, visit www.localintel.co
About CNX
Smart cities require intelligent infrastructure and next generation broadband. CNX unlocks the value of publicly owned assets (light and utility poles, rights of way, street furniture, rooftops, etc.) that are sought by broadband service providers, wireless carriers and other smart city solutions providers desiring to deploy 5G, small cell antennae, sensors and fiber optics to build the intelligent infrastructure that serves as the foundation required for thriving smart cities. With CNX, cities are optimizing their assets, offloading the processing and transactional burdens of permitting and leasing sites while wireless solutions providers and network builders are enjoying dramatic improvements in speed to market in an environment more friendly to investment. For more information, visit www.cnx.io
About Smart Cities Council
Launched in 2012, the Smart Cities Council is the author of the internationally recognized Smart Cities Readiness Guide, which provides guiding principles and best practices for an integrated, cross-cutting smart city. The Readiness Guide was developed based on discussions with hundreds of cities and solution vendors, and has been applied all over the world. The Council is comprised of more than 120 partners and advisors who have generated $2.7 trillion in annual revenue and contributed to more than 11,000 smart cities projects. To learn more, visit www.smartcitiescouncil.com