Smart Cities - The Great Commitment to Sustainability

• The contribution of smart cities allows more efficient, profitable, and flexible models in operations, achieve a more fluid and personalized interaction of people with the physical world, merging real and virtual information, and contributing to contribute to sustainability objectives. 

Quito, November 2022.- Currently, 3,500 million inhabitants worldwide   are concentrated in cities, generating a consumption of  up to 80% of  energy resources and close   70% of carbon emissions.  The rapid process of urbanization is putting pressure on the supply of non-renewable resources, the living environment and public health. In this context, the concept of "smart cities" arises, a proposal that seeks, through technology and innovation, to manage solutions and infrastructure that improve the quality of life of the inhabitants. 

This is how smart cities become inclusive, safe, and sustainable territories; that drive the creation of more resilient economic systems thanks to entrepreneurship and creativity. But, above all, they have a firm commitment to the environment through digital solutions that optimize the expenditure of energy, water, waste management and promote the use of renewable energies. 

Innovative technologies such as IoT, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, Edge Computing, or 5G, among others, are accelerating the transformation of cities and territories towards more efficient, profitable, and flexible models in operations. Marking a key trend for the performance of urban services in which the physical world and digitalization converge. 

The progress of smart cities is now present in more than 150 cities worldwide, thanks to companies such as Minsait, an Indra company, which has developed cutting-edge technology to help solve challenges such as reducing polluting emissions, improving air quality, managing urban services, or the consumption of water resources. The incorporation of intelligence into cities and territories is an advantage for the implementation of new, more sustainable, and resilient economic models, which will have a special impact on the recovery of the key productive sectors of any country, such as tourism, agri-food and industry, which have been greatly affected by the pandemic.

Although the solutions offered by smart cities are very diverse, their main objective is to respond to the challenges and needs faced by the citizens who inhabit them as well as the people who visit them. However, it is important to carry out an analysis of the current situation of each city, to determine its specific priorities and propose realistic projects tailored to its characteristics and possibilities, in terms of objectives, scope and resources. But what are its main trends and benefits? 

Trending

• Transport: the key trend is towards the potentialization of the intermodality of the different means of transport, the interoperability of systems and infrastructures and the integration of data to favor a smarter, sustainable, collaborative, accessible and citizen-centered mobility.
• Security: analysis and resilience are the fundamental points of the trend in security to mitigate and correct the level of exposure in the population. Thanks to artificial intelligence mechanisms, early warning procedures today allow the early detection and evolution of risks well in advance and guarantee basic goods and services.
• Sustainability: through integrated models with intelligent solutions that make services more efficient and sustainable, achieving a path towards risk reduction in climate change allows the path towards neutral emissions to reduce the risks of climate change. These solutions allow citizens to benefit from positive environmental impacts and incorporate these sustainable practices into their daily activities.

Proceeds

• After the pandemic, the adaptability of smart cities has a special impact on the recovery of the key productive sectors of any country, such as tourism, agri-food, and industry.
• Smart cities and territories provide answers to the modernization of the productive and social model and its evolution towards a knowledge society and the fight against climate change.
• They are inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. In addition, they drive quality employment and economic growth through digital solutions.
• It fosters collaboration in innovation in the territories thanks to the active involvement of managers and public servants.
• They contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the United Nations.

About Minsait

Minsait (www.minsait.com) is Indra's leading company in digital transformation and Information Technology. Minsait presents a high degree of specialization and sectoral knowledge, which complements its high capacity to integrate  the core world  with the digital world, its leadership in innovation and digital transformation and its flexibility. With this, it focuses its offer on high-impact value propositions, based on end-to-end solutions, with a remarkable segmentation, which allows it to achieve tangible impacts for its clients in each industry under a transformational approach. Its capabilities and leadership are shown in its product offer, under the name Onesait, and its transversal offer of services.

About Indra

Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technology partner for the key operations of its clients' businesses worldwide. It is a leading global provider of proprietary solutions in specific segments of the Transport and Defense markets, and a leading company in digital transformation and Information Technology in Spain and Latin America through its subsidiary Minsait. Its business model is based on a comprehensive offer of its own products, with an end-to-end approach, high value and a high innovation component. At the end of 2021, Indra had revenues of 3,390 million euros, more than 52,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and commercial operations in more than 140 countries.

Indra in Ecuador

Present in Ecuador since 2006, Indra is part of some of the key innovative projects for Ecuador's economic and technological development in Transport & Defense and Information Technology (IT) through its subsidiary Minsait.