Helping cities innovate through collaboration and cloud technology
No two cities are alike. Though they might share the same geography or even the same population numbers, cities will always be uniquely different from one another. Yet the governments who govern these cities all share a common underlying concern: accelerating innovation to deliver better services to citizens and residents.
At Microsoft, we believe the cloud is an enabler of innovation in cities and in governments. For example, mobility is a fast-growing trend in government today, and mobility solutions are usually made possible because of cloud technologies. The same can be said for social media, big data analytics, or self-service business intelligence. These trends are often viewed as doing the most to accelerate government innovation, and this innovation can best be realized when governments embrace cloud technologies as part of their infrastructure. Microsoft is committed to delivering a cloud technology platform designed with productivity in mind, providing powerful tools that help governments innovate and achieve more.
At a time when governments around the world are looking at ways to use cloud technology to better connect with their citizens, offer services that are more accessible, and improve a city’s sustainability, Microsoft is collaborating with governments to support these efforts and contribute to building smart, sustainable cities through our Microsoft CityNext initiatives. For example, Microsoft along with our partners, worked to modernize the systems that monitor London Underground’s critical rail assets by using data from thousands of devices and sensors. The system streamlines manual monitoring processes, securing and integrating disconnected systems, and spotting equipment issues in real-time using Microsoft Azure Intelligent Systems Services. That means faster maintenance, better service and lower costs across the system enhancing the experience of everyone using London’s Underground services.
In the United Arab Emirates, Microsoft is working with various government organizations to deliver cloud solutions that enable these entities to deliver enhanced citizen-centric services. For example, we developed DubaiNext, an application developed that puts people first, harnessing their ideas, energy, and expertise to create a more sustainable place to live, with access to citizen-centric services, public safety, high-quality healthcare and education. The application is an illustration of how government leaders can leverage cloud-based information solutions to connect with citizens and offer services in real-time to report incidents and accidents, provide live traffic and emergency notifications to the public as well as general emergency information. DubaiNext also consists of a ‘Citizen ‘Sentiment Index’ which provides government officials with an opportunity to measure general sentiment and citizen happiness.
Another example is related to mGov, a Dubai government initiative to provide all government services to the public on mobile devices and phones. Microsoft has partnered with Dubai Smart Government to launch applications such as mPay, which makes it possible for the public to conveniently make online inquiries and payments for government bills and services such as DEWA bills, RTA Salik and Nol card, Dubai Police fines, Etisalat bills and other payments through their mobile devices.
You can learn about more examples of this kind of collaboration at the 3rd Government Summit, titled “Shaping Future Governments“ and held in Dubai from 9-11 February 2015 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
By participating in the Summit for the second year in a row, Microsoft is reiterating our commitment to partnering with the government of the UAE and participating countries to help these governments achieve their innovation goals. During the Government Summit, we will engage with government leaders to learn more about their visions for innovation, and to share best practices on how the cloud can help make this vision a reality. I hope you can join us!
Microsoft engages with cities around the world through Microsoft CityNext—an initiative to empower more sustainable, prosperous, and economically competitive cities—with a simplified approach that puts people first.
For more information, please visit www.microsoft.com/citynext.
For more information, please visit www.microsoft.com/citynext.
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