IBM introduces "Smarter City" initiative to Metro Cebu LGUs

CEBU, Philippines - In its effort to push Metro Cebu Cities to join the world’s smart cities bandwagon, IBM Philippines formally introduced its “Smarter City” initiative to Local Government Unit (LGU) executive Metro Cebu.

Led by its country general manager James Velasquez, the world’s technology solution giant—IBM hopes to help Cebu becoming a world-class metropolis in the next few years, boosting its attractiveness to both local and foreign investors.

Smarter city initiatives treat the city as an ecosystem composed of multiple subsystems to manage transportation, healthcare, public safety, government services, energy, commerce, communications, and water resources.

These subsystems come together to form an interconnected, mutually-influencing, and mutually-enhancing whole. In previous city developments, due to technological limitations, these subsystems could not offer integrated information support to city development.

A smarter city enables information sharing and collaboration among different municipal governmental agencies and systems, so that resources are used rationally, decisions are made that best benefit city development and management, and emergencies and disasters are predicted and dealt with in the shortest possible time.

In a press conference, Velasquez said the company hopes to start off a pilot City for this project in the Philippines. Currently, IBM is discussing with pro-active LGU officials in different cities around the country.

Cebu, with its known pro-active and pro-development LGU executives’ attitude, boosted by the supporting private sector community, the company hopes to fast tract negotiations in Cebu soon.

Based on initial discussions, top primary problems of Philippines Cities today are on the concerns of traffic, public safety.

Depends on the LGUs’ capacity for investment, IBM adjust the amount of project cost basing on a City’s primary concern, to as low as US$100 thousand.

IBM Philippines chief technologist Lope Doromal said that there are seven areas that need to be improved in order to become a “Smarter City” include; the strong implementation of smarter —telecommunication infrastructure, education, public safety, government services, transportation, energy and utilities, and smarter healthcare.

Cebu, for instance, which is aiming to become a globally renowned referred or emerged BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) destination, must immediately employ this concept, Doromal said.

In 1900, only 13 percent of the word’s population lived in cities. By the year 2050 that number will have risen to 70 percent. “We are adding the equivalent of seven New Yorks to the planet every year.”

This unprecedented urbanization is both an emblem of the world’s economic and societal progress, especially for the world’s emerging nations—and huge strain on the planet’s infrastructure.

According to Doromal, it’s a challenge felt urgently by Mayors, heads of economic development, school administrators, police chiefs, and other civic leaders.

On the other hand, IBM also introduced its popular “social business” platform to Cebu private sector stakeholders during the same event, giving businessmen the know-how take advantage in the “dawn of social business”.— (FREEMAN)