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San Francisco has long been considered one of the world’s technological innovation hubs – and according to Miguel A. Gamino Jr, city CIO and executive director of the department of technology at the city, this also means a concerted push towards the Internet of Things (IoT).
Writing for CIO Review, Gamino Jr explains he is “excited and looking forward to the next wave in technology innovation” which comes with the IoT. The planned hyper-connectivity, it is argued, is critical to keep San Francisco affordable for lower and middle-income families.
In 2013 and 2014, San Francisco’s department of technology launched free municipal Wi-Fi access across the city, originally launching in parks and open spaces, but soon expanding to libraries and public housing, with the help of partners including United Layer, Ruckus Wireless, and Google.
But as Gamino Jr explains: “IoT shows growth and impact potential beyond connecting people to things because it is a bridge from ‘smart’ things to other ‘smart’ things. Having the right infrastructure in place will allow data transfer in a way that empowers people to make more informed decisions on the go.
“We believe that IoT will be a major source of growth for the next era,” he added.
Residential IoT is a key area for the overall market going forward. According to a recent study from Navigant Research, revenue from residential IoT device shipments will exceed $330 billion (£217bn) by 2025. Neil Strother, Navigant principal research analyst, explained: “Communicating devices in the IoT traverse a wide range of industries and sectors – virtually all areas of life can expect to see some form of this connected world.”
Gamino Jr argues San Francisco has been so far successful at attracting leading IoT companies, but more widespread adoption is key to future success.
Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their IoT use-cases? Attend the IoT Tech Expo World Series events with upcoming shows in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam to learn more.
The show is co-located with the AI & Big Data Expo, Cyber Security & Cloud Expo and Blockchain Expo so you can explore the entire ecosystem in one place.
