Accenture, Alibaba, and Cisco Among Leading Companies Associated with Smart Cities Theme | GlobalData Plc

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GlobalData UK Ltd
GlobalData UK Ltd

Accenture continues to display its expertise in digital platforms by designing them for both smart cities and smart infrastructure projects

LONDON, July 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The “Smart Cities – Thematic Research” report offered by GlobalData Plc provides an overview of the smart cities theme and identifies the key trends impacting the growth of the theme over the next 12 to 24 months. The report also includes a comprehensive industry analysis, including forecasts for global smart city spending to 2025. Moreover, it contains details of M&A deals driven by the smart cities theme, and a timeline highlighting milestones in the development of smart cities.

According to the thematic intelligence report published by GlobalData, the smart cities market size was valued at $221.1 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 11% by 2025. Increased urbanization is already causing infrastructure headaches for cities, which will only worsen. These challenges are driving the creation of smart cities.

For more insights on the smart cities market forecast, download a sample report

Smart Cities Mergers and Acquisitions

Smart grid and smart transportation have seen the most significant M&A activity. Two of the biggest acquisitions, Veolia’s purchase of Suez and Emerson Electric’s acquisition of OSI, are centered around smart grids and water. They arguably reflect the importance of the smart metering market and its potential for steady growth. The growing importance of water infrastructure can also be seen in the acquisitions of Irrisoft and S-Group Solutions.

To know more about key smart cities M&A transactions, download a sample report

Key Trends Impacting the Smart Cities Theme

Technology Trend: Early signs are that the metaverse could play several roles in smart cities. The pandemic has shown that the most resilient cities enable their citizens to work, learn, and socialize remotely. Accordingly, in November 2021, Seoul announced plans to use a metaverse platform to provide this flexibility to its citizens. The platform (to be completed by 2023) will virtually conduct public services such as tourism, education, cultural experiences, and civilian services.

Macroeconomic Trend: The pandemic’s fallout means cities face a growing number of problems during a period of serious economic uncertainty. As a result, cities will view proposed smart city initiatives differently. To be a justifiable investment, an initiative must have a clear, relevant purpose and be as cost-effective as possible.

Regulatory Trend: Cities worldwide are starting to create ethical guidelines for their adoption of technology. London has published an emerging technology charter; a set of rules that outline the city’s expectations for how new data-enabled technologies should be developed and deployed for use in the public realm. Dubai has also been discussing a similar charter, while cities like Boston have created a playbook that governs the relationship between suppliers and citizens.