KPMG Australia and Cisco have formed an alliance to deliver smart city initiatives in Australia and accelerate adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT).

It brings together KPMG’s IoT capabilities with Cisco’s global technology offerings to provide city leaders across the country with end-to-end advisory, technology and related services, backed by platform, support and operations capabilities, within the framework of an open ecosystem.

“New Internet of Things technologies are disrupting how cities and towns work across the globe to help make them more liveable, workable and sustainable,” said Piers Hogarth-Scott, head of KPMG Australia’s IoT Practice. “From smart parking to utilities management – the opportunities for governments at all levels to drive better and more cost-effective services are endless. With technology changing so quickly, smart city leaders face complex decisions, with limited access to actionable insight and therefore limited ability to automate."

The alliance will concentrate on developing a number of useful tools for the leaders of smart city programmes. These will include financial and business case modelling; design thinking; smart city architecture; change management; data and analytics, master service integration; solution design and implementation; cyber security; and optimisation and operational services.

Services will be delivered around the Cisco Smart+Connected digital platform, which is already deployed in many cities and countries across the world, including Adelaide, Paris, Copenhagen, Kansas City, Bucharest, Hungary, Dubrovnik, and Bengaluru. The platform brings together data from a variety of sources, including sensors and existing information systems, to enable the city to holistically manage infrastructure and services.

Kevin Bloch, chief technology officer, Cisco Australia and New Zealand, said: “Connectivity and the consolidation and contextualisation of data are some of the keys to unlocking the full value from smart city initiatives. We are excited to partner with KPMG to provide the full suite of services and technologies to enable Australian smart cities, smart precincts and smart communities. Together, we will build collaboration opportunities between government, business and academia.

“We will also work with international standards and practices, ensuring the development of an open and interoperable architecture and building upon both our organisations’ support of the Hypercat standard.”

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