Cities around the world will be spending about $1.4bn in cloud services by 2017 to improve efficiency and drive innovation in the creation and delivery of services, according to a new report.
According to a report by Pike Research, "Smart Government Technologies", cumulative investment in smart government technology between 2011 and 2017 is expected to reach $4.8bn.
The report found that annual investment in smart government technologies in North America region will exceed $1bn during the period.
City authorities around the world are facing challenges to spur economic growth while meeting sustainability targets and rising expectations about quality of delivery of municipal services, often leadign to budget cost.
The challenge to improve services and improve efficiency, the city leaders are trying to adopt innovative ways for services delivery.
With cities looking to innovative ways for service delivery, cloud computing and data analytics will play a key role in transforming communication, data sharing, and application development.
Pike Research director Eric Woods said cloud-based computing, in particular, offers new options for cities that reduces capital expenditure, provides access to new skills, and reduces time-to-deployment of new solutions."
"Cloud-based systems also enable cities to take advantage of the huge amounts of operational data they collect to improve efficiency and develop new services," Woods said.
Apart from delivery platform, city authorities are also looking invest in technology as a means to speed up growth.
