Cisco, IL&FS Tech to jointly develop digital solutions for smart cities

Mumbai: Networking infrastructure company, Cisco Systems Inc. and IL&FS Technologies Ltd (ITL), the technology solutions arm of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) Ltd, will jointly develop digital solutions for India’s infrastructure sector and smart cities using the Internet of Everything (IoE), a concept related to the connection of all devices, people and data to the Internet.

“Today, only 1% of all the things that surround us are connected to the network. In India, every day, an average of 275,000 devices will be connected to the network. We have the opportunity to embrace the Internet of Everything and help enable a digital India. By enabling a digitized economy we hope to enable safer streets, smarter homes and healthier and better-educated citizens,” said Dinesh Malkani, president—sales, Cisco India and SAARC.

“In a digital India, there will be a transformation in the delivery of citizen services. Our collaboration with Cisco will bring the power of the Internet of Everything to greenfield and brownfield cities, communities and rural communities in India. Together, we can enable digital solutions for the most essential citizen services such as healthcare and education,” said Durga Prasad, chief executive officer of ITL.

Cisco and ITL will collaborate to enable the delivery of cost-effective and efficient citizen services to urban and rural communities. The collaboration will focus on developing IoE-based digital solutions for smart cities, smart villages and the infrastructure sector. Cisco and ITL will pursue joint go-to-market opportunities in India and other countries as required.

Some of the solutions that will be jointly developed include services such as guided parking where citizens can access real time information on available parking, traffic management systems that do not need human intervention, and a smart grid to track water and electricity consumption to minimise wastage.

Cisco and ITL will also develop solutions to help improve city infrastructure operations through sharing information in real time across agencies and systems.

In a report in The Economic Times dated 17 November, Cisco’s India president Dinesh Malkani said that the company plans to invest $1.7 billion in India in 2014.

Cisco is also developing the information and communications technology (ICT) master plan for four pilot cities in the $90 billion Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, a flagship public sector infrastructure project. According to Cisco, the Internet of Everything total ‘value at stake’ in India is $511 billion over the next 10 years, out of which the public sector value at stake is $116 billion, which includes creating smart cities and citizen services such as health and education.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.