When Greener IT becomes Smarter IT

Steria has launched a new opinion paper according to which, by 2050, seventy percent of the global population is forecast to live in cities. Hence, there is a pressing need for us to think about how we might change the way our cities operate to ensure we will live smarter, greener, more sustainable lives, and ICT is set to play a pivotal role in that evolution.

Francois Enaud, Group CEO, Steria said, "ICT companies have been responding to a growing trend for green IT for some time now, with technologies like virtualisation, and practices like tele-working and videoconferencing now common-place. However, population growth, globalisation, urbanisation, environmental sustainability, regulation and technology are forcing us to think about what the next steps might be. All the evidence suggests that both smart cities and smarter thinking are an absolute necessity for society's continued advancement. So the role of ICT is more critical than ever. If we are serious about adapting our city environments to this new paradigm then we shouldn't wait to do it. These are changes for the good and we have the means at our disposal to implement them. Leadership is about moving into new territory, taking new ground and being early in engaging new opportunities."

According to the report, a series of essential components are required to successfully develop smart cities, the first of which is to create a combined view of city governance by integrating city-wide systems. The report recommends that complex IT environments should be rationalised, cloud and outsourced services utilised, and a network of integrated solutions developed.