Smart Cities May Turn Competition Into Collaboration
Source: Forbes on November 25, 2016 | Daniel Newman
As more smart cities emerge, embracing technology and learning from the insights that big data offers, we will likely see a new business strategy emerge–geo-collaboration. When we think of cities now, we typically envision businesses, systems, and people operating among one another with almost no connection or collaboration. Now, imagine what will happen once cities become more connected and smart? Once local companies realize the value they could create together through interconnectivity, the possibilities are virtually endless.
Cities As Circuit Boards
Close your eyes and picture a modern city, viewed from above. It looks a bit like a circuit board, doesn’t it? The only difference, however, is that all the wires and sensors on a circuit board connect and interact; each point in a city’s figurative circuitry is independent and disconnected from any potential to generate business value.
The perfect next step in the advancement of the modern city is to connect these metaphorical sensors in its circuitry, taking advantage of the tools big data and the internet offer to increase productivity and, ultimately, the value that comes with being part of a major city. Again, the circuitry is already in place. It’s up to us to connect the wires and have all those systems and businesses start talking to each other.
As more smart cities emerge, embracing technology and learning from the insights that big data offers, we will likely see a new business strategy emerge–geo-collaboration. When we think of cities now, we typically envision businesses, systems, and people operating among one another with almost no connection or collaboration. Now, imagine what will happen once cities become more connected and smart? Once local companies realize the value they could create together through interconnectivity, the possibilities are virtually endless.
Cities As Circuit Boards
Close your eyes and picture a modern city, viewed from above. It looks a bit like a circuit board, doesn’t it? The only difference, however, is that all the wires and sensors on a circuit board connect and interact; each point in a city’s figurative circuitry is independent and disconnected from any potential to generate business value.
The perfect next step in the advancement of the modern city is to connect these metaphorical sensors in its circuitry, taking advantage of the tools big data and the internet offer to increase productivity and, ultimately, the value that comes with being part of a major city. Again, the circuitry is already in place. It’s up to us to connect the wires and have all those systems and businesses start talking to each other
Synergy Vs. Competition
Think, for a moment, about a strip mall. Strip malls tend be home to several different types of businesses, all situated in the same convenient location for customers. You might have a shipping company, a fast food restaurant, and a clothing boutique all sharing space‚ and—ideally—all attracting customers that will also provide their neighbors with business. These businesses don’t compete for customers; rather, they work together in one spot to offer the same customers different products and services. Strip mall businesses operate in an atmosphere of synergy rather than competition, and they serve as a scale model of the benefits cities can gain by tapping into their own synergistic potential.
Geo-Collaboration Opens Up Possibilities
As we see with the strip mall example, turning your potential competitor into an ally creates more value for both parties. In the 21st century, we are seeing a shift in the economy’s demands, from a set of skills based around knowledge of your industry to one more centered on empathy and relationship-building. As the world becomes ever more complex, no one individual—or even one business—can do all the work alone. Geo-collaboration allows business to leverage each other’s strengths to grow together as a symbiotic network within a city. When organizations work together, they are collective benefits for all.