CityNext offers cities a broad portfolio of technology solutions such as business software, devices and apps, cloud solutions, and big data platforms, from Microsoft and its partners to help city governments overcome urbanisation and governance challenges in areas from administration to health and transportation.
Core infrastructure
In 2010, the Auckland Council integrated its eight different transportation divisions into a single authority – Auckland Transport. The organisation inherited 13 computer systems, inefficient physical processes, and 1100 employees scattered across the city and using different technologies for communication and storage.
To deal with these internal challenges, Auckland Transport adopted Windows Server 2012 operating system to virtualise and consolidate servers, and create virtualised desktops. The agency gave its staff access to modern, comprehensive suite of data centre management tools, and installed advanced security software to protect its infrastructure.
Citizen services
Auckland Transport also wanted to offer new services to meet the needs of its growing customer base. “We wanted to empower citizens to make city transportation choices based on accurate information and increase the use of public transportation”, said Roger Jones, General Manager of IT and Business Systems for Auckland Transport.
The agency developed a series of web-based applications for citizens, giving them access to personalised transportation services. MyStreet, a web application with a smartphone app to be launched soon, allows citizens to report problems such as potholes and other road damage to Auckland Transport, and monitor the progress of repairs.
Auckland Transport is working on applications that will allow commuters to create personal transportation accounts online that will keep track of their favourite routes and funds remaining on ticket cards. If a street is closed for repairs, the agency will be able to use this system to notify citizens who take buses on that road about the closure and suggest alternative routes. “These systems are helping us be more citizen-centric and making Auckland a more attractive place to live”, said Jones.
Auckland Transport is also using CityNext to offer productivity tools to employees, who can now use a variety of devices but remain connected through instant messaging, videoconferencing, phone services, and document sharing tools provided by Microsoft.
CityNext offers many other tools that city authorities can use to solve their specific challenges in a variety of areas. The Guangdong Taxation Office in China, for example, deployed a data management software to maintain its large database of taxpayer information and give citizens and employees uninterrupted access to its services.
The City of Barcelona, Spain, too adopted CityNext cloud, data, and apps solutions to enhance administrative operations, interact with citizens and make information transparent. For example, the city council built a cloud-based open data platform to give citizens free and easy access to government data, using CityNext solutions.
More than 50 per cent of the world’s population lives in cities, and 80 per cent of the global gross domestic product is produced there. CityNext will help cities deal with the economic and governance pressures they face, and provide more services to citizens when needed.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Sumedha Jalote
Quelle/Source: futureGov, 12.07.2013
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
