Intelligent Urban

Infrastructure
High Performance Platform for
Urban Development
 Cities and metropolitan areas have the potential to
become the future powerhouses of the globe. Even
today, the five largest cities in the US alone, if
considered as a single economic entity, would be
fourth largest economy in the world, and Asian cities
are developing at breathtaking speed. Attractive focal
points for the world’s population or frightening
problem zones – what will make the difference?

Challenges for the cities are and will be In order to offer comprehensive and
manifold, including the supply of energy, well-conceived services at the lowest
water, housing, transport, education, possible cost, cities must make the most
finance, flexible and equitable out of their existing assets and bundle
regulations and service offerings for them intelligently with complementary
citizens and businesses. Around the offerings of local service providers.
world and particularly in the Asia Pacific Bundling intelligently means
region with its strong pace of integration, and integration needs
urbanization, cities need to find Information technology (IT).
ecological and sustainable solutions for
all these challenges, without an increase IT cannot in itself provide solutions for
in taxes and charges, i.e. within tight the societal and structural challenges
budgets. Solutions of this type are faced by cities, but an intelligent IT-
increasingly seen as key differentiator infrastructure is the essential for high
in the competition between cities to performance: It is the basis for the
attract talent and economic activities creation of comprehensive and
that stimulate their development, so competitive services. It accelerates
they keep drawing investments, and their implementation, provides the
continue to be perceived as attractive agility needed to constantly adapt
places to live and work in and to visit. them. The IT platform must itself be
agile and capable of evolving in synch
with rapid technological progress, while
providing stability to solutions built
on top of it.

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Figure1: Sustainable IT solutions, the need for operational effectiveness and large scale behavioural changes are the key
drivers of the integrated intelligent city framework

Communications & Data Mobility

Offer multi-modal transport and e-ticketing.
Prioritize electrified mass transit options to
reduce congestion
Leverage electric vehicles and recharge networks

Energy Buildings
Mobility Intelligent power, light and climate control
systems
Communications & Data

Communications & Data

Micro generation and solar heating
Behavioral
Health Care Combine new restrictive norms and intensive
Change refurbishing
Operational
Buildings Effectiveness Energy
Smart Meters for consumption optimization
Technology and demand management; Smart Grids for
Education integration of renewable energy sources;
Energy efficiency
Public
Administration City Services
Public
Attractiveness of a city requires quality
Safety education, effective health care and public
safety, productive public administration

Communications & Data

Apart from offering easy and rapid readers not only help optimize Accenture does have such expertise
integration facilities it must provide services but also constitute a mine and experience. We have a long and
a global view to all service providers: of information to be used in city successful track record in designing,
Interdependent services can only be planning, regulation of traffic or building and running innovative and
optimized if operators and planners in energy consumption. (Fig 1) integrated processes, and the IT
city administrations, transport services, systems needed to support them.
public and private companies, have a Creating an IT system as the
holistic view of their operations and integration platform for heterogeneous
the environment in which they are services is a tough challenge, in The Accenture Intelligent
embedded. particular if the system needs to be Infrastructure Platform can provide
agile enough to accommodate new the foundation for high performance
IT already is at the basis of many services that have yet to be invented. to new and emerging cities, as well as
services today. E-services to citizens Facing the large scale investment the growing ambitions of existing
are but one of its new usages. needed, governments and city cities.
Networks of smart devices administrations are looking for a
measure and transmit data, helping, robust and future proof platform to
for example, in better energy support an evolving set of services at
consumption (smart meters and smart high speed and optimal cost. The
grids) and in organizing multi-modal creation of such a platform requires
transport (cars, trains, buses, subways, experience and expertise that most
trams and even taxis), to name but cities do not have, since they cannot
two important areas. The data gather it outside their own territory.
collected at many points via those
smart devices like meters and ticket

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Figure 2: Tasks of an efficient intelligent infrastructure platform

Transactional –
Data Collection
Analytics –
Data Analysis

Efficient IIP

Decision
making
Data Modeling

Our extensive research has shown the The Accenture Intelligent Users—i.e. citizens, enterprises, visitors—
need for an intelligent infrastructure Infrastructure Platform can access information or buy services
platform that is able to collect and is operated in Infrastructure as a via the portal. It offers them an easy-
process data from many sources Service (IaaS) mode. It is based on open to-use, single access point to services
(e.g. intelligent devices and transactional standards, offering easy integration. Its that become more and more
systems), to provide predictive decision scalability allows cities to start small interconnected and intelligent.
making capabilities, and to offer the and grow at the speed of their projects.
means for agile policy implementation, Accenture takes care of evolving the Cities and their services partners, on the
as, for example, in dynamic pricing of Intelligent Infrastructure Platform as other hand, can get information about
transport services or energy supply needed – with regards to the number the usage of the infrastructure and their
(Figure 2). Such a platform must provide of users and transactions, computing services and about the evolution of
easy integration facilities for intelligent power, response times, and to usage over time.
devices and IT systems of all kinds. technological innovation. Cities
only pay according to their usage. A powerful and flexible pricing engine
Based on its expertise, experience allows modulating prices based on
and research, Accenture can offer such The Intelligent Infrastructure Platform statistical data, such that cities can
an Intelligent Infrastructure Platform provides a portal through which services implement regulatory policies, for
that enhances cities’ operational are offered. The portal acts as a central example in transport and traffic,
efficiency, offers them agility by hub, enabling interoperability between and in energy consumption.
facilitating innovation and collaboration, services via smooth, swift and efficient
while reducing capital expenditure to data exchange. The example of multi-
the necessary minimum. modal transport shows how interrelated
services can offer a whole new level of
quality to their users.

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Accenture was part of the consortium that helped Trans Link
Systems in the Netherlands launch the world’s first nationwide,
multi-modal electronic fare management system.

This system offers unique e-ticketing for nationwide passenger

transport spanning trains, subways, buses and trams. The ticket
reading devices initiate millions of travel transactions per
month, improving fluid passenger transport and providing
precious data for traffic infrastructure planning.

The groundbreaking nature of the project has caught the

attention of a number of innovation leaders, including the
Computerworld Honors Program, which in 2007 recognized
Trans Link Systems as a recipient of the 21st Century
Achievement Award for its exceptional use of technology
to better society.

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Figure 3: Overview of the Accenture Intelligent Infrastructure Platform

Intelligent City Service Domains

Office & Natural Transportation Health & Waste Education & Public
Residential Resource Safety Management Culture Administration
Buildings Management & Services

Accenture Intelligent City Open Platform

Intelligent Infrastructure

Planning & Strategy

Management & Governance

Figure 3 presents an overview of the The Accenture Intelligent

intelligent infrastructure platform and Infrastructure Platform
different usage domains. offers benefits to all parties: cities,
their inhabitants and visitors, and local
Integration of services into a single service providers. It acts as a catalyst
hub reduces the risks and the costs of to the creation of services that are
multiple two-way integrations. The at the heart of a city’s competitiveness
ease and low cost of integration with in the 21st century. And it changes
the platform, as well as the low-risk the service delivery model in
market access makes the platform correspondence to modern
attractive to service providers. And the expectations: Easy and rapid
richness of services available will make access, anywhere, anytime.
it a valuable portal to users.
The Intelligent Infrastructure Platform
helps cities and service providers to
achieve high performance by giving
them the means to move ahead fast
and remain agile in the ever changing
competitive landscape.

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For further information about About Accenture
intelligent infrastructure for urban
development, please contact: Accenture is a global management
consulting, technology services and
North America outsourcing company, with more than
Michael Wilson 249,000 people serving clients in more
michael.j.wilson@accenture.com than 120 countries. Combining
unparalleled experience, comprehensive
Europe & Latin America capabilities across all industries and
Philippe Guittat business functions, and extensive
Philippe.guittat@accenture.com research on the world’s most
successful companies, Accenture
Asia-Pacific collaborates with clients to help them
Terence Foo become high-performance businesses
terence.foo@accenture.com and governments. The company
generated net revenues of US$25.5
billion for the fiscal year ended Aug.
31, 2011.

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