Swisscom and IMD accompany cities on the way to the smart city

Swisscom and IMD have been working together for two years. They support cities in becoming smarter and more innovative. The collaboration has resulted in the Smart City Piano. The analysis tool offers city managers structured help in turning their city into a smart city. Since then, many projects have been implemented based on Smart City-Piano. These have ranged from local activities in cities to large-scale projects for entire regions. Experience has shown that decision-makers need even more help, especially with detailed questions. They require a more concrete basis for decision-making in order to be able to define, select and implement the most promising projects. The new study: "Smart City: Six Steps to Successfully Transform Your City" aims to close this gap.

Six steps to the smart city

For the new study, numerous project managers from administration and business were interviewed who had already gained experience with smart city projects. The assessment of these experts helped to refine and further concretize the existing method: "In the past two years, we were able to carry out projects with the canton of Geneva as well as the cities of Pully, Montreux and Fribourg. The collaboration with the authorities allowed us to test our hypotheses. At the same time, we have found new solutions to existing challenges, for example in questions of governance," explains Raphaël Rollier, head of the Smart City program at Swisscom.

The study "Smart City: Six Steps to Successfully Transform Your City" therefore provides advice on how best to use Smart City Piano. Blaise Vonlanthen, Head of Consulting at Swisscom, sees many practical applications: "With the new method, we can help cities focus their resources on those initiatives that make an effective contribution to the goals set."

The acceleration of digital transformation

IMD and Cisco founded the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation in 2015. Hundreds of companies from various industries have used the center's services to plan their transformation projects. "New methods are needed when it comes to transforming the public sector and developing cities or regions smartly. Many concepts that are valid for the private sector cannot simply be transferred to the public sector," Michael Wade, professor of innovation and strategy at IMD and co-author of the study, points out. The collaboration with Swisscom provides a better understanding of the dynamics involved in digital transformation in the public sector. Thanks to the new study, city leaders should be able to accelerate the digital transformation in a targeted manner.

The study will be discussed at a SmartSuisse seminar. The strategy conference will take place on April 27 in Basel. Representatives from the cities of Dublin, Zurich and Pully will share their experiences with digital transformation at the event.

The study "Smart City: Six Steps to Successfully Transform Your City" can be downloaded at Swisscom.ch downloaded against indication of name, company and e-mail address.