Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG hosted today the third Smart Cities Forum, held under the theme “The Internet of everything”.

The forum that brings together decision makers from the public and private sector to address systematic approaches for developing smart city projects, hosted Mr. Howard Charney, Senior Vice President of Cisco, Office of the Chairman and CEO, who explained what “The internet of Things” means to Dubai, and the way it is impacting government, corporation and individuals in all aspects of life.

Delivering the opening address, His Excellency Ahmad Bin Byat, CEO, Dubai Holding and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, said:” Dubai is ideally placed to become the world’s first fully-realized Smart City. To achieve that goal, we already are working on re-designing city services and government processes with cross-agency collaboration and connectivity, delivering a new level of services across Dubai”

In his presentation, Charney revealed that according a new study by Cisco, Dubai’s public and private sectors, Driven by Dubai Smart City initiative, can achieve a potential AED 17.9 billion,(USD 4.87 billion) in value by 2019. He outlined how new levels of automation and connectivity are fuelling the next Internet of Things era which Cisco defines as the Internet of Everything (IoE). The IoE is the networked connection of people, process, data and things that generates value as “everything” joins the network. Several technology transitions – including the Internet of Things, increased mobility, cloud computing, and the growing importance of big data and analytics, among others – are combining to enable IoE.

The IoE will create value by lowering costs, improving employee productivity, generating new revenue, and enhancing citizen benefits. In the private sector additional benefits include improvements in innovation, supply chain and asset utilization The IoE’s value potential is likely to strongly appeal to Dubai’s smart city ambitions, which span six key pillars (life, society, mobility, economy, government, and environment), and more than 100 initiatives focusing on transport, communications, infrastructure, electricity, economic services, and urban planning.

Dr Ali Sebaa Al Marri, Executive President, MBRSG said: “Today, the number of devices connected to the internet exceeds the number of people; the Internet of things is a fact of our time. The opportunities it offers are unprecedented and MBRSG, the knowledge partner of Dubai Government, is offering government decisions makers and technology leaders the chance to share views, knowledge and ideas with the aim of supporting Dubai’s ambitions in becoming one of the smartest cities worldwide.”

Howard Charney, Senior Vice President, Office of the Chairman and CEO, Cisco said: “The Internet of Everything’s impact on Dubai Smart City is not theoretical – it will deliver practical benefits to transform daily lives, the economy, and tourism. Global Smart Cities have reduced water consumption by 50 percent, enhance energy savings by 30 percent, and reduce traffic by 30 percent – with the potential to create a safer, happier, and more productive Dubai.”

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