Envisioning a Palestinian nation that nurtures innovation and contributes to world knowledge, PITA, in consultation with all key stakeholders in the ICT ecosystem, has established its three year strategy for the development of the private ICT sector with the purpose of leading it towards an innovation based economy. In its 11th year, EXPOTECH Technology Week will be a major breakthrough of awareness for technology business opportunities in improving Palestinian cities. This year, the Concept Theme for the annual event is “Intelligent Cities”. The event will be a tool to promote awareness on how technology can improve the lives of Palestinians in Planning and Management, Infrastructure and Human Services related sectors.

EXPOTECH 2014 will be the platform to showcase solutions for Intelligent Cities where all those pillars assemble in a major celebration of Palestine’s technological diffusion.

 

Middle East Business News & Magazine booth at Expotech (media partner)

 

Key Industry Challenges – Palestine is No Exception to International Trends

“According to Frost and Sullivan1, 60% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban environments by 2025. It is expected that around 26 global cities and more than 90 sustainable cities will develop, with 50% of these ‘smart cities’ being in North America and Europe. The increased growth of smart cities will drive the need to innovate and provide solutions to foster convergence within the city. The smart city market is growing, especially with the rapid rate of urbanization taking place, with the market expected to be a $1.5 trillion by 2020. This significant growth presents certain challenges for organizations and city authorities.

Rapid urbanization plays an integral role in economic and societal progress. However, it also strains a city’s infrastructure. Key challenges, such as traffic congestion, energy usage, public safety, and the building of sustainable communities are top of mind. Such challenges need to be addressed through the development and implementation of intelligent solutions.

Smart City solution providers face the challenge of integrating key initiatives within a city’s existing framework. Smart cities are measured by the integration of their infrastructure and the intelligent ways by which they tackle challenges. A smart city puts emphasis on creating a system of networks to allow for a systematic flow of information and effective management of resources. Enabling integration and convergence with organizations and local authorities to provide solutions for the development of a smart city is crucial.

Companies, which use their expertise and provide technological solutions, such as cloud based services and big data analytic, will be able to improve their position and stay competitive in the market.

Another key challenge in smart cities is the development of implementation road map outlining objectives, stakeholder participation, type of public private engagement and most importantly funding mechanisms. However, there is no one size fits all approach in this fragmented market with each individual smart city requiring a custom strategy. “

In an increasingly urbanized world, creating intelligent cities is essential. Inefficient transport and water systems, pollution, increasing security risks and access to effective telecommunications are just some of the challenges central to a city achieving its financial, economic, social and environmental goals.

Billions of dollars is being spent on a vast range of city infrastructure projects globally every year. It is crucial that these investments are part of an integrated and holistic vision and make optimal use of cutting edge information and communication technologies (ICT) so that they successfully contribute to achieving a thriving urban future.

Read more: http://expotech.ps/2014/about/what-is-expotech/