Smart + Connected Region

It makes sense that the first step for municipalities and cities in digitization is to focus on IT, processes and networking of the administrations themselves.

With a modern and secure digital infrastructure for all municipal facilities, buildings and employees, you enable more efficient, faster processes, reduce administrative effort, increase transparency and reduce bureaucratic structures. At the same time, they create a basis for the provision of so-called "Public Digital Services" (eGovernment) such as digital administrative procedures, online citizen portals and citizen information services.

A major concern and frequent obstacle for municipalities and cities when it comes to digitization is the chronic shortage of human resources. The digitization of one's own work processes and the introduction of work management based on real-time data can bring enormous relief for municipal employees.

Save effective working time and costs through telemetry of digital assets such as smart parking, predictive maintenance dependent on wear and tear, and demand-based disposal. Increase the performance and flexibility of your workforce through remote work, home office and short communication channels.

Protection of the environment, climate and species - hardly any other topic is currently more present in the public focus and discourse. Rural areas in particular offer a close proximity to nature, which must be protected and promoted through a meaningful sustainability agenda.

The challenge begins with the monitoring of conditions and changes in our environment: A real-time based and intelligent recording of e.g. air quality and particulate matter pollution, climate and weather data, soil moisture in forests and water levels of lakes and rivers form the basis for differentiated and informed maintenance planning, optimization and ultimately reduction of pollutants and emissions.

A region's quality of life and potential rise and fall with its attractiveness to local businesses, workers and investment. Work and education are central fixed points in all of our lives and a very relevant criterion for choosing a place to live or found. Fast Internet connection of households, companies and schools via broadband, fiber optics or a community wireless network are basic requirements for home offices, digital business and modern educational offers.

With publicly usable low-power networks and open data interfaces, municipalities can create new and interesting opportunities for companies, culture, tourism and agriculture to implement digital business models, experiences and services.

Current international developments such as pandemics, energy crises, climate change, war in Europe and increasing cyber attacks have brought the protection of critical infrastructure and a revision of the state crisis back into the focus of public perception.

Smart solutions enable municipalities and cities to meet these requirements: Be it the physical and virtual monitoring of assets and facilities, the security and intelligent control of public electricity, gas and water networks or communication with the population in the event of a disaster through a decentralized intranet and Cell Broadcast - disaster continuity and digital crisis management are a main focus of today's administrations.

The security of citizens in traffic, health, supply and public spaces is not optional, but a prerequisite for social interaction and personal freedom for all of us.

Measures such as intelligent monitoring of traffic and danger zones, video surveillance at focal points and automated warning devices, e.g. in regions at risk of flooding, can be used to minimize real dangers in a personnel-efficient manner.

Protect citizens from health threats in chemical industry accidents. Empower law enforcement, rescue and helpers through digital coordination and access to real-time data for maximum clout, self-protection and operational capability.

German society considers open discussions, direct participation and social responsibility to be valuable common goods and attaches great importance to them. This is even more the case outside of the urban areas, where on average there is already a stronger sense of community and the local population cultivates close ties.

The mapping of these communities, their opinions, suggestions and offers in local digital spaces such as decentralized social media instances, social hubs or open communication platforms is a realization of lived democracy, digital participation and official transparency. In this way, coexistence in the regions can be made attractive, especially for the younger generations, and integration into the communities can be promoted.

The benefits of digitization and smart region solutions increase disproportionately with their degree of implementation and progress. So the more aspects, functions and data areas of your digital agenda are realized and integrated into an overall system, the many times greater are the effects and insights that you can gain from synergies and data correlation.

A broad and comprehensive implementation of smart region strategies forms the digital basis for further paradigm shifts that fundamentally change areas of life and already determine the daily discussion today: Decentralized intelligent energy networks (Smart Grid), autonomous traffic and mobility services (Smart Traffic & Transportation), ressource- and climate-neutrality and AI-supported systems are long-term visions that make investments in the digitization of municipalities and cities indispensable.

A better future, society and environment for all of us.