Cities Wasting Millions of Taxpayer's Money In Failed IoT Pilots

dkatana writes: Two years ago at the Smart Cities Expo World Congress, Antoni Vives, then Barcelona's second deputy mayor, said he refused to have more technology pilots in the city: "I hate pilots, if anyone of you [technology companies] comes to me selling a pilot, just get away, I don't want to see you." He added, "I am fed up with the streets full of devices. It is a waste of time, a waste of money, and doesn't deliver anything; it is just for the sake of selling something to the press and it does not work."

Barcelona is already a leading city in the use of IoT and, according to Fortune, "The most wired city in the world". Over the past 10 years, the city has experienced a surge in the number of sensors, data collection devices and automation and has become "a showcase for the smart metropolis of the future". Over the past few years technology companies have sold pilot programs costing millions of dollars to cities all over the world, claiming it will enhance their "Smart City" rating. Unfortunately, after the initial buzz, many of those pilots never get beyond the evaluation stage and are abandoned because the cities cannot afford them in the first place.

Comments

This pretty much sums up IoT ...

[gstoddart]

Internet of Things isn't even a thing, it's wishful thinking, and a bunch of random crap "visionaries" with no business plan are all pushing as the Next Big Thing.

It's marketing hype by people trying to cash in, but who otherwise have no idea what it's good for.

It's snake oil, nothing more. Getting fast talked into spending money on pilot projects to help some company achieve their goal of "monetizing your synergies while holistically marketing the awesomeness of IoT to allow you to improve your "'Smart City Rating' means you've been hoodwinked.

If it's so awesome and revolutionary, you should be paying the city to promote your product.

Instead it's just a bunch of bullshit and lies about how unfinished tech with no actual value is going to revolutionize the world.

Every idiot who says "Yarg, teh internet of things" should get swiftly smacked in the head. Because other than they want a piece of the action, not a single one of them can tell you what it is and why you actually want it.

Getting suckered into spending public money to allow some idiot to let you help him figure out what this crap is for is a sure sign you're not doing enough due diligence.

I'm glad to see people like this starting to say "go away and leave us alone". Because there's nothing there yet, just some speculative crap.

It's a solution in search of a problem, and a bunch of people trying to get other people help them figure out the business plan and what this stuff is for.