Dallas CTO dishes on smart city technology and interoperability

Inherently aspirational, smart city projects need a solid foundation on which to grow and a clear sense of purpose. Otherwise, they tend to become expensive technological experiments.

With this theme in mind, city officials in Dallas, Texas, have prioritized interoperability as a necessary underpinning for its various smart city technology initiatives. In terms of purpose, the city’s leaders published its smart city definition on its website. To wit, a smart city “focuses on improving the quality of life of all citizens by adopting new forms of governance, public participation, process improvements, technology adoption, data-driven decision-making and provides sustainable services,” according to the definition on the Dallas city hall website.

Speaking in a keynote at the Smart Cities Summit, Girish Ramachandran, Dallas’s chief technology officer, stressed the importance of interoperability as being a vitally important component of a smart city strategy. “Our mantra has been simple for the past five years: We’re trying to create a digital ecosystem,” Ramachandran said.

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