Collaboration helps government harness Big Data to serve residents more efficiently and save taxpayer dollars
ARMONK, New York – 04 Mar 2013: Miami-Dade County and IBM today announced a transformational Smarter Cities initiative to improve services for residents and help agencies share information among the35 municipalities within the county.
A model for the rest of the nation, the County is using Big Data analytics — managing large datasets from multiple sources — and cloud computing to help leaders make better decisions.
With a focus on cutting across organizational boundaries to provide better services to residents, IBM is helping Miami-Dade County modernize and improve the predictive management capabilities of systems tied to law enforcement, transportation and water. Through the use of an intelligent dashboard from IBM that provides visibility into operations, city and county leaders will soon be able to harvest massive amounts of information from one department and immediately share it with multiple departments to improve access to valuable and often time-sensitive information.
“Making Miami-Dade County more efficient and cutting the red tape that slows economic progress are priorities, and this initiative with IBM is a great way to accomplish both of those goals,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “We look forward to making vital data more accessible to our municipal partners and to serving our residents even better.”
The Miami-Dade County Water Module alerts the Tropical Park Manager to leaky pipes in real-time to prevent water waste. Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department is using IBM’s Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) software to save an estimated $1 million in water costs this year. This savings will be directed into services for residents including after-school programs and swim lessons for 10,000 kids this summer. Image credit: IBM (Click image to enlarge)
As Miami-Dade County faces shrinking budgets, aging infrastructure and the need to deliver more services with fewer resources – all while driving economic development and job creation – the County is working to solve some of its biggest problems through advanced technology and public-private partnerships.
Miami-Dade County is delivering value to residents through a series of interlocked initiatives that use the new system to help departments across the county collaborate and share information. These initiatives are:
· Water Management — A predictive analytics and smart metering project to help remotely monitor consumption and identify water leaks across the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department is expected to reduce water consumption by 20% and generate up to $1 million in savings per year which can be reallocated back into parks services for residents.
· Intelligent Policing — Technology for intelligence analysis, lead generation and criminal identification and investigationis helping Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) reduce the time it takes officers to identify leads, investigate crimes and solve cases and remove barriers to information sharing with other law enforcement agencies.
· Government Transparency — Consolidated analytics across finance, human resources, budgeting, planning and all transactional departments provide county employees access to reporting and analysis tools to help make better decisions. The cloud-based system also provides the county’s three million residents financial transparency and access to key metrics and detailed spending information via the Internet.
· Transportation Efficiency — Providing real-time updates via new mobile phone applications and applying analytics to better understand traffic patterns and ridership on public transit will help prepare for future growth without investing in new infrastructure projects. A pilot transportation project will help improve traffic flow and drive economic development for local business in the Brickell community through increased ridership on public transit and bringing more people into the county’s parks.
“Miami-Dade County is an example of how local government leaders are coming together and overcoming traditional barriers to find innovative solutions to the challenges of growth,” said Michael J. Dixon, PhD, general manager, IBM Smarter Cities. “Many cities around the world are reaching their limits and they are looking for ways to make their region more competitive and provide higher level of services to citizens. Miami-Dade County’s leaders are demonstrating the vision and ambition to bring their community together to improve the efficiency of one of the world’s most prominent counties.”
Seeing the Big Data Picture in Miami-Dade. Image credit: IBM
Miami-Dade County is a dynamic global community known for its diverse economy and its diverse people. Led by Mayor Gimenez, this technology initiative is helping Miami-Dade County further position itself as a global center of commerce and finance. It is also helping the county attract a growing technology community that is working closely with local leaders to help Miami-Dade County’s future economy.
The county uses IBM Global Business Services, Research and Software analytics technology found in IBM’s Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) for Smarter Cities. The county is also using SPSS predictive analytics software, Cognos business intelligence software, i2 Intelligent Law Enforcement solution, a private cloud system on zLinux hosted on an IBM System z mainframe and IBM PureFlex System.
About Miami-Dade County
With more than 2.5 million residents, Miami-Dade County is the most populous county in the southeastern United States and the seventh largest in the nation by population. Miami-Dade County operates under a Strong Mayor, who is responsible for the leadership and management of an organization with over 25,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly $6 billion, form of government; and the 13-member Board of County Commissioners is the legislative body.
About IBM
For more information on IBM Smarter Cities, visit www.ibm.com/press/smartercities.
*Source: IBM