Hype Cycle For Smart City Te 252791

This research note is restricted to the personal use of ekiss@telefonica.
com
G00252791
Hype Cycle for Smart City Technologies and

Solutions, 2013
Published: 29 July 2013
Analyst(s): Alfonso Velosa, Bettina Tratz-Ryan
The smart city vision of citizen services and greater economic growth is
attractive yet the path remains complex. While many technologies support
the concept, business and use models, ranging from transportation and
healthcare to energy management and cloud computing, remain emergent.
Table of Contents
Analysis.................................................................................................................................................. 3
What You Need to Know.................................................................................................................. 3
The Hype Cycle................................................................................................................................ 5
The Priority Matrix.............................................................................................................................9
On the Rise.................................................................................................................................... 11
Intelligent System......................................................................................................................11
Decisions and Recommendations as a Service.........................................................................12
Real-Time Parking.................................................................................................................... 14
Sustainability Consulting Services............................................................................................. 15
Augmented Reality Applications................................................................................................17
Agile Workplace Solutions........................................................................................................ 19
Intelligent Lamppost................................................................................................................. 21
Sustainable Performance Management.................................................................................... 22
At the Peak.....................................................................................................................................24
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure..................................................................................... 24
Consumer Smart Appliances.................................................................................................... 26
Information Semantic Services..................................................................................................28
LBSs in Automotive.................................................................................................................. 30
Networking IT and OT...............................................................................................................31
Internet of Things......................................................................................................................34
Smart City Framework, China................................................................................................... 36
This research note is restricted to the personal use of ekiss@telefonica.com
Smart Governance Operating Framework.................................................................................39

Smart Transportation................................................................................................................40
Consumer Energy Storage........................................................................................................43
Home Energy Management/Consumer Energy Management....................................................44
Information Stewardship Applications....................................................................................... 46
Intelligent Lighting..................................................................................................................... 48
Smart Fabrics........................................................................................................................... 49
Car-Sharing Services................................................................................................................ 51
Water Management.................................................................................................................. 52
Vehicle Information Hub............................................................................................................54
Big Data Information Management for Government.................................................................. 55
Wi-Fi Positioning Systems.........................................................................................................58
Sliding Into the Trough....................................................................................................................59
Continua 2012..........................................................................................................................59
Microgrids................................................................................................................................ 62
Distributed Generation.............................................................................................................. 63
Integrated and Open Building Automation and Control Systems............................................... 65
Master Data Management........................................................................................................ 66
Machine-to-Machine Communication Services......................................................................... 69
Customer Gateways................................................................................................................. 72
Mobile Health Monitoring.......................................................................................................... 73
NFC..........................................................................................................................................75
Advanced Metering Infrastructure............................................................................................. 77
Cloud Computing..................................................................................................................... 80
Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communications................................................................................ 81
Video Visits............................................................................................................................... 82
Electric Vehicles........................................................................................................................85
Home Health Monitoring........................................................................................................... 86
Climbing the Slope......................................................................................................................... 89
Public Telematics and ITS.........................................................................................................89
Consumer Telematics............................................................................................................... 90
Entering the Plateau....................................................................................................................... 92
Location-Aware Technology..................................................................................................... 92
Appendixes.................................................................................................................................... 94
Hype Cycle Phases, Benefit Ratings and Maturity Levels.......................................................... 96
Recommended Reading.......................................................................................................................97
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Gartner, Inc. | G00252791

List of Tables
Table 1. Hype Cycle Phases.................................................................................................................96
Table 2. Benefit Ratings........................................................................................................................96
Table 3. Maturity Levels........................................................................................................................97
List of Figures
Figure 1. Hype Cycle for Smart City Technologies and Solutions, 2013.................................................. 8
Figure 2. Priority Matrix for Smart City Technologies and Solutions, 2013.............................................10
Figure 3. Hype Cycle for Smart City Technologies and Solutions, 2012................................................ 95
Analysis
What You Need to Know
This Hype Cycle explores a range of technologies that can be used by CIOs and other city
department leaders in the implementation of smart city projects. These include augmented reality
applications, smart transportation, Wi-Fi positioning systems or other location and related context
information. Smart city projects will leverage these technologies and models to meet objectives
such as cutting operational infrastructure and public services costs, supporting growth, improving
services and generating economic development in a sustainable way.
The Definition and Evolution to Smart City 2.0
A smart city is an urbanized area where multiple sectors cooperate to achieve sustainable
outcomes through the analysis of contextual real-time information shared among sector-specific
information and operational technology systems. Gartner has developed a framework describing the
smart city framework and its elements for greenfield and brownfield city deployments (see
"Innovation Insight: Smart City Aligns Technology Innovation and Citizen Inclusion" for more
information). During 2012, many cities started to deploy small projects funded by vendors or as part
of innovation pilots and demonstration projects. Many cities have begun to develop extensive
priority plans around sustainability, demographic and economic triggers and their key performance
metrics for their smart city architecture. They also define projects they can invest in while
understanding the implications of large city operations platform, information exchange, and the
impact of consumer devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). This is different from past years where
cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam or London took specific events for their city into
consideration to invest into the larger road map of a smart city plan. Gartner expects as public
sector budgets remain tight and service models not very commercially viable at the moment, cities
will continue to engage increasingly in rollouts of smaller projects financed by third parties or for
direct return on investment, such as energy savings.
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Smart city is an amalgam of providing citizen value while aligning with the reality of the critical
political milestones for the mayor's office and city department leadership (see "Market Trends:
Smart Cities Need Tech-Smart Citizens to Succeed"). Since budgetary realities constrain city
leaders, we can expect continued creativity in funding smart city services.
Smart City Initiatives Have Been Hampered by Significant Underinvestment
Cities and city departments continue to have tight budgetary conditions. In 2013, smart city
initiatives will be driven by several core factors including:
Cities' competition with other cities to improve economic performance, city resilience, citizen
services and sustainability.
Opportunistic projects funded by either national or international organizations.
Execution of trophy projects for the mayor or city department leaders.
In some cases, a lucky confluence of clear vision from leaders aligned with city sector
executives who are able to execute on developing solutions for the taxpayers.
On occasion, vendor funding of demonstration projects.
Furthermore, the smart city strategic vision and tactical set of execution elements has been further
driven by public-private-partnership organizations such as City Protocol. Yet the complexity of the
developing projects remains. Extensive procurement cycles across city sectors, conflicting
stakeholder objectives, and varying levels of corruption have resulted in much discussion but little
adoption, as yet, of the smart city concept.
Vendors Continue To Adapt Their Marketing and Sales Efforts
Three years ago, several technology and service providers began to extensively scope out the
concept of the smart city as a go-to-market strategy. These vendors covered the areas of
technology, construction and consulting services. They saw smart cities as an opportunity to bundle
products, services and solutions together for a new business selling integrated services across
functions or departments of a municipality or city.
Vendors have changed direction due to the slower-than-hoped for adoption. They are leveraging
the significant investments they have made in smart cities via an educational marketing push as well
as developing offerings and consulting services to help cities. They are now thinking about specific
projects and core competencies to deliver for smart cities. They are also pushing the thought
leadership and hype for smart cities with more focus on the value of the smart grid or smart
transportation or big data.
A broad range of vendors is doing this. IT vendors such as IBM, HP, Fujitsu, NEC, ZTE, Telefonica,
Accenture and Cisco are working with operational technology (OT) players such as Siemens,
Schneider Electronics, GE, Eurotech and Selex Elsag and are also working with a broad range of
startups such as Bitcarrier, Flexeye, IAP Solutions, Libelium, MyKoots and Sensinode. In addition,
more are competing in developing the market, building new business models and setting the hype
for smart city technology and solutions.
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The Hype Cycle

This Hype Cycle (see Figure 1) is Gartner's analysis of the range of technologies for use in smart
cities. A broad set of technologies and business models are relevant to a discussion of smart cities,
given the complexity of market requirements and procurement cycles.
We profile the positions of the most significant technologies and business/service models that can
be used to implement a smart city. The list is not exhaustive; technologies have been selected on
the basis of relevance and analyst coverage. Their positions on the Hype Cycle are averages in
recognition that each city around the world is different, creating variability in smart city technology
adoption and implementation scenarios.
Many technologies depicted in this Hype Cycle are critical to developing innovative and
transformational benefits to city inhabitants, government and technology providers. However, most
are clustered in the emerging and pre-peak sections of the Hype Cycle, having a time to adoption of
more than five years.
Large numbers of relevant technologies are mature and are well beyond the Hype Cycle's Plateau
of Productivity. These include the mobile infrastructure, wireless LAN, xDSL and fiber networks that
form the communications backbones for urban environments. These mature technologies can be
deployed on a large scale for a range of uses. This infrastructure can be leveraged to collect
information from a full range of connected devices, otherwise known as the IoT. Other technologies
are still immature, such as advanced metering and plug-in hybrid vehicles for smart grid
applications and electric mobility. The management of information, big data and decisions and their
related governance models are central to the various subsystems and use cases in city
departments.
Many use cases and business models for these functions and verticals in a smart city are complex
and are still being proven in the market. A strong technology push from vendors exists today. But
the benefits are currently unclear, not just to citizen groups, but to some city departments such as
healthcare and transportation organizations, as well as the central city government. The resolution
of these kinds of issues will take time.
Many technology providers are able to supply enabling technology for the supporting infrastructure.
Smart cities also require integration and consulting services from enterprises that have the size and
the ability to invest significant sums into these long-term projects. Some vendors are aggressively
pursuing the initial deployment of smart city models, although limited to areas such as traffic
congestion, traffic management and public safety. This Hype Cycle covers both IT and OT
infrastructure components that can form the technology basis of a wide range of smart city
functions. These include enabling technologies, such as Near Field Communication, RFID and
mobile endpoints for the collection and transmission of information to databases and master data
management systems. These will be associated with metatagging and direction of data, depending
on the privacy laws of the country.
One challenge in smart city applications and services will be the reach and details of citizen
information to be utilized in the context of privacy and the regulatory framework. Over time, utilities,
healthcare providers, transportation providers and government agencies will require massive
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storage and IT processing capabilities that will partially rely on a secure and flexible cloud-based
infrastructure and service delivery mechanism. Another challenge is the time needed for
implementation, since the extremely large scale of the existing physical infrastructure (such as that
for automotive applications) will require careful, slow and linear implementation approaches from
government and industry.
This Hype Cycle can also be read from an industry perspective focused on industry-specific
implementations. Again, due to the scale and the scope of the installed base, each vertical market
will have unique upgrade cycles; the development pipelines are different in each case. This Hype
Cycle discusses general technologies and business models such as master data management,
augmented reality applications, the smart governance operating framework or sustainability
performance management. It also looks in detail at technologies and issues in the energy,
transportation and healthcare sectors. These vertical sector examples show the portfolio of
integrated technologies and business models that a city needs to be truly considered a smart city.
Changes From Last Year
This Hype Cycle is in its third year, and we have incorporated more service approaches and
technologies for services directly addressing citizens' needs, while removing some technologies
that are either too narrowly focused in niche areas or obsolete. The position of LBSs in Automotive
was updated to reflect the overinflated expectations regarding the value of LBS initiatives.
New Hype Cycle entries:
Agile Workplace Solutions
Augmented Reality Applications
Car Sharing Services
Consumer Energy Storage
Decisions and Recommendations as a Service
Intelligent Systems
LBSs in Automotive
Smart City Framework, China
Smart Transportation
Name changes:
"Continua 2011" to "Continua 2012'
"Car-to-Infrastructure Communications" to "Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communications"
"Public Telematics" to "Public Telematics and ITS"
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Obsolete entries:
Big Data Information Management for Government
Removed entries:
Augmented Reality
Combined Heat and Power
Hydrogen Economy
Mobile Health Monitoring
Photovoltaic Generation
Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles/Electric Vehicles
Remote Health Monitoring
Sustainability Business Operations Consulting Service
Thermal/Concentrating Solar Power
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Figure 1. Hype Cycle for Smart City Technologies and Solutions, 2013
expectations
Smart Fabrics
Intelligent Lighting
Information Stewardship Applications
Home Energy Management/
Consumer Energy Management
Smart Governance Operating Framework
Internet of Things
Networking IT and OT
LBSs in Automotive
Information Semantic Services
Consumer Smart Appliances
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
Sustainability Consulting Services
Real-Time Parking
Decisions and Recommendations
as a Service
Car-Sharing Services
Water Management
Vehicle Information Hub
Sustainable
Performance
Management
Intelligent
Lamppost
Augmented
Reality
Applications
Intelligent System

Wi-Fi Positioning Systems
Continua 2012
Microgrids
Distributed Generation
Integrated and Open Building
Automation and Control Systems
Location-Aware Technology
Master Data Management
Machine-to-Machine Communication Services
Customer Gateways
Consumer Telematics
NFC
Advanced Metering
Infrastructure
Public Telematics and ITS
Cloud Computing
Vehicle-to-Infrastructure
Communications
Video Visits
Home Health Monitoring

Electric Vehicles
As of July 2013
Innovation
Trigger
Peak of
Inflated
Expectations
Trough of
Disillusionment
Slope of Enlightenment
Plateau of
Productivity
time
Plateau will be reached in:
less than 2 years
2 to 5 years
5 to 10 years
more than 10 years
obsolete
before plateau
Source: Gartner (July 2013)
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The Priority Matrix

Designing and implementing a sustainable ICT and IoT infrastructure for an urban environment
takes a long-term view, which is reflected in the many years to mainstream adoption for a large
number of the technologies and business disciplines of this Hype Cycle.
The emerging nature of OT's alignment with IT becomes clear in Figure 2, the Priority Matrix. Only
Location-Aware Technology is forecast to reach sufficient technical and commercial maturity to
achieve early mainstream adoption in less than two years. We do have a broad portfolio of nine
transformational technology profiles for the smart city. For the near term, two to five years, four of
these transformation technologies will reach mainstream adoption, with the smart governance
operating framework siting at the core of the information management between the city systems
that will transform and accelerate the opportunity for new services. Cloud computing is a critical
model for how to store and process the core information for smart cities. The vehicle information
hub will enable consumers to extend their digital lifestyles to the car and will help car value chain
members extend their relationships to the driver. In addition, AMI provides not just utility-centered
benefits, but also benefits to the energy market, customer and societal benefits and carbon
emissions abatement initiatives.
The fact that Gartner forecasts that 25 technologies will reach adoption within five to 10 years and
six technologies, including IoT, vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, consumer energy storage,
public telematics and transport systems and smart fabrics will not reach maturity for more than 10
years is a reflection of the technical complexity and cultural and political difficulty of bringing the
key IT and OT building blocks for the smart city together.
Given the long time frames for many of these technologies to reach maturity, city department CIOs,
IT, OT and operations leaders should be teaming with their cross city-department counterparts to
establish the organizational and interdepartmental mechanisms necessary for them to jointly plan,
prioritize and evaluate investments in the transformational and high potential areas shown in this
Priority Matrix. This will demonstrate their vision and stewardship in their government role, support
governance, conserve scarce resources for the long haul and provide a focus for departments and
the city on how and when they may build out their smart city.
Figure 2 depicts the years to mainstream adoption for the technologies presented in this Hype
Cycle.
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Figure 2. Priority Matrix for Smart City Technologies and Solutions, 2013
benefit
years to mainstream adoption

less than 2 years
transformational
2 to 5 years
Advanced Metering
Infrastructure
Cloud Computing
Smart Governance
Operating Framework
5 to 10 years
more than 10 years
Machine-to-Machine
Communication Services
Smart City Framework,
China
Internet of Things
Vehicle-to-Infrastructure
Communications
NFC

Water Management
Consumer Telematics
Customer Gateways
Decisions and
Recommendations as a
Service
Home Energy
Management/Consumer
Energy Management
Information Stewardship
Applications
Integrated and Open
Building Automation and
Control Systems
Consumer Energy
Storage
Electric Vehicles
high
Location-Aware
Technology
Intelligent Lamppost
Intelligent System
Microgrids
Real-Time Parking
Video Visits
moderate
LBSs in Automotive
Augmented Reality
Applications
Consumer Smart
Appliances
Continua 2012
Electric Vehicle Charging

Infrastructure
Smart Fabrics

Information Semantic
Services
Sustainability Consulting
Services
Sustainable Performance
Management
low
As of July 2013
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On the Rise
Intelligent System
Analysis By: Alfonso Velosa
Definition: An intelligent system framework enables an enterprise to better use the information
present in its devices. An intelligent system starts by obtaining data from connected devices and
connecting it via a gateway to the enterprise's systems where that data can be analyzed and
converted into insights and action by enterprise employees and automated systems.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: There is a significant opportunity for businesses to
achieve greater value from the data that is located in devices that are, or will be, spread throughout
the enterprise. Unfortunately, this data has been locked into the devices mostly due to a lack of
connectivity but also due to a lack of standards, systems and processes to obtain this data
systematically, and even ignorance of the value of the information on those devices.
The systems of operational technology (OT)/IT convergence and, more generally, the Internet of
Things, continue to deploy through enterprises. Thus, there is an increasing need, possibility and
opportunity for intelligent systems to collect, process, analyze and disseminate the data from
devices in an intelligent way. To gain the full value of the data in these systems, enterprises will
need a system that incorporates:
Devices: The device will need to collect data from either sensors or inputs from other systems.
The device may also format or process some of the data internally.
Data: This data will need to be collected within appropriate enterprise contextual elements such
as location, environmental parameters, and inputs from other devices. It must be presented in a
format that can be accessed by the enterprise gateway or other enterprise connectivity
systems.
Connectivity: The data will need to be transmitted from the devices to enterprise systems. This
may occur via a gateway or server.
Application logic: Includes the functions and applications that the device will need to execute
its core functions/applications. This application logic may reside on the device and/or the
gateway/server.
Security and authentication: A comprehensive security and authentication process is required

to protect the integrity of the devices and the data. The process will need to be able to provide
scheduled and ad hoc updates on the security profile.
Analytics and presentation layer: The data will need to be analyzed and presented in a format
that facilitates the decision-making and action capabilities of enterprise IT and OT employees
and automated systems.
User Advice: System developers will want to look at aspects of the business that may benefit from
OT/IT integration of the devices through to the analytics layer. Observe that while the technical
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elements may be quite challenging, the developers and their management should also consider the
cultural elements of the enterprise just as thoroughly. For example, how the data from an intelligent
system will fit into the work processes for an enterprise as well as how to incentivize employees to
leverage the data to its fullest potential.
Recognize that data format standards vary by industry, often by vendor and by legacy systems, so
any intelligent system that pulls in enough data will need to be capable of addressing multiple
formats and industry standards. Thus, ensure you understand the value and cost of the proper use
of the data in the system, and how it will cover the costs of any necessary consulting work to audit
and integrate all of your data sources and types.
Business Impact: The value of an intelligent system will depend on its ability to leverage industryspecific parameters. An intelligent system will have the potential to help enterprises that implement
them outperform their peers in terms of maximizing the use of information; and to extend
operational elements such as asset management, or create new value chains for the enterprise to
drive new revenue streams and deliver value to customers.
Benefit Rating: High
Market Penetration: 1% to 5% of target audience
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Eurotech; GE; Microsoft
Decisions and Recommendations as a Service

Analysis By: Alfonso Velosa; Hung LeHong
Definition: Decisions and recommendations as a service (DRaaS) is a business model where
enterprises receive recommendations from a trusted provider. This model takes the concept of
monetizing data one step further to provide optimized and automated decision choices based on
specific information and business unit (BU) goals. DRaaS can be used on a continuous or asrequired basis.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: The types of decisions and recommendations
delivered by a DRaaS provider can be a set of action choices (for example, route to drive or
opening/closing valves to maximize flow), settings to optimize asset use (for example, industrial
machine settings to maximize yield), policies to optimize processes (for example, service-level
policies to maximize availability and minimize cost), or recommended prices or offers (for example,
price optimization or next best offer selection). The person or team at the enterprise can then chose
whichever DRaaS choice meets their criteria the best, as part of a process to accelerate the speed
of high-quality decisions.
Most enterprises still operate on, and make decisions based on, the historical data about how their
business models and historical data structure have evolved. However, several trends are emerging
that are driving enterprises to consider new decision models and sources for automated decision
making:
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The emerging availability of big data sources as diverse as IT systems, customer interactions,
partner systems and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The growing need to leverage real-time data or granular operational data.
The acceptance of outsourcing models in conjunction with the rise of cloud-based services.
Service-oriented architecture (SOA) and cloud-/API-based application development that allows

for easier integration of decision services into business processes and systems.
The severe budget constraints that many organizations face, particularly government
enterprises.
Enterprises are increasingly exploring the outsourcing of not just data collection but also the data
analysis and resulting prescriptive recommendations. The core benefit of DRaaS is that it reduces
the potential capital and operational expenditure the enterprises may have had to accrue to collect
the data. Moreover, it allows BUs to leverage other providers' core expertise by outsourcing the
data analysis to expert providers. Examples of this are:
The traffic analysis and recommendations that Bitcarrier provides.
The maintenance advice that GE provides based on its engine sensors and analysis, or the
technology and service provider getting operational technology (OT) data from the client directly
and sending back maintenance interval and intervention advice
The oncology diagnosis that IBM-Wellpoint's Clinical Oncology Advisor (based on Watson) can
provide to doctors.
Internet-based industries use recommendation engines and offer/ad engines that are precursors to
the DRaaS model.
As the building block technologies and business models mature, we expect to see new models and
opportunities as enterprises leverage DRaaS to increase their competitiveness. For further
information on this see "Uncover Value From the Internet of Things With the Four Fundamental
Usage Scenarios."
User Advice: Senior managers should conduct experiments in 2013 to 2014 to firmly understand
the business potential of the DRaaS model while limiting their risk. Particular development areas to
focus on will be centered on these two areas:
Business potential. Understand how this impacts standard business metrics such as time-tomarket improvements, new performance benchmarks and cost mitigation, as well as look at the
potential for new business or service capabilities.
Risk mitigation. SLA terms and conditions as well as getting a deeper understanding of risks
from privacy policies and the loss of key enterprise intellectual property.
The decisions are only as good as the input and causal data that is provided to the DRaaS vendor
so make sure data sources are reliable and clean or have the DRaaS provider get you there. Also
make sure that you take the steps to build trust in the recommendations and decisions supplied by
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the DRaaS provider. This is done by slowly introducing automated decision choices and verifying
that they are improving business metrics. This model will need to be tested and analyzed in
controlled, risk-mitigated settings for factors such as the soundness of the decision tree outputs or
privacy considerations, before being considered for use across an entire BU. Use risk mitigation, for
example, where an enterprise will want to assess the legal implications of picking a choice from an
outsourced set of automated decision tools instead of from a human expert.
Note also that implementers will want to ensure the system provides multiple recommendations and
that people are trained in its use and limitations. This is to minimize any intimidation issues for
people not wanting to risk their jobs/careers by contradicting the "expert" system.
From a technology perspective, DRaaS is easier to implement in enterprises that have pursued an
SOA or Web-based-architecture.
Business Impact: This trend is applicable to almost all industry contexts, sizes of organizations and
geographies. DRaaS can be applied to both core and secondary competencies so it can lead to
incremental improvement as well as competitive improvements.
DRaaS can improve decision making that is already in place, such as asset optimization via
improved maintenance cycles. It can also be used to support completely new operations and
revenue areas. These new capabilities could be smart-city operations, such as improving rush hour
traffic by monitoring traffic and recommending better traffic lane settings to city planners. They
could also be new retail revenue-generation opportunities, where malls track the density of shopper
traffic to generate real-time sales or discounts in lower traffic sections.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Bitcarrier; GE; IBM
Recommended Reading: "Uncover Value From the Internet of Things With the Four Fundamental
Usage Scenarios"
Real-Time Parking
Analysis By: Thilo Koslowski
Definition: Real-time parking, or smart parking, uses sensor data to identify available and occupied
parking spots, aggregates this information, and then offers it to end users via Web applications,
including telematics and connected vehicle services (for example, integrated in navigation
solutions). Sensors can be installed in a parking surface and/or in parking meters as well as parking
garages.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Real-time parking technology is fairly new, although
vendors are quickly emerging and receiving funding from investment firms because of the potential
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economical and ecological impact. Consumer interest in such applications and services is high
because of the potential user benefits in enhancing the driving and ownership experience.
Requirements for infrastructure and technology investments, the development of new business
models, and the need to offer reliable and ubiquitous real-time parking information will take time to
evolve. An increasing number of new startup companies and established companies expanding
their solutions in the area of smart, real-time parking are quickly advancing the technology along the
Hype Cycle.
User Advice: Automotive organizations, service providers, IT providers and government bodies
should prioritize real-time-parking-related investments because of their high potential to reduce
congestion, decrease fuel consumption and increase local merchant business. In addition to the
technological challenges, companies also need to realize the importance of addressing businessrelated aspects, such as the need to develop business models among multiple organizations (for
example, parking garage owner, parking application provider, navigation service provider and
automaker).
Business Impact: Real-time parking can lead to new revenue sources and optimized resource
management for cities, solution providers and end users (for example, drivers and fleet operators).
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: IBM; Libelium; MobydoM (PaNGo); Parking Panda; Parkopedia; QuickPay;
Streetline
Recommended Reading: "U.S. Consumer Vehicle ICT Study: Web-Based Features Continue to
Rise"
"German Consumer Vehicle ICT Study: Demand for In-Vehicle Technologies Continues to Evolve"
"Cool Vendors in Automotive, 2011"

Analysis By: Jacqueline Heng; Bettina Tratz-Ryan
Definition: Sustainability consulting services help organizations assess, develop, design, simulate
and execute a strategy for sustainability. These services can concentrate on an organization's
strategic outlook and the operational benefits of a sustainability program, as well as direct and
targeted services for vertical-industry segments. They include expertise in resource efficiency,
carbon management, raw materials and life cycles, as well as a full range of customized managed
services and outsourcing capabilities.
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Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Sustainability consulting services' holistic

ecostructure integrates services that focus on sustainable enterprise performance, sustainable
operations and vertical sustainability. Energy prices are rising, supplies of resources especially
electricity, water and raw materials are increasingly unstable, and governments are tightening
environmental and climate regulation. So organizations have to assess the risk associated with
operational and strategic sustainability.
Consulting firms should focus on:
Enhancing sustainability reporting and measurement structures. This is becoming a nonfinancial

corporate benchmark, especially for investors. Companies will successfully attain a set of
sustainability goals only when they implement a top-to-bottom sustainability management
process with a set of responsibilities for process owners. The strategy also has to be
understood and executed by the entire value chain of an organization, including its suppliers
and channel partners.
Integrating sustainability into business operations. This targets the green and environmental
impact of using resources, complying with the legal requirements of stakeholders and
governments, and assessing the design of products and solutions over their full life cycle.
Localizing vertical market solutions with sustainability capabilities (in industries such as utilities,
transportation, manufacturing and agriculture). All these sectors have different local
requirements that are affected heavily by sustainability governance. Specifically, the strategic
evolution and thought leadership behind smart grids and smart cities are cornerstones for those
consulting capabilities.
Sustainability consulting services are slow to move along the Hype Cycle because they are currently
required mostly by large enterprises with risks that relate to their brand and global liability.
Industries that are under pressure from governments and stakeholders to reduce their impact on
climate change or contribute significant innovation to larger (that is, multiorganization) projects are
also signing contracts for sustainability consulting services. Overall, sustainability consulting
services are slowly increasing toward the Peak of Inflated Expectations.
User Advice: By using these services, organizations can assess the business issues around
operational and strategic sustainability. The increase in sustainability business issues is a result of
more government pressure and tightening environmental and climate regulations.
We recommend the following:
A serious commitment from the senior leadership team (including members of the board) to
create an internal sustainability education program and to agree on the principles and desired
outcomes for the organization
A program leader inside the organization who not only has the political clout, relationships and
ability to complete a task that will likely be complex and contentious, but also can make
sustainability a priority for technology spending
A service provider with a deep understanding of how to take a comprehensive and strategic
approach to sustainability
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A service provider with an excellent understanding of the client organization and a relationship
with it
A service provider that is itself experiencing sustainability development as a proof of concept

and which can share best practices, especially in defining the cost of environmental compliance
A service provider with a holistic and integrated sustainability framework that includes core
internal business functions rather than just business process improvement
A cultural fit between client and service provider
Business Impact: Sustainability consulting services are driven by government mandates and
regulatory compliance. The most recent mandates are those aimed directly at implementing carbon
taxes, reducing emissions and similar initiatives. Examples include the enforcement of carbon
taxation in Australia and the enhancement of sustainability programs by Indian enterprises to meet
carbon reporting requirements. Even governments comply with the requirements of global
environmental bodies to reduce carbon outtake or manage agriculture and reforestation.
Benefit Rating: Moderate
Market Penetration: Less than 1% of target audience
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Accenture; Capgemini; Deloitte; Ernst & Young; HCL Technologies; HP; IBM;
PwC; Tata Consultancy Services
Recommended Reading: "Competitive Landscape: Sustainability Consulting Services in Asia/
Pacific, 2012"
"Emerging Service Analysis: Sustainability Consulting Services"
Augmented Reality Applications

Analysis By: Miriam Burt
Definition: Augmented reality (AR) overlays real-time integration of text, graphics, audio and other
virtual enhancements onto screens displaying real-world objects. Elements of AR applications are
becoming social, and are increasingly centered on context-aware location-based services for
mobile devices.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: There is continued interest in and gradual maturity of
AR applications for the retail market. Hype around these applications has been driven by the
exponential growth of the smartphone market, the proliferation of quick response codes (QR codes)
and RFID tags, and the increased hype from technology vendors highlighting advancements in
areas such as GPS, digital camera technology and real-time analytics. AR is also showing a
convergence with the trend of gamification the use of game mechanics in nonentertainment
environments to change user behavior and drive engagement.
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The main usage scenarios for AR applications include geolocation-based services such as
discovering things in the vicinity of the user or showing a user where to go or what to do, as well as
providing additional information about an object of interest. In retail, this translates to customers
finding locations or products with maps and real-time directions, accessing detailed product
information, contextualizing products and receiving personalized promotions.
The initial hype around mobile AR focused on GPS and related services. More recently, there have
been developments in this direction, including more comprehensive geolocation applications as well
as richer and more graphic-intensive applications. However, in the past 12 months, functionality has
expanded beyond location-based capabilities toward computer-vision-based (such as image and
objection recognition) to deliver the ability to visually identify still and moving objects in the
environment's AR. There has also been a lot of hype in the past 12 months around "Google Glass,"
a wearable computer leveraging augmented reality technology. However, this particular Google
offering is already facing adoption challenges due to consumers' privacy concerns (for example,
Google Glass wearers surreptitiously taking pictures or filming someone without their knowledge).
Tier 1 retailers continue to experiment with AR applications in-store, online and on mobile devices,
and this technology continues to climb steadily up the Hype Cycle. Examples of implementations
include enabling customers to virtually try on clothing online or in a "virtual dressing room" in the
store, seeing how furniture items look in their home or room, seeing what unconstructed models of
objects look like in 3D and allowing customers to interact with animated characters. On the
business side, some companies, such as Lego, have leveraged AR to promote global collaboration
by allowing employees to see newly created pieces and buildings. The company claims to have
achieved higher efficiency with its AR-enabled product development software.
With the growth of AR applications for mobile devices, we expect to see more hype and activity in
the retail market in the next 12 months. It is therefore reasonable to expect a few Tier 1 trials and
implementations in the coming 12 months.
User Advice: Retailers should not be dazzled by the current hype surrounding AR applications for
mobile devices, because it will be a while before technology will deliver the refinements needed for
a good customer experience. Moreover, consumers' privacy concerns regarding wearable
computers such as Google Glass should not be overlooked.
AR is very process-intensive and demanding, even for high-end smartphones, and this could affect
the customer experience. Small screens, imprecise GPS locations and inconsistent data mean that
the AR user experience does not always live up to the concept. First and foremost, AR applications
should be reviewed in the light of how they will support customer expectations and enhance the
shopping experience in more-immersive channels such as the store or when shopping at home
by accessing the retailer's website on a PC or laptop.
Due diligence should be performed on what integration is needed at the back end, including
fulfillment processes (for example, integration of the real-time offer engines to robust cross-channel
content management systems). This will be the backbone for AR applications to deliver a good
cross-channel experience. For example, an AR application could allow online home shoppers with
webcams to place items of digital clothing over their own image, giving an experience close to an
in-store fitting room. The shoppers can then check stock availability and either order online or come
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into the store to purchase the item. Retailers must, therefore, ensure that the AR solution is
integrated with cross-channel stock management systems to ensure that items tried on are in stock,
particularly in-store, as on-shelf stock availability is a key basic that customers expect when
shopping in store.
Retailers should also remember to tie up their promotions driven by AR experiences to the other
channels, because customers also expect retailers to deliver a consistent cross-channel shopping
experience. Retailers have a better chance of making a successful business case for AR
applications and services if they can show that it is part of the overall cross-channel shopping
process, instead of using AR as a means to itself. For example, retailers could consider using AR
applications and services in the context of the convergence of mobile and social in the crosschannel shopping experience.
Business Impact: In more-immersive environments, such as the store, interaction with AR
applications could drive conversion from interest to actual sales. For example, AR applications instore could be used to give the customer detailed information when purchasing complex products,
or customers can get information when trying on apparel in a virtual dressing room, which could
enhance the customer experience and drive sales. AR applications can also be used post-sale (for
example, easily downloadable AR manuals for do-it-yourself projects) to increase customer
satisfaction, improve loyalty and encourage positive customer recommendations to other
consumers who have yet to make their purchasing decisions.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: GoldRun; Iryss; Layar; Metaio; Total Immersion; Zugara
Recommended Reading: "Survey Analysis: Multichannel Retailing Drives Revenue to Stores From
E-Commerce, Mobile and Social Shopping"
"An Overview of the Strategic Technology Map for Tier 1 Multichannel Retailers"

Analysis By: Federica Troni; Meike Escherich
Definition: The term agile workplace solutions describes a collection of collaborative and
consumerized work environments and technologies that, combined with new working practices,
enable employees to connect to their center of work from any location at any time with a variety of
endpoint devices. Agile workplace defines a more flexible work environment that considers adaptive
employee work styles and practices.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Gartner believes that the opportunities for agile
workplaces grow fastest in urban areas. Due to the concentration of labor and workforces in urban
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regions and cities, alongside with the innovation pool, strategies such as agile workplace enable
organizations to tap into the best talent pool without the restriction of physical presence in a
centralized office environment. Agile workplace supports citizen-focused social inclusion criteria for
the workforce, including for people with disabilities, working parents and senior citizens, for users to
work from the most suitable and appropriate location. Agile workers have secure access to all the
relevant sets of applications, data and services using a variety of devices regardless of their
ownership. This includes working from different office locations, at client sites, at home, while
traveling, nationally or internationally. Agile workplace initiatives include telework and work from
home programs, but are not limited to those, as they are aimed at enabling users to work and
access their workspace from any location, including the traditional office. Users are enabled to take
advantage of whichever connectivity and device options fit their needs best. Technology solutions
are one of the pillars for agile working but other key elements of it include the design of the working
space to reflect new working styles, new working practices and culture, and a focus on the legal
and HR ramifications.
Selective solutions and applications for agile working such as collaboration tools, teleconferencing
or instant messaging have been available for at least 10 years. However, the integration of
consumerized applications, social media and crowdsourcing accelerates the ability to distribute the
work environment to include home offices, coffee shops and mobile hot desks. Today, agile
workplace tools include new mobile devices (smartphones, tablets and hybrids, which through the
use of touch and instant-on enable new usage styles), new technologies to wrap applications and
data (desktop virtualization, containerization), new application and services delivery mechanisms
(SaaS, cloud-based collaboration, file sharing) and, most importantly, the availability of network
connectivity at sufficient bandwidth and quality of service to support work requirements. Many of
the technologies described have passed the Peak of Inflated Expectations, but a comprehensive
approach to workspace enablement (i.e., encompassing in-office, out of the office and working from
home as variations on a single theme getting workers to be productive anywhere) is still very new
and immature, hence the positioning as pre-peak on the curve.
User Advice: Agile workplace is a mid- to long-term objective that impacts a number of areas
(technology, use of space, working style and more). Agile workplace solutions deliver the workplace
to users regardless of the users' location, the network and the devices they use. It is enabling more
effective work styles, and also fulfilling environmental sustainability criteria for urban smart cities,
especially on air quality in relation to commuting times, fuel consumptions and greenhouse gas
emissions, as well as resource consumption. A new range of technologies and solutions has
become available to facilitate collaboration and grant secure access to the right data in the right
context. Agile workplace initiatives involve reviewing strategic plans and prioritizing investment for a
number of tools and technologies, including but not limited to the following examples:
Review application life cycle and prioritize investments in platform agnostic applications.
Evaluate technologies that isolate the corporate workplace and make it portable across a wide
variety of platforms. Examples include containerization technologies, hosted virtual desktops,
client-side virtualization and server-based computing.
Review your investment in management infrastructure and consider tools that enable the
management of a diverse environment, possibly in a context-aware manner. Examples include
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workspace aggregators, mobile applications and mobile device management tools, and client
management tools. Give privilege to tools that will enable your organization to shift from
managing hardware to simply manage the corporate workspace.
Make your network the primary control point by considering technologies such as network
access controls, scan and block, segmented networks and dynamic access controls according
to the level of trust of both user and device.
Adopt cloud office systems, collaboration and file-sharing tools that support adequately this
strategy.
Business Impact: Agile workplace initiatives have different drivers, some of which are strictly
related to classic enterprise objectives, while others can be viewed more as urban community or
social and demographic objectives in conjunction with work-life balance and the different work
perception of millenials. Organizations are looking at agile workplace initiatives when they
reorganize office space to design more agile and efficient work environments, where virtual teams
can get together and dissolve and recombine as required. This can be of particular interest for
organizations operating across multiple geographies and time zones. Organizations are also looking
at agile workplace initiatives to use real estate more efficiently and reduce the carbon footprint of
office environments. Others are purely looking at agile workplace to reduce the cost of traditional
offices. Others still are seeing agile workplace initiatives in the wider context of policies aimed at
increasing social inclusion, and to help facilitate women's participation in the workforce. New ways
of facilitating agile working are to support shared infrastructure for remote office and working, ride
sharing, corporate pooling for using vehicles, devices and technology infrastructure. For
organizations that capture the overall environmental sustainability footprint, the opportunity for an
agile workspace in their work culture and the cost of doing business is not only to measure
productivity and efficiency of work in relation to outcome/revenue, but also the necessary carbon or
resource intensity that was invested or saved by applying a different work environment.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Centrix Software; Cisco; Citrix; Framehawk; Google; Microsoft; VMware
Intelligent Lamppost
Analysis By: Dean Freeman
Definition: An intelligent streetlamp system is a network of streetlamps that is tied together in a
WAN that can be controlled and monitored from a central point, by the city or a third party. The
ultimate intelligent system would be made of solid-state electronics and include citywide Wi-Fi,
localized cellular towers, traffic monitors, air pollution sensing, local weather stations, gunshot and
blast detection, and closed-circuit television, which are all monitored via a WAN with a central
collection point or via the cloud.
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Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Light-emitting diode (LED) streetlighting is beginning
to emerge, using a mobile-communications WAN or Wi-Fi mesh network to communicate between
the centralized monitoring station and the lamppost. Wi-Fi is the likely communications source, as
pulling communications cable would add expenses that would be difficult to recover over the life of
the project. Expanding the business model to third parties, such as mobile operators and city
administrations, will enable lampposts to be connected using mobile access, such as Wi-Fi, farnear communications and 4G picocells and macrocells to deliver broadband data to communities
and subscribers. In the future, intelligent streetlamps can be remotely managed and monitored by a
centralized management system with direct communication to the lamppost, reducing maintenance
and operations costs, which in many cases will pay for the intelligent streetlamp within three to five
years. Business models and applications will need to be developed before some of the intelligent
lampposts will penetrate entire cities and communities. The scale of deployment is highly
dependent on those models. The business model has to take vandalism and theft into consideration
if the lamppost contains advanced technology.
User Advice: Municipalities should explore the many possibilities of intelligent streetlamps for
monitoring the different functions and security in the city. Cities should also determine a rollout plan
to determine what functions are best-suited for the different locations. Vendors should explore
business models for the many applications to determine what the cost-benefit assessment will be
for users. Consider public/private partnerships in order to leverage the costs for applications and
business engagements.
Business Impact: Initially there will be opportunity for streetlamp manufacturers and wireless
vendors. Future opportunities will emerge as cities see the potential power of the remote-monitoring
capability of the streetlamps. Lampposts can be used for security video applications, traffic
monitoring and environmental readings, such as pollution, carbon dioxide and air quality. Cities or
third parties could potentially sell data to interested parties as a method of recovering costs. In early
adoption, the bulk of the cost will be the LED lighting; it will drop as LED and packaging costs
continue to decline.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Acuity; Echelon
Recommended Reading: "Emerging Technology Analysis: Intelligent Lampposts"
Sustainable Performance Management

Analysis By: Stephen Stokes; Simon Mingay
Definition: Sustainable performance management (SPM) contrasts with corporate social
responsibility (CSR) reporting in that it is an internally facing mode of sustainable performance
reporting, analysis, optimization and communication. It typically provides roll-up reporting, analysis
and business intelligence designed to enhance performance and increase organizational efficiency
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in areas such as energy, carbon, waste, water and recycling. It is used as a basis for internal
management of sustainability projects and strategies.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: SPM has only recently emerged as an independent
aspect of sustainability beyond traditional CSR. Given that the marketplace has shifted perceptions
of sustainability away from compliance reporting and increasingly toward sustainability strategies as
a basis for long-term operational improvement, we expect SPM strategies and associated business
tools to emerge relatively rapidly. An additional driver for rapid uptake of the technology relates to
the fact that SPM provides a robust platform for the collation and export of data for CSR reporting.
Enterprise stakeholders, including customers and supply chain partners, increasingly expect CSR
reporting, and many organizations recognize it as a significant resource burden. Pressure from
these stakeholders is further fueling adoption speed.
User Advice: Gartner believes that SPM is a clear hallmark of a smart enterprise, in view of the
competitive advantage that it derives. Our research reveals that real advantage is being obtained in
this way.
SPM typically provides roll-up reporting, analysis and business intelligence designed to enhance
performance and increase organizational efficiency. The majority of SPM currently focuses on a
multiparameter analysis of enterprise environmental sustainability (incorporating aspects of carbon
emissions, energy and water consumption, liquid and solid waste, recycling rates, and other
factors). More-evolved approaches incorporate social and economic factors relating to an
organization's sustainable performance.
Ideally, SPM can not only provide an assessment of operational and strategic sustainability
initiatives, but also provide insights into the financial analysis of such activities. Indeed, SPM can,
therefore, act as a "green" or "sustainable" lens to spot business enhancement opportunities.
During the more than 30 years that corporations have been reporting aspects of their environmental,
social and sustainable performance, by far, the majority of activity has focused on CSR reporting.
CSR reporting has evolved as an important externally facing communication vehicle by which
corporations can voluntarily disclose social and sustainable performance. In doing so, they enhance
brand and reputational values and, in some cases, demonstrate sector or market leadership. More
recently, SPM has emerged as a partially related, internally facing mode of sustainable performance
reporting and communication. It is designed to populate aspects of externally facing CSR reports
and to be used as a basis for internal management of sustainability projects and strategies, which
provides organizationwide visibility of performance and actions.
Unlike most CSR reports, SPM focuses on the operational performance of an organization.
Maximizing the business value associated with sustainability both internally and externally is
critically dependent on access to high-fidelity, high-cadence, sustainability-related data. Managing
that data is a significant organizational burden. If you have experimented with the manual collation
of sustainability-related data, or with generic carbon-reporting tools, consider embracing SPM as an
opportunity to develop a more holistic view of sustainability across your organization. Costs
associated with investment in SPM technologies are likely to be rapidly outweighed by efficiencies
in sustainable information management. But a sound SPM platform, likewise, prepares your
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organization for potential introductions of future voluntary or mandatory reporting requirements for
regulators, investor groups or other stakeholders.
Unlike the typically annual cadence of CSR reporting, expect SPM to increasingly be executed at
considerably higher frequencies. Performance optimization is very much a "living in the now
experience," allowing hidden problems to be identified and resolved much more quickly.
Business Impact: SPM delivers direct benefits relating to increased efficiencies, improved resource
utilization, improved brand image, and indirect benefits relating to ease and quality of external
reporting functions. SPM can additionally foster innovation, and contribute to both risk management
and brand protection/enhancement strategies.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: CA Technologies; CloudApps; Enablon; SAP; SAS
Recommended Reading: "Sustainable Business Systems, Part 3: Differentiating Sustainable
Solutions by Functional Domain"
"Achieving Competitive Advantage Through the Pursuit of Sustainable Business"
"Building Sustainable Supply Chains"
At the Peak
Definition: The electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is a component of the overall system
that supplies electric energy for the recharging of EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
Although several different means of providing vehicles with charged batteries exist (such as battery
switch stations or the emerging wireless vehicle charging models), this Hype Cycle entry refers to a
wired charging infrastructure as opposed to the wireless EV charging infrastructure that is covered
in a separate entry.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Although most rechargeable EVs and equipment can
be recharged from a domestic wall socket, there is a growing need for widely distributed, publicly
accessible power points, some of which support faster charging at higher voltages and currents
than are available from domestic supplies. Many charging stations are on-street facilities provided
by electric utility companies. Some of these special charging stations provide one, or a range of,
heavy-duty or special connectors.
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Charging stations for EVs may not need much new infrastructure buildup in developed countries,
except for delivering a new alternative fuel over a new network. The stations can leverage the
existing ubiquitous electrical grid, and home recharging is an option. For example, polls have shown
that more than half of homeowners in the U.S. have access to a plug to charge their cars. Also,
most driving is local over short distances, which reduces the need for charging midtrip. In the U.S.,
for example, 78% of commutes are less than 40 miles (64 km) round trip. Nevertheless, longer
drives between cities and towns require a network of public charging stations, or another method to
extend the range of EVs beyond the normal daily commute. One challenge in such an infrastructure
is the level of demand: An isolated station along a busy highway may see hundreds of customers
per hour if every passing EV has to stop there to complete the trip. In the first half of the 20th
century, internal combustion vehicles faced a similar infrastructure problem.
A relatively inexpensive charging station providing 3.3 kilowatts (kW) of power (240 volts [V] at 14
amps [A]) will take several hours to fully recharge an EV. For example, the Nissan Leaf, with its 24
kilowatt-hour battery pack, takes approximately eight hours to recharge. However, most users will
charge every day, so they will rarely need to fully recharge their battery. So, 3.3 kW charging is more
than enough for parking at home or work, but not for "refueling" in the middle of a trip.
Subject to the power handling of the car's charging electronics and battery chemistry, higher-power
charging stations reduce charging time significantly. The SAE J1772-2009 connector can supply
16.8 kW (240V, 70A); the VDE-AR-E 2623 connector in Europe provides up to 43.5 kW (400V, 63A,
three-phase); the J1773 (Magne Charge) inductive paddle can provide 50 kW nickel metal hydride
(NiMH) batteries to 80% in 12 minutes; and CHAdeMO DC Fast Charge (formerly referred to as
Level 3) charging stations can supply 62.5 kW (500V direct current, 125A). The latter reduces the
time to recharge the Nissan Leaf to 80% of capacity to about 30 minutes.
Fast charging requires an industrial-type electric service (that is, voltage greater than 120V
alternating current, and maximum current capacity greater than 15A the values found at a typical
U.S. residential wall outlet). A fast charge "service station" designed to simultaneously fast-charge
multiple vehicles in the way current gasoline or diesel stations simultaneously refuel multiple
vehicles might require a peak-power service on the order of several megawatts.
During the last 12 months, public and private e-mobility efforts have accelerated the development
of EV charging infrastructures. But overall, deployment is still slow, albeit in line with sluggish
consumer demand for EVs.
User Advice: Recharging a large battery pack presents a high load on the electrical grid, but this
can be scheduled for periods of reduced load or reduced electricity costs. To schedule the
recharging, either the charging station or the vehicle can communicate with the utility via the smart
grid communications backbone. Some plug-in vehicles allow the vehicle operator to control
recharging through a Web interface or smartphone app. Furthermore, in a vehicle-to-grid scenario,
the vehicle battery can supply energy to the grid at periods of peak demand. This requires
additional communication between the grid, charging station and vehicle electronics. SAE
International is developing a range of standards for energy transfer to and from the grid, including
SAE J2847/1 ("Communication Between Plug-in Vehicles and the Utility Grid").
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Business Impact: Depending on the role that a utility company wants to have in electrification of
transportation, the business impact can be minimal (in the case that charging infrastructure is
owned and operated by a third party, such as Better Place, or if a utility company wants to manage
and operate its own EV charging infrastructure). If the utility company wants to play an active role,
the major area of impact will be delivery (charging infrastructure life cycle management) and retail
(customer service, metering and billing).
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Better Place; ChargePoint; ECOtality; Elektromotive; GE; Siemens
Recommended Reading: "Gartner Study: Strategic Market Considerations for Electric Vehicle and
E-Mobility Adoption in Germany"
"Gartner Study: Strategic Market Considerations for Electric Vehicle Adoption in the U.S."

Analysis By: Angela McIntyre
Definition: Smart appliances have the ability to connect to a network, either through a home
network, such as Wi-Fi, through a cellular connection, or through a purpose-built energy
management network. Smart appliances also respond to control signals received through the
network, either directly from the user in the form of remote commands, or based on programmed
user preferences in response to pricing (or demand response) signals from the utility. An example
would be washing machines that are controlled remotely by the owner via a smartphone app.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Consumer adoption of smart appliances will occur
initially because of convenience features to control them remotely, and only a small percentage of
consumers are likely to pay for this convenience. Appliance manufacturers are taking a cautious
approach to making smart appliances available for purchase. GE, LG, Samsung and others have a
few smart appliance models on the market. They recognize that until utilities offer variable rate
electricity pricing, consumers will not be able to recoup the premium paid for smart appliances.
Smart appliances will remain niche until appliance manufacturers deliver features consumers value
for lifestyle and convenience or utilities implement variable rate pricing for electricity, which would
enable consumers to save on their electric bill using smart appliances. Utilities are piloting smart
grid solutions in a handful of pilot programs globally. Leading appliance manufacturers are
participating in these programs to document the benefits of smart appliances for the household.
Smart appliances are being made available first to builders and to consumers through a small
number of retailers.
User Advice: Appliance manufacturers should engage in market research to learn about how smart
appliances would be used in the home. Use Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity for data communication
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and control, and the Android OS. Lead with messages about the convenience and lifestyle that
Internet-connected appliances can bring, especially for remote control of the device, remote
diagnostics and maintenance.
Appliance manufacturers should encourage software developers to deliver applications that enable
consumers to remotely control appliances from their mobile devices (smartphones, tablets and PCs)
and to monitor home energy use. Partner with software and service providers for home energy
management solutions in which data about electricity used by the appliances can be stored on a
PC, a dedicated storage device, or in the cloud. At first, consumers' adoption of smart appliances
will be driven by their ability to control appliances remotely on whatever mobile device is most
convenient. Make sure additional lifestyle features create value for consumers without creating new
tasks and fees, for example, a fridge needs its own data plan and content service, or consumers
have to type lists of food.
Utilities should work with state and federal efficiency standards bodies to move toward smart
appliance standards. Additional pilot projects and joint research will speed along this important
technology. Smart appliance pilots are frequently linked to automated metering infrastructure
deployment and dynamic pricing market tests. They extend the advanced metering infrastructure
(AMI) communication link into customer premises to provide pricing information or control signals
through a home area network (HAN) using technology, such as Wi-Fi or ZigBee.
Business Impact: Appliance manufacturers and their suppliers can benefit from offering smart
appliances in the following ways:
Closer connection to the consumer, including data about appliance duty cycles and remote
repair diagnostics.
Uplift in price per unit Smart appliances provide convenience and energy management for
which consumers may pay more before these features are commoditized.
Competitive differentiation with smart features.
Potential to partner with utilities for distribution smart appliances.
Because of the long lifetimes of home appliances, which often last 10 years or more, replacing the
installed base of older appliances with new ones that can communicate with smart meters will take
time. In five years, 10% to 20% of home appliances will be able to communicate with smart meters.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: GE; Haier; LG Electronics; Samsung; Whirlpool
Recommended Reading: "Predicts 2013: Smart City Business and Service Models Need to Keep
Citizen Value in Mind"
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"Market Trends: Consumer Services in a Smart Home"

"Competitive Landscape: Smart Appliances, Worldwide"
"Forecast: White Goods Energy Consumption, Worldwide, 2010-2015"

Analysis By: Mark A. Beyer; Frank Buytendijk
Definition: Information semantic styles are the agreements for how to govern the interdependence
between application flows and repositories. Information semantic services convert that agreement
from embedded code to callable services, which include taxonomic and ontological recognition of
how a business process uses the data.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Most applications begin with a dedicated style of
semantic in which a single application joins with a single repository to manage and enforce
information governance. Changing to more advanced styles will necessarily take time to complete.
Over time, categories of information semantic services will be deployed to support six different
styles: dedicated, registry, consolidation, external, auditing and orchestration (see "Information
Management in the 21st Century Is About All Kinds of Semantics").
Importantly, while the other styles are more advanced, there will remain significant and appropriate
demand for dedicated semantics. Information semantics are part of the larger information
capabilities framework (see "The Information Capabilities Framework: An Aligned Vision for
Information Infrastructure").
Early adoption of registry style semantics is found in analytics and data service buses. A more
advanced style is orchestration, which will utilize the other five styles as "children" or components
of a reconfigurable composite service. That said, master data management (MDM) is possibly one
of the early strategies that utilizes orchestration to blend the other five styles together. Gartner
clients have begun to report the use of such component services with very good initial results and
this has accelerated interest and brought information services to the Peak of Inflated Expectations.
However, some analytics solutions and MDM programs have begun to encounter resistance to
wider application precisely because they are the most demanding application of using all six
semantic styles if they reach full maturity. Architects and developers simply cannot accomplish the
full services approach easily avoidance is becoming a tolerated practice. This will create
significantly brittle systems and limit flexibility in the information architecture.
Adoption of semantic services is driven by the increased acceptance of standards such as
Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Web Ontology Language (OWL) and the adoption of
semantic technologies in areas such as social media, search, business process management,
analytics, security, content management and information management. In addition, the introduction
of semantic interpreters will encourage extensibility to include big data.
Significant barriers to these more complex and flexible styles include legacy applications, issues
with information abstraction (such as ontology and taxonomy resolution) and a reluctance by
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organizations to adopt formal business process modeling (to demonstrate reusable application
flows). Importantly, we emphasize more business benefits this year as a fresh perspective on the
technology, which requires a "demystification" of this largely metadata function.
User Advice: Organizations should not try to implement sweeping replacements of legacy systems
with loosely coupled, independent services in their information management architectures. Rather,
they should create a targeted approach to experiment with each of the six semantic styles and
combinations of them.
For now, continue to build the data service layer with an orientation toward the file management,
structured and unstructured repositories and message queues. The proper abstraction of
information assets and the appropriate management of metadata will enable a more flexible future
architecture. This particular style of interfacing between information assets collected by a wide
variety of systems will be particularly useful in cloud computing for analytics and data integration.
Pursue a more formal business process design and documentation standard in the organization to
promote the identification of shared application processing flows. When business processes cross,
their information and information processing flows also cross one another. The advice here refers to
reviewing and modeling business process flows and not enterprise data objects.
Evaluate application development platforms, data management and integration business
applications for their ability to share metadata, call external services, the commonality of the
developer's interface and their capabilities for specifying business logic through explicit models
instead of code. Interoperability of development tools should be a highly-rated selection criteria.
Business Impact: The ability to model processes by the business and have tool-based change
detection processes in place to inform IT will decrease the time to delivery for new information
processing demands. Similarly, by placing process modeling at the center, the true owner of
information assets (the process, not people, applications or databases) begins to push
requirements simultaneously to the information design and the application design. The result is that
the influence of individual managers in the business will be more easily identified as solid business
process or personal agendas, which may at times be contrary to the business.
Shared application flows also means shared ontology is equally important, including identifying
when assumed ontological sharing is incorrect. This will force the business to identify when its
processes are attempting to share data, which actually hinders the various processes from
collecting new data points when needed.
This architectural approach and its incumbent design demands help businesses identify gaps in
their knowledge regarding business processes and inappropriate linking, so that the design of
information assets becomes a business process clarification exercise.
While the overall benefits of utilizing these types of service is very high and probably
transformational, as a practice, there is a significantly high probability that this will become
embedded in other technologies.
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Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Ontology Works; Software AG
Recommended Reading: "Information Management in the 21st Century Is About All Kinds of
Semantics"
"The Nexus of Forces Is Driving the Adoption of Semantic Technologies, but What Does That
Mean?"
"Stop the Madness of Ad Hoc Information Infrastructure"
"Toolkit: Improve Architectural Decisions with Business-Driven Information Infrastructure"
LBSs in Automotive
Definition: Location-based services (LBSs) use information about the location of vehicles and
users' mobile devices by using GPS technology and/or cellular/Wi-Fi triangulation. Examples are
vehicle tracking, dynamic traffic services and local searches. LBSs are offered by telematics service
providers (TSPs), automakers, portable navigation device (PND) manufacturers, consumer
electronics companies, mobile network carriers and application developers. LBSs use the location
and potentially other contextual information to create relevant value propositions.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Although non-routing-centric LBS solutions are a
mature technology and application area in the mobile handset space, they continue to represent a
relatively new area within the automotive and navigation industries, where companies are continuing
to learn about the potential of services that go beyond traditional navigation and emergency
functionality (such as location-centric search and mobile commerce). The prospect of realizing new
revenue opportunities and engaging consumers on a daily basis is generating significant interest
among automakers, suppliers, service providers and application developers. Companies' recent
efforts to offer application stores in automobiles and location-aware and relevant services will lead
to new offerings.
However, the recent hype regarding check-in services or mobile coupon applications, consumer
privacy concerns and unproven business models are reminders that the most successful LBS
application focus for the automotive industry remains on mapping, routing and innovative navigation
solutions. Social location and place-relevant information represent promising innovation areas for
the automotive industry regarding LBSs (for example, having a navigation system with built-in
functionality to find charging stations and reserve them to recharge an electric vehicle). During the
next two years, the automotive industry will likely be impacted by the hype surrounding LBS
applications, which potentially will lead to overinflated expectations regarding the value of LBS
initiatives.
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User Advice: Establish partnerships with device manufacturers, service providers, developers and
content providers to create unique LBS offerings that are specifically designed for drivers and
passengers. Try to avoid duplicating functionality that users can already access on their portable
devices, and instead, focus on unique applications and value propositions that are focused on
users' driving, ownership or mobility needs. Partner with experienced companies in the LBS field,
such as developers, content providers and/or network carriers. Balance the hype with real value for
your end users. Don't let the often unjustified market hype for mobile-phone-based LBS
applications confuse your priorities. Avoid privacy issues by closely following legislative decisions
and user sentiment. Carefully balance potential data insights regarding customer behavior (for
example, usage data) with potential privacy challenges.
Business Impact: The automotive and navigation industries can leverage LBSs to create new
customer value to complement the driving experience, justify ongoing subscription costs for
broader connected-vehicle services via periodically updated content and/or benefit from potential
advertising revenue. Additionally, LBSs can help to address transportation and traffic challenges in
the future by collecting driving- or vehicle-related information, aggregating it and sharing it with a
broader user audience (for example, BMW's customers can collect traffic information that is shared
with other BMW customers).
The evolution from the connected car to the connected driver and, ultimately, to the connected
customer can create new value propositions that cover the entire product and customer life cycle.
New personal mobility solutions, in particular, can benefit from LBS-enabled offerings by simplifying
customers' transportation decisions (for example, by offering public transportation options once
customers arrive with their vehicles at a specific place).
Maturity: Early mainstream
Sample Vendors: Google; Microsoft; Navteq; Nokia; TeleNav; Vodafone
Recommended Reading: "Predicts 2013: Mobile, Cloud and Information Fuel the Automotive Era
of Smart Mobility"
"U.S. Consumer Vehicle ICT Study: Web-Based Features Continue to Rise"
Analysis By: Geoff Johnson
Definition: Networking IT and operational technologies (OT) refers to the practice of facilitating wide
use of TCP/IP (Internet Protocol) networking in both IT and OT domains to bring OT into IT
environments and allow OT to benefit from developments in IT networking. OT is being integrated
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into IT environments to improve the agility of businesses by using familiar IT networking

technologies (particularly TCP/IP or IP networking). It includes the OT use of related networking
domains, such as the Internet of Things and machine-to machine networking.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: For good reasons, OT has existed alone, using its
own technologies and infrastructure: It had to meet mission-critical demands and be highly
available, resilient and reliable. Enterprises in many industries, including utilities, energy, media,
transport and government, have concluded there is increasing value in internetworking OT into IT. IT
and OT network managers face issues about various approaches to IT and OT interworking, where
the OT is stand-alone, converged or integrated. The business logic driving the fractured, uneven,
but general trend toward IT/OT integration relying on networking is based on innovating to improve
agility and competitive ability, especially as OT suppliers move toward increasing use of IP
networking and common use of microprocessors and Web browsers to monitor and control devices
and assets. OT occurs in some form in all asset-intensive industries, and it is dominant in industries
like electricity and energy utilities, process control or manufacturing, transport and municipal
operations, where OT is more likely to be based on distributed control systems (DCSs), and
supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA).
Integration of SCADA or DCS real-time data into enterprise business processes and reporting is a
common driver for considering IT/OT integration. There are clear generations of SCADA
development. Originally, monolithic SCADA was not networked and stood alone. A second
generation carried distributed SCADA in real time on LANs, and a third generation networked
SCADA using open standards and protocols across a WAN. An emerging fourth generation is
occurring as converged SCADA, DCS, or output from data historians or process controllers is
expected to work with IT to create corporate performance dashboards, feed business analytics, and
support real-time optimization and business reporting (operations intelligence). In the future, expect
a fifth-generation SCADA environment to be delivered as hosted software as a service via Web
portals, virtual private networks, firewalls and Secure Sockets Layer, just as networked IT
applications are today. An example is the IEC 61850 standard that uses Web browsers to displace
electromechanical and programmable logic controller equipment in the operation of electricity
substations.
This transition will not occur easily because industries using substantial OT have heavy charter,
regulatory, compliance and business responsibilities for delivering their services on a very large
scale, and they will not accept any diminution of their extremely high-reliability responsibilities or
introduction of cybersecurity risks that they have avoided by stringent engineering (OT) control for
decades.
User Advice: A mature future state of either converged or tightly integrated IT and OT networking is
years away in many OT-intensive industries (such as manufacturing and utilities).
IT and OT leaders must ensure that OT networking always meets its fundamental role requirements
of being able to join up, control and share OT's "data streams" to survive disruptions; alarm, restore
and support OT via connectivity; add coherence to operations; and feed OT process supervisory
systems.
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IT and OT communications will effectively converge if the technical characteristics of IT and OT

networking in a particular industry, such as the availability of standards and network infrastructure,
aid their coalescence, and as enterprise performance increasingly demands accurate, coherent and
timely information through supervisory systems, dashboards or management summary reports. The
IT organization's performance must be exemplary and trusted before CIOs will be allowed to take
on any business-critical IT and OT management or networking. OT managers need to team with
their IT networking counterparts under a scheme of IT and OT governance, driven by policies and
with a joint work plan.
Securing communications in each IT and OT domain is a major issue in any organization. Securing
their joint operation multiplies the complexity and risk. Appraise the OT infrastructure and security
practices in place, and then jointly evaluate IT/OT options, with security as the driving focus. Base
any OT integration with IT on holistic security applied across both domains as well as the whole
enterprise. In some industries, IT and OT networking may remain isolated entirely for security
reasons.
Networking tools for IT and OT are dissimilar, with some commonalities. Test whether existing
operations management and network management systems can be shared, loosely coupled,
layered or consolidated. Evaluate the prospects for your enterprise's specialized OT to use
commoditized IT. Leverage IP for consistent IT/OT networking.
Future IT/OT networks will be based on the following network attributes: high-bandwidth fiber
infrastructure (often carrying video); low latency; browser applications; complete geographic
coverage; context awareness; leveraging OT protocols carried in TCP/IP; signaling with Session
Initiation Protocol; using presence to indicate the status of people and resources in unified
communications and collaboration, and communications-enabled business processes; and feeding
real-time agile corporate IT systems.
Business Impact: Each enterprise needs to prepare its own comprehensive understanding of all
the related applications, systems, and industrial and business processes to be carried by a potential
converged IT and OT network. Effective IT and OT interworking is a necessary precursor to
obtaining any transformational effects in combining IT and OT systems and operations. The trend is
for OT to increasingly use IT-derived technologies and become integrated with IT environments,
although OT investment cycles are an order of magnitude longer than those for IT.
Expect organizational friction as the previously separate IT and OT domains are tasked with
cooperating with each other. Begin by respecting the inevitable IT-versus-OT politics at work. IT
and OT need to agree on a single architecture. Use Gartner's Infrastructure Maturity Model to
evaluate whether stand-alone, integrated or converged networking is appropriate for your IT and OT
architecture and deployment plans.
Any IT/OT integration needs to be driven by your industry's best practices. Know the competitive
status of IT/OT integration in your business relative to your industry peers. Target the best
infrastructure, benchmarks and practices for your purposes and your business's competitive plans.
Get IT/OT integration onto your business managers' agenda, and obtain policy decisions and
direction for its use and restrictions in supporting business transformation. Expect to use emerging
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networking services, such as application acceleration/WAN optimization, which iteratively manages

bandwidth; content delivery networks; WAN optimization controllers; application delivery
controllers; protocol manipulation; and end-to-end network performance.
Maturity: Adolescent
Sample Vendors: ABB; Alstom Grid; Cisco; Emerson Process Management; General Electric;
Honeywell; Huawei; Invensys; Omron; Rockwell Automation; Schneider Electric; Siemens;
Yokogawa Electric; ZTE
Recommended Reading: "Predicts 2013: IT and OT Alignment Has Risks and Opportunities"
"Cool Vendors in IT/OT Alignment and Integration, 2013"
"Top 10 Technology Trends Impacting the Energy and Utility Industry in 2013"
"Organizing IT and OT Networking for Future Integration"
"A Network Manager's Primer on Addressing Operational Technologies"
Internet of Things
Analysis By: Hung LeHong
Definition: The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects that contain embedded
technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external
environment.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: While the Internet of Things is getting more attention
overall, interest in the Internet of Things has grown faster than implementations. A good way to
understand adoption and maturity in the Internet of Things is to observe the various types of
enterprises and industry applications:
On the more advanced side, there are enterprises that are often in asset-intensive industries
that have long had "connected" assets (e.g., utilities, industrial). These enterprises are dealing
with the convergence of operational technology (OT) with information technology (IT) as they
modernize from proprietary and silo-based systems to more integrated and standards-based
systems.
Another advanced asset-intensive market is building and facilities management, where energy
savings and environmental benefits create a good business case for the Internet of Things.
In both the private and public sector, we also see an increase in selectively augmenting existing
assets with sensors and wireless connections to make these assets remotely manageable.
Examples include city infrastructure (e.g., street lights) and healthcare assets. As major existing
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assets come to the end of their life cycles, we expect to see the increased purchase of new
assets that come with Internet of Things capabilities "out of the box."
On the consumer side, there is a whole collection of startups that are responding to the maker
movement. See crowdfunding sites, like Kickstarter, to get a good sense of what is being
pursued. Much of the focus is on the connected home, where convenience and energy savings
are the pursued benefits. Unlike the enterprise side, consumer applications are favoring
convenience and gadget-appeal over cost savings as the main reasons for adopting the Internet
of Things.
Most enterprises are currently at the "education" stage. They are looking to see how they might
leverage the Internet of Things in their enterprise and with their customers.
On the technology side, there continues to be slow progress toward standardization. Internet of
Things wireless protocols continue to vie for dominance, but no clear leader stands out universally.
There are some exceptions. Bluetooth LE is getting strong adoption as the wireless protocol to
connect things to smartphones, tablets and computers. We expect continued standardization, but
also expect a heterogeneous and fragmented environment. As such, platforms and hubs used to
connect and manage things using different standards and protocols have gained much popularity
on the enterprise and consumer side. These platforms will become very important in complex
ecosystems such as cities and building campuses.
User Advice: Enterprises should pursue these activities to increase their capabilities with the
Internet of Things:
CIOs and enterprise architects:
Work on aligning IT with OT resources, processes and people. Success in enterprise Internet of
Things is founded in having these two areas work collaboratively.
Ensure that EA teams are ready to incorporate Internet of Things opportunities and entities at all
levels.
Look for standards in areas such as wireless protocols and data integration to make better
investments in hardware, software and middleware for the Internet of Things.
Product managers:
Consider having your major products Internet-enabled. Experiment and work out the benefits to
you and customers in having your products connected.
Start talking with your partners and seek out new partners to help your enterprise pursue
Internet of Things opportunities.
Strategic planners and innovation leads:
For, enterprises with innovation programs, experiment and look to other industries as sources
for innovative uses of the Internet of Things.
Information management:
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Increase your knowledge and capabilities with big data. The Internet of Things will produce two
challenges with information: volume and velocity. Knowing how to handle large volumes and/or
real-time data cost-effectively is a requirement for the Internet of Things.
Information security managers:
Assign one or more individuals on your security team to fully understand the magnitude of how
the Internet of Things will need to be managed and controlled. Have them work with their OT
counterparts on security.
Business Impact: The Internet of Things has very broad applications. However, most applications
are rooted in four usage scenarios. The Internet of Things will improve enterprise processes, asset
utilization, and products and services in one of, or a combination of, the following ways:
Manage Connected things can be monitored and optimized. For example, sensors on an
asset can be optimized for maximum performance or increased yield and up time.
Charge Connected things can be monetized on a pay-per-use. For example, automobiles

can be charged for insurance based on mileage.
Operate Connected things can be remotely operated, avoiding the need to go on site. For
example, field assets such as valves and actuators can be controlled remotely.
Extend Connected things can be extended with digital services such as content, upgrades
and new functionality. For example, connected healthcare equipment can receive software
upgrades that improve functionality.
These four usage models will provide benefits in the enterprise and consumer markets.
Benefit Rating: Transformational
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Atos; Axeda; Bosch; Cisco; Eurotech; GE; Honeywell; IBM; Kickstarter; LogMeIn;
Microsoft; QNX; Schneider Electric; Siemens
Recommended Reading: "Uncover Value From the Internet of Things With the Four Fundamental
Usage Scenarios"
"The Internet of Things Is Moving to the Mainstream"
"The Information of Things: Why Big Data Will Drive the Value in the Internet of Things"
"Agenda Overview for Operational Technology Alignment With IT, 2013"

Analysis By: Tina T. Tang; Bettina Tratz-Ryan
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Definition: A smart city is an urban area where multiple sectors cooperate to achieve sustainable
outcomes by analyzing contextual information exchanged among sector-specific systems. The
interaction between sector-specific (for example, utility, public sector and education) and intrasector
information flows results in transfer of more resource-efficient and sustainable lifestyles and
knowledge. Urban areas consist of a subset of clusters, such as buildings, business parks,
residential areas, entire cities or groups of cities.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: The smart city development in China is driven by the
12th Five-Year Plan for 2011 through 2015, which emphasizes the significance of sustainable urban
development to reduce carbon emissions while increasing urbanization to 51.5%. The National
Development and Reform Commission designated five provinces and eight cities as the first pilot
areas, including a pilot carbon emission trading framework that is intended to generate economic
growth while reducing carbon emissions.
The Chinese government stipulated a 40% to 45% reduction in the carbon intensity required to
generate GDP by 2020, relative to 2005, and 17% by the end of 2015. Because cities and urban
sprawl generate the most carbon emissions in China, the 12th Five-Year Plan uses specific
measures to target cities and urban regions to reduce carbon and energy consumption. For
example in March 2013, The Ministry of Environmental Protection of PRC defined special emission
limits of atmospheric pollutants for six key industries: thermal electricity, iron and steel,
petrochemical, cement, nonferrous metal and chemical, plus coal boiler projects. The special
emission limits on atmospheric pollutants apply to 47 cities of 19 provinces, districts and cities
around Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province; Yangtze River Delta; and Pearl River Delta.
In addition to energy and electricity use, carbon emission reductions also affect urban
transportation policy. With traffic congestion in major cities resulting in high pollution and
inefficiency, reducing carbon emissions based on changing traffic patterns and public
transportation is a key focus. In addition, waste management and water quality, as well as adequate
water supply to grow cities, are also keys to the smart city concept. China's water scarcity and risk
of water impact, such as flooding due to meteorological events, make Chinese coastal lines and
river cities prone to floods and disasters.
While the government is planning an overall carbon-centric approach, city governments are
applying a more practical view by building IT infrastructure capable of attracting foreign and national
investment, while being leveraged to import information from different sources of the Internet of
Things, such as mobile phones, sensor networks, Wi-Fi endpoints and GIS. In mapping urban
designs to sustainability, including carbon and resource metrics, municipal and city leadership, as
well as the national commissions, have to agree on defining soft and hard standardized metrics
beyond carbon intensity. Those standards have to translate into benchmarks for energy efficiency,
pollution levels, transportation emissions, length of commuter trips, air quality and other metrics,
which are important as standardized means to ensure that sustainable business and residential
benefits in cities are being achieved.
The government has initiated a reference Implementation of Nationalized Middleware & Platforms,
as well as a product R&D and Industrialization of Integrated Middleware Suite, which presents a
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digital geographic framework nationwide by 2015 and includes a technical discussion on servers,
DC, IT integration, and cloud with respect to smart city technology and integration.
User Advice: Enterprise customers need to be aware of all administrative tools that will be
deployed to measure sustainable business behavior and outcomes, such as reduction of energy
consumption and carbon dioxide emission, or softer sustainable benefits, such as better
transportation and transit means, and better education and healthcare. In many ways, enterprises
have to adapt in the short term to consumption-based efficiency measures for electricity, water and
heating supply in the workplace and home. Municipal leaders are striving to open market models to
give users more choice for greener and more-sustainable resources, with clear labels classifying
origin and ingredients. However, most likely, standardization of metrics and measures will result in
higher prices that can be curbed only by a bigger variety of sustainable offerings and services in a
city. Those service offerings are just emerging to be clarified by Chinese leaders, as well as city
administrators and private investors. In addition, market conditions, such as deregulation of the
energy-generation monopoly, distribution of grid and user information in different sectors, as well as
the interlock between different sectors and private partnerships, must be established to ensure the
regulatory and economic base is transparent to create smart city business and functionality models.
Business Impact: Although all attention is focused on the state government's smart city and lowcarbon city guidelines in the 12th Five-Year Plan, technology and service providers should focus on
cities' individual needs. Indicators such as social/demographic, environmental or economic
benchmarks trigger different starting points for developing the smart city concept, driven, in some
instances, by consulting and advisory providers, and in other instances, by engineering-driven
technology providers. In many cases, system integration of intelligent management solutions and
operational technology is key to generating the knowledgebase of the information and data flows
from devices, meters or sensors in utility or road grids and automating the decision rules based on
analysis of those flows.
In China, ecosystems of technology, solutions and service providers need to be in place to
implement and manage the specific solutions required. Local expertise, integration capabilities and
customs, as well as know-how about people and business functionality, are connected with global
solution providers to bring scale and expertise into the Chinese market. In many ways, operational
technology, which includes road and transportation systems, and building automation or advanced
metering systems, is the first step before intelligent networks even occur. Operational technology
also serves as the foundation to supplying a growing urban population with the needed
infrastructure in a sustainable and most-carbon- and resource-efficient way.
Local government must respond to translate metrics into those sector deployments and require an
intelligent and integrated framework to gain the synergy effects and stability of resource supply.
Urbanization will bring challenges for local government; the population will increase quickly and be
closely linked with improvements to living conditions, including healthcare, social insurance and
transportation. To ease the challenges, local government will be forced to consider a smart city
plan; issuing unified smart cards could be an effective way to manage the increasing population.
This also provides opportunities for IT providers to develop smart card solutions based on local
government guidance.
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Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Accenture; Cisco; Digital China Holdings; Founder; HP; Huawei Technologies;
IBM; Insigma; Schneider Electric; Siemens
Recommended Reading: "Predicts 2012: Embryonic Smart City Processes Point to Opportunities"
"Hype Cycle for Smart City Technologies and Solutions, 2011"
"IT Strategy Implications From China's 12th Five-Year Plan"
"Market Insight: What IT Services Providers Need to Know About China's 12th Five-Year Plan"
"How Smart Government Principles Apply to Smart Cities"

Analysis By: Andrea Di Maio
Definition: A smart governance operating framework supports event capture and processing,
information exchange and analysis (internal and external information coming from multiple sources,
including sensor and social data), user interface, and interoperability between different vertical
applications and subsystems. The framework can support interoperability across government tiers,
within a tier across different domains, or both.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Gartner defines smart government as an
administration that applies and integrates information, communication and operational technologies
to planning, management and operations across multiple domains, process areas and jurisdictions
to generate sustainable public value. Therefore, smart government applies both within a single tier
(city, state or federal) or across tiers (such as smart transportation across state and local
governments). E-government frameworks have been around for quite some time, usually as part of
product and consulting vendor offerings, but have rarely made inroads as a key architectural
component. The difference with smart government is that the approaches are more evolutionary:
Therefore, the interest in an operating framework comes from the ability to evolve from and leverage
a point solution in a particular vertical toward a cross-domain solution. While this was already an
issue with joined-up government endeavors, it becomes even more important when looking at
smart city initiatives, where there are multiple dimensions for integration (including between
information and operational technologies).
Vendor offerings are still at an early stage. Although they are already deployed on specific projects,
they remain unproven in terms of how they can really support the evolutionary approach and the
robustness of the ecosystem. Furthermore, the effective use of a smart government operating
framework may need a network upgrade to handle the complexity of IP-addressable devices. On
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the upside, there is an increasing interest in smart cities and smart government approaches that has
been triggered by a combination of government financial constraints as well as the need to reignite
economic growth through technology deployments. Also, more mainstream vendors are introducing
such frameworks.
User Advice: Government CIOs especially at the local level should examine whether a smart
governance operating framework is a viable approach, as opposed to the development of point
solutions to address specific cross-domain priorities and evaluate emerging market offerings, such
as the IBM Intelligent Operations Center, the Microsoft Connected Government Framework (as well
as the Urban Operating System from Microsoft's partner Living PlanIT) and Oracle's Solution for
Smart Cities. Also, CIOs in other government tiers should look at the evolution of vendor offerings to
support interoperable and integrated solution to better deal with cross-boundary problems.
Business Impact: Smart governance operating frameworks have the potential to change the way
entire jurisdictions and government domains use information by facilitating the interoperability of
different vertical applications, supporting new ways to mash up and analyze information across tiers
and domains, and supporting the integration of operational technologies where these are relevant
(such as at city levels or in specific domains such as energy or transportation). The result will be
sustainable services and operations, including services that were previously not available, and
faster responses to citizen concerns.
At the city level in particular, smart governance operating frameworks also impact the business
processes and decision flows between different sectors or stakeholders in a city, helping to better
connect information and operational technologies. However, the current lack of maturity of vendor
offerings and the one-sided marketing pitches about "smart cities" are not helping government
executives understand how to leverage the potential of smart governance operating frameworks.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Cisco; IBM; Microsoft; Oracle; SAP
Recommended Reading: "Architecting for Participation: How Information-Sharing Environments
Overcome Information Silos"
"The Five Dimensions of Smart Government"
"Smart Governance Operating Framework: At the Heart of Smart Government"
Analysis By: Bettina Tratz-Ryan; James F. Hines; Nagayoshi Nakano
Definition: Smart transportation is a comprehensive framework that describes an information- and
process-enriched mobility concept. Smart transportation uses driver/user-specific vehicle, traffic
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and infrastructure management intended to help sustainability and urban economic performance. It
is applied while building service models based on driving analytics, traffic and parking. Current
service models include vehicle and driver control systems, congestion charging and road toll
collection, intelligent transportation systems and parking guidance systems.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Smart transportation is a key demand-based urban
mobility concept that optimizes modes of transportation in the most efficient, sustainable ways
possible for its users. Especially in smart cities, the contextual information about the residents and
businesses and their mobility needs enable a comprehensive mapping of data such as time, number
of vehicles and travelers, pricing of road traffic per time of day and user, and environmental
impacts, such as pollution, noise, productivity losses and people's perception of environmental
quality.
Especially with the introduction of electric mobility in urban corridors, cities have an opportunity to
build a smart transportation strategy based on service levels. The strategy would be based on
environmental- and efficiency-based metrics, such as the number of high occupancy vehicles and
zero-carbon-emission vehicles, energy-efficient traffic management and the use of more pedestrian
friendly walkways.
The complexity of the smart transportation ecosystem extends beyond vehicles. For example, the
smart transportation concept reaches into details such as energy utility services for recharging
electric vehicles, public lighting systems for street parking, and safety surveillance for tunnels,
roadways and bridges. The key value to urban development and smart cities is the analysis of the
information derived from all the various transportation ecosystem partners and the translation of
that data into contextualized and measurable benefits for citizen and infrastructure operations.
Many cities have started to deploy transportation and traffic initiatives, which include congestion
charging (Stockholm, Singapore), dynamic pricing for parking (Los Angeles and Santa Monica,
California) and traffic analytics (Barcelona, Spain, and New York). However, many cities have not yet
created an integration plan to leverage municipal services with infrastructure management.
Businesses are also innovating with the smart transportation concept. For example, insurance
company Generali, which uses transportation statistics to shape its driving insurance policies, is
also assessing the environmental impact of frequent stop-and-go driving.
Therefore, smart transportation is located before the Peak of Inflated Expectations and is probably
accelerating as electric vehicles, pushed especially in Europe, are speeding up the development of
smart transportation frameworks.
User Advice: Smart transportation will support applications for knowledge workers dependent on
the mobile-enabled work environment. IT leaders will be able to tap the information base from
corporate fleets and business-driven processes, such as delivery tracking and facility workflow,
human and asset management.
However, IT leaders will be challenged in their roles if they do not adapt to the new IT-enabled
environment that sits outside of their defined boundaries of IT-supported processes. For example,
vehicles are not typically under IT purview. But in a smart transportation ecosystem, a company's
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vehicle fleet can generate useful data as well as present challenges if the vehicles have business
applications embedded in their onboard systems. Smart city CIOs and digital offices can utilize the
information base from the Internet of Things for transportation and traffic processes to better
identify bottlenecks in transportation and traffic flows and integrate a more service-oriented
payment approach rather than a simple payment program, such as a time-based fee system, to
fund infrastructure.
City IT leaders need to build a consensus with stakeholders to leverage different datasets and
develop critical process methods, technology solutions and security policies to protect the data and
information of their citizens.
Business Impact: Smart transportation challenges the conventional thinking that congestion
charging will change traffic patterns. In fact, congestion charging is just a short-term method that
allows cities to capitalize on traffic but only marginally improve traffic flow.
Smart transportation requires a comprehensive approach that starts with an impact assessment of
productivity losses based on traffic congestion, pollution and noise levels, the inconvenience levels
of commuters and residents, and safety and security issues. Only after this assessment can urban
planners, city CIOs and business leaders develop scenarios that can actually reduce congestion
and the effects of traffic.
Analyzing driving patterns of vehicles and drivers can generate business services for vehicle
insurance companies and fleet management announcements for scheduled arrivals based on realtime information from the drivers' environments. Traffic pattern analysis can be used to develop a
traffic congestion charging system that has dynamic pricing based on the number of riders and if
vehicles are environmentally friendly. On-street and off-street parking guidance systems would
allow drivers to share real-time information about space availability. This would decrease
congestion while allowing delivery businesses to schedule timely stops at unloading zones while
avoiding heavy traffic.
Smart transportation would also provide an extra measure of safety in addition to offering efficiency,
convenience and a high quality of life for citizens and businesses. In smart city projects in Japan,
electric vehicles double as large, transportable batteries to supply energy to disaster relief facilities.
That way, a smart city can ensure that "lighting and information are never ceased" even during a
crisis, such as Ishinomaki, Japan, during the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. City leaders,
including city CIOs, should consider smart transportation as a way to enrich administrative services
and raise a city's attractiveness to citizens and enterprises.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Bitcarrier; CVIC SE; Fujitsu; Hitachi; IBM; Insigma; ParkHelp; Reply; Schneider
Electric; Siemens VDO Automotive; Streetline; tecsidel
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Recommended Reading: "Innovation Insight: Smart City Aligns Technology Innovation and Citizen
Inclusion"

Analysis By: Zarko Sumic
Definition: Consumer energy storage (as opposed to provider energy storage) is consumerdeployed energy storage technology, originally aimed at providing "ride-through" for momentary
outages, as well as extended protection during longer outages. Currently, on-site storage is used in
combination with on-site renewable resources to mitigate inherent intermittency and to increase the
value of photovoltaic and wind-generated electricity, enabling the supply to coincide with periods of
peak consumer demand.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: More-participatory consumer engagement models
and energy technology consumerization in the energy utility sector have presented new
opportunities to apply a variety of storage devices for consumer energy management, particularly in
the fields of renewable energy and distributed generation. The need to integrate consumer-owned
renewable generation into delivery networks, and the need to increase customer ride-through
resilience during major power disturbances, will promote energy storage technologies that increase
reliability and empower consumers.
Additionally, the consumerization of energy technologies will drive the adoption of consumer-size
storage to facilitate the integration of consumer-owned renewable sources via new rate structures,
such as real-time pricing or feed-in tariffs. Moreover, the consumerization of energy technologies
will impact reliability, as it can also be perceived as the next generation of consumer uninterruptible
power supply (UPS) device technology, which is widely used for power outages. Thus, we expect to
see PC UPS vendors, such as Tripp Lite, getting more deeply involved in this space.
Advanced electricity storage technologies include vanadium redox flow batteries, zinc-bromine flow
batteries, sodium-sulfur batteries, lithium-ion batteries, polysulfide bromide flow batteries,
compressed-air energy storage, supercapacitors, flywheels, lead-acid batteries and metal-air
batteries. Some technologies, such as sodium-sulfur batteries, flow batteries and compressed-air
energy storage, may be applicable only at large, industrial consumer sites. The price for on-site
battery storage remains high, and it is a critical gating factor for technology adoption, combined
with stabile long-term regulatory models, that will allow investment recovery for consumers through
fixed rates and credits.
Adoption of the electric vehicle can offer additional means of consumer energy storage. However,
the slow pace of vehicle-to-grid development and costly battery deterioration through frequent
charging and discharging make it an unattractive option for owners at this point.
User Advice: Utility companies should evaluate the effect of wider deployment of residential energy
storage technology as part of the energy technology consumerization trend. Consumer deployment
of on-site energy storage and the introduction of that storage into utility networks are analogous to
IT consumerization in the past decade that is, the introduction of consumer-owned technology
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into corporate IT networks and applications. Lessons learned from IT consumerization could help
ease the disruptive effects of energy technology consumerization, as well as foster the inclusion of
consumer-owned energy technology into energy markets. By doing so, the power sector will enable
demand-side contributions to carbon dioxide emissions reduction.
Consumer implementation of on-site energy storage enables consumers to participate more actively
in energy markets particularly when combined with on-site renewable sources to optimize energy
efficiency. Used jointly with on-site generation, consumer energy storage is a key component of
distributed energy resources, which transform the utility delivery infrastructure from a centrally
controlled radial network to a locally controlled geodesic network.
Business Impact: As a critical technology that enables active consumer participation in energy
markets, residential energy storage will affect the retail and distribution domains of the energy value
chain. It will also affect operational technologies in the distribution domain, as well as legacy IT
applications in the revenue management and commodity management areas.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: NEC; NGK Insulators; Sandia National Laboratories; Tripp Lite
Recommended Reading: "Energy Technology Consumerization: The Quest for Lean and Green"
"Innovation Insight: Smart Grid Drives Innovation in the Utility Sector"
"Top 10 Business Trends Impacting the Utility Industry in 2013"
Home Energy Management/Consumer Energy Management

Analysis By: Chet Geschickter; Zarko Sumic
Definition: Home energy management (HEM) is a technology that optimizes residential energy
consumption/production. Solutions include software tools that analyze energy usage, and homearea network (HAN) energy management devices that respond to variable power prices or other
user-defined parameters. HEM is usually connected to utility systems via consumer gateways that
may be stand-alone devices or embedded in smart metering solutions.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: The evolution of HEM is progressing unevenly.
Consumer technology markets and utility markets have different dynamics, and utility companies
have little experience in delivering technology products to consumers. After some initial
experimentation with consumer energy management (CEM) technology, utilities are stepping back
and focusing on providing enabling technology for CEM systems, such as advanced metering
infrastructure (AMI) and enabling technologies for demand response, such as programmable
communicating thermostats. The benefit-cost ratio for comprehensive device-centric HEM remains
unfavorable, and vendors attempting to win utility subsidies to improve their value propositions
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have primarily landed in long-term, low-unit-volume trials funded by government grants to test the
efficacy of HEM devices in conjunction with economic demand-response programs. Those limited
use cases still do not fully leverage price-responsive automation capabilities, which require real-time
pricing to deliver maximum benefits. The high deployment cost, relatively long break-even time on
the consumer side, and conflicting impact on the main revenue stream for utilities are the main
detriments to wider utility adoption of HEM systems. In competitive retail markets, retailers are
considering the use of limited configurations, such as in-home displays that provide feedback on
power consumption, to offer differentiating services. Regulated energy companies, in some cases,
can justify investment in HEM solutions as a component of the overall resource adequacy program
in which HEM is a component of a demand-response solution technology stack.
In some markets (such as Germany) in order to stimulate activities in the residential energy
efficiency sector, regulators have encouraged market entry by new players in HEM. Consequently,
communications service providers (CSPs) of residential services such as home broadband Internet
connectivity and security services are attempting to incorporate HEM into high-end offerings. Many
are working with local utilities to distribute the technology. However, uptake continues to be
gradual, with very low penetration. For the utility industry, HEM is nearing the Peak of Inflated
Expectations as mass consumer marketing through a variety of channels, including competitive
energy retailers, communication service providers and home improvement retailers increases.
User Advice: Rather than investing broadly in consumer technology beyond the meter, utilities
should focus on investments in energy-efficiency-enabling technologies, such as AMI and demand
response, and on providing multichannel presentment of energy consumption data, including to
Web portals and popular consumer devices such as smartphones and tablets.
In addition to being driven to HEM by regulatory mandates in markets such as California and the
U.K., utilities should consider promoting and even subsidizing enabling technology for residential
demand response. Energy retailers in contestable energy markets, such as EMEA or Australia/New
Zealand, should consider HEM as a means to differentiate their offerings in a competitive energy
market.
Business Impact: HEM solutions impact the utility retail domain, in particular AMI, demandresponse and energy efficiency solutions. Various demand-response pilot projects have identified
favorable incremental peak reduction contributions from programmable communicating thermostats
connected to utility systems. Results from in-home display trials for demand response and energy
efficiency are mixed. Utility business benefits from comprehensive device-centric HEM connected
by HANs are largely unproven. Industry adoption is concentrated in territories with energy efficiency
mandates, aggressive residential demand-response programs, AMI rollouts and contestable retail
markets.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: AlertMe; Comverge; General Electric; Honeywell; Nest Labs; Tendril
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Recommended Reading: "The Utility of the Future: The Information Utility"

"Market Trends: Energy Management in the Smart Home"
"Technology Overview for Home Energy Management"
"Energy Technology Consumerization: The Quest for Lean and Green"
"Utility Retail Domain Strategic Technology Map, An Overview"
"Market Trends: Consumer Services in a Smart Home"

Analysis By: Andrew White; Bill O'Kane
Definition: Governance of data is a people- and process-oriented discipline that forms a key part of
any enterprise information management (EIM) program. The decision rights and authority model that
forms governance has to be enforced and operationalized (through stewardship), meaning that this
technology is needed. It represents the formation of this specific solution that is closely targeted at
the stewardship of information.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: This packaged technology increased in hype quickly
a couple of years ago, but is only slowly approaching the Peak of Inflated Expectations and is still
not there yet. Initial vendors, including Kalido and SAP, launched products in the last three years
and many more are formulating plans for an offering, or working on multiple offerings. There is
continued high growth and interest in EIM programs (such as master data management, or
enterprise content management [ECM]) as well as those related to business process improvement
(such as business process management). This interest is driving much of the interest in this
technology. Some organizations are interested in stewarding content, records and analytics, as well
as structured data like master data and application data. Individual tools like data quality tools
that output the data-level analytics monitored and enforced by these applications have existed
for years. They have their own maturity and can help support a manual stewardship project. These
new applications promise to be more complete, allowing them to support a much broader and more
automated stewardship process.
Today, the greatest level of hype is being driven by information management (IM) programs focused
on the governance element, and "making information governance stick" that is, operationalizing
the work of information governance once an IM program has been implemented. However, users
are now showing interest in using such tools for other data. The technology converging in these
applications could also apply to reference data (often part of an master data management [MDM]
program) as well as any other structured data. As content becomes more structured through the
governance of the metadata describing it, it becomes a candidate for stewardship that uses these
solutions. It is possible, therefore, that this technology may split and form other segments.
The emergence of consolidated tools for information stewardship will soon challenge established
implementation efforts because new IM programs often lacks this level of capability. In the long
term, perhaps five to 10 years, mature IT organizations will formally integrate BPM tools with MDM,
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ECM or other IM tools to express information governance routines along with business activity
monitoring and corporate performance management. Many self-named MDM solutions offer parts
of this technology scope although often not as an integrated environment for use by the master
data steward, or to be deployed across all other master data stores. Additionally, these and other
applications will evolve to steward other data in support of other initiatives, though this remains
spotted and less aggregated as it is with MDM today.
User Advice: Recognize the general lack of maturity (and wide range of different capabilities) in
technology offerings related to governing data across multiple hubs and application data stores.
Today, most solutions are best-suited for IT-focused users (they need to be consumable by
business users) and for specific scenarios (for example, data quality projects related to an
application migration).
Some solutions focus on stewardship of content (for example, RDS) and others on structured data
(for example, Collibra). For those organizations focused on mastering master data, those MDM
solutions offer rudimentary capabilities but have led to the greatest interest and hype in this new
technology. For the next two to three years most information governance implementations will focus
on tools to manually define and manage governance with limited help from technology vendors
across IM systems or the enterprise. Work with your technology providers to help them understand
what must be made operational in the tools. If you have need to steward other data outside an
information governance program, tread more carefully since the lack of a unifying driver like MDM or
ECM could possibly lead to fewer vendor options.
Business Impact: The governance of information is a core component of any EIM discipline. MDM
(a critical EIM program) cannot be sustained without an operational master data stewardship role
and function. At worst, the lack of effective governance will lead to the failure of EIM initiatives. At
best, it will result in lower-than-desired benefits. The business case for MDM, for example, won't be
realized. A successful stewardship routine will lead to sustainable and persistent benefits from
programs like MDM, such as increased revenue, lower IT and business costs, reduced cycle times
(in new product introductions, for example) and increased business agility.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: BackOffice Associates; Collibra; Informatica; InfoTrellis; Kalido; RDS; SAP
Recommended Reading: "The Emergence of Information Stewardship Applications for Master
Data"
"Governance of Master Data Starts With the Master Data Life Cycle"
"Cool Vendors in Information Governance and Master Data Management, 2012"
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Analysis By: Simon Mingay; Stephen Stokes
Definition: Intelligent lighting is lighting in any application that combines the ability to make use of
highly efficient illumination technologies, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), motion, light, time
and other sensors, with information and communication technology (ICT) to provide a solution that
is automated, dynamic, adaptable and efficient, and adjusted to the nature and level of activity
being undertaken.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: While many of the technologies combined into
intelligent lighting solutions are somewhat mature, the combination and the software providing the
intelligence are relatively new. Relatively high capital costs, vendor lock-in and a lack of familiarity
remain the main hurdles to adoption, and are slowing the pace of this hybrid technology through the
Hype Cycle.
User Advice: Lighting is a significant consumer of electricity, usually the second-highest behind
heating and cooling in most commercial buildings:
According to the International Energy Agency, lighting accounts for approximately 19% of
global electricity consumption.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that lighting accounts for, on average, 30% of
electricity consumption in commercial buildings, while the Energy Information Administration
puts the figure at 38%.
This is one of the areas in which the combination of operational technology (OT) and IT can make
order-of-magnitude not just marginal improvements in efficiency, along with significant
operational cost savings. As such, lighting, and the application of ICT to lighting, is worthy of
attention from both the facilities management and IT teams.
There are instances of intelligent lighting emerging in residential, public service, commercial and
industrial (particularly warehouse) applications. Such applications deliver highly efficient lighting
solutions and are capable of achieving substantially lower running costs. These solutions integrate
mature technologies such as movement and heat sensors, daylight compensation, wired and
wireless networking, ZigBee, occupancy, and task-oriented knowledge to adjust the location,
intensity and direction of lighting to appropriate levels for the work or activity being conducted in
the area at any particular time. The mature technologies are used in harness with the latest
disruptive lighting technologies, such as high-efficiency white LEDs, and building and lighting
control software. They also provide usage data time series for later analysis and reporting.
With the expected ongoing significant rises in the costs of electricity for many regions, it is
important that, despite higher capital costs, the potential application of intelligent lighting be
considered.
There have been two critical disruptions in lighting efficiency in the past decade. The first was a shift
to compact fluorescent lights. The second has been the emergence of high-power and shortwavelength LEDs. LEDs produce photons as a band-gap interaction, so the opportunities for further
technology disruption are limited. We expect an ongoing trend of improving efficiency and reducing
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unit cost. Most enterprises have the potential to reduce lighting costs. Intelligent lighting solutions
will offer many enterprises, particularly those with light-intensive applications, significant additional
savings. As such, facilities managers and, increasingly, those IT organizations with responsibilities
to look at OT solutions should consider intelligent lighting technologies for new builds and
refurbishments.
Business Impact: Within the context of lighting, electricity consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions, the impact is high, particularly when LEDs can be used as the light source. Overall,
within the context of enterprise operations, the impact is expected generally to be moderate to
significant, depending on the spectrum of electricity-intensive activities in a given industry, and the
light source that can be used. For warehousing and other light-intensive applications, the impact
will be substantial, with quoted efficiency gains at the level of 95% per unit area.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Acuity Brands; Adura Technologies; Daintree Networks; Digital Lumens;
Encelium; Enlighted; GE Energy; Lumenergi; Lutron Electronics; Osram; Philips Dynalite; Philips
Lightolier; Redwood Systems; Schneider Electric
Recommended Reading: "Cool Vendors in Sustainability, 2010"
"Market Trends: High-Brightness White LEDs will Boom From LCD TV and Industrial Lighting
Demand"
"Hype Cycle for Wireless Networking Infrastructure, 2011"
Smart Fabrics
Analysis By: Anshul Gupta
Definition: Smart fabrics transform material used in clothing, upholstery and other textile goods into
devices that can be deployed as electronic sensors, switches, connectors, batteries or displays.
The components and electronics may be embedded in, or on the fabric, or, in some cases, on the
fibers themselves. Smart fabrics are used in applications, such as controllers for electronics, human
physical data monitoring, alarm systems, heating wraps, energy harvesting, electromagnetic
shielding and illumination.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Smart fabric, embedded with electronics, are being
used for a wide range of applications, such as human health and physical data monitoring,
controllers for electronics, heating wraps, alarm systems, energy harvesting, electromagnetic
shielding and illumination. However, adoption of smart fabric will be slow until 2017 due to
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technology immaturity and initial adoption in niche areas as fitness wear, art lobbyists, heated
winter wear, garments for charging and controlling MP3 players, solar tents and medical wraps.
Cloth with embedded sensors can measure and store data on temperature, heart rate, blood
oxygenation, blood glucose, position, motion, moisture, chemicals, respiration, light, pressure and
more. Data can be transmitted wirelessly by powering antennas and sensors through a thin-film
battery.
Smart fabrics with embedded solar cells or piezoelectric panels are being used to collect, conduct
and store energy that can be used to power electronic devices, such as mobile phones, and provide
off-grid power solutions.
Smart cloths can be made to emit light. For example, luminescent fibers can be woven into cloth
used for curtains, clothing and wallpaper, giving a glow in a range of colors that can be seen in a
darkened room.
In the automotive industry, smart fabrics can transform the material used in car seat covers, car
body linings, panel coverings and other fabric goods into devices that can be deployed as
electronic sensors or switches.
The conductive properties of some materials sewn into fabrics can be tailored to become useful
applications. Smart fabrics with resistive properties can be used as heating wraps. Boots sewn with
piezoelectric material can generate electricity that can be used to power heating elements to keep
feet warm in the cold.
In architecture, smart fabrics enable buildings to generate their own electricity. Smart fabrics can be
used in awnings to cover patios and parking lots. The exterior of the building itself can be covered
in fabric or membranes that incorporate solar cells. Inside, furniture may be covered in smart fabric
to generate electricity from the sun shining in through windows. For example, users may be able to
recharge a mobile device by plugging it into the chair they are sitting in.
Use of sensors that are fully integrated into the fabric, such as materials that measure stress and
pressure, are still evolving.
In the longer term, smart fabrics will be used routinely for health monitoring (such as measuring
body temperature or respiration rate), and to react to the environment (for example, color or heat
adjustment in clothing and automatic pressure adjustment in seats).
Some of the factors limiting adoption of technology are technology's immaturity as still a decade of
development is needed before these products become robust. Applications of smart fabric in the
many areas discussed above are in early stages of development, and significant improvement is
needed before mass commercial adoption. Some of the key areas of improvement are
manufacturing economically, delivering high-quality, cleaning fabric without affecting their electronic
components, efficiency, privacy concerns and user awareness.
Smart fabric will provide immense opportunities to enterprises by innovations in the technology.
Service providers in the automotive, healthcare, military, emergency services, fitness garments,
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mining, engineering and manufacturing will be most impacted by innovation in smart fabric
technology.
User Advice: The focus should be on designing easy-to-use, simple products with concentration on
maximizing benefits over costs.
Providers of smart fabric products should bear in mind issues of end-of-life disposal, contributing to
the larger issue of e-waste as smart fabrics become mass marketed in the future. Consider building
waste-preventive measures at an early phase of the smart-fabric development process to minimize
cost and reduce the risk of slow adoption.
Business Impact: Fabric interfaces and displays are driven by sporting, fashion, aesthetic, power
or mobility needs. They will also play a key role in the development of smart cities, most likely
emerging first in the areas of emergency services and healthcare due to the increased value of
highly mobile, responsive technology. Solar panels woven into draperies, patio awnings and
upholstery will generate enough electricity to power automatic blinds and handheld consumer
electronics.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Eeonyx; Fibretronic; FTL Solar; Gorix; Peratech; Peratech (Eleksen); Philips
Research; Textronics
Recommended Reading: "Innovation Insight: Smart Fabric Innovations Weave Efficiency Into the
Workforce"
Definition: Car-sharing services are a version of car rental services where people rent cars for short
periods of time (for example, hourly). The organization renting the vehicles is typically a commercial
business, but could also consist of a cooperative, public agency or a peer-to-peer car-sharing
service that allows traditional vehicle owners to offer their cars to others using smartphone
applications, background validation and other online services.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Car-sharing concepts aren't new, but in the past 12
months, more automotive companies and startups have entered the space in response to consumer
interest in alternatives to traditional vehicle ownership. Consumers are taking a more careful look at
transportation costs and alternative transportation models, especially from lessons learned during
the economic recession. Automakers, in particular, view car-sharing services as a way to hedge
their bets in an increasingly metropolitan world and with changing consumer interests. The
expanding growth of mobile and wireless technologies, as well as smartphone and in-vehicle
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technologies, is enabling a technology infrastructure that simplifies the renting and billing processes
for car-sharing offerings.
Renting vehicles for a short time is attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a
vehicle or have needs for specific vehicle types. Car-sharing services are typically offered in larger
cities and metropolitan areas. Technology is used to enable users to access a vehicle (for example,
unlocking the door via a phone), billing and location-based services, including finding an available
vehicle online, reserving it via a phone and tracking it during the drive to define the next drop-off
point for the next user. In the last 12 months there has been an increased focus on this technology
and service offering and, as a consequence, market offerings are beginning to leapfrog actual
consumer demand, which is still at the early stages. As a consequence, some market consolidation
is expected. The recent acquisition of Wheelz by competitor car sharing service, RelayRides,
underlines this fact.
User Advice: Consider car-sharing services as one element in offering new mobility solutions to
consumers and businesses that go beyond traditional car ownership. Explore partnership
opportunities with existing rental car companies, insurance providers and technology companies to
define, manage and market car-sharing programs. Evaluate potential advertising-supported pricing
schemes in return for lower usage fees.
Business Impact: Car-sharing services can offer new revenue sources to automotive companies,
especially in metropolitan areas and for consumer segments that don't want to spend a large
amount of their assets on automobiles.
Sample Vendors: Avis; Getaround; RelayRides; Wheelz; Zipcar
Recommended Reading: "Cool Vendors in Automotive, 2013"
"Predicts 2013: Mobile, Cloud and Information Fuel the Automotive Era of Smart Mobility"
"BMW i Launch Exemplifies Gartner's Prediction of a New Mobility Era"
Water Management
Analysis By: Bettina Tratz-Ryan
Definition: Water management describes a solutions approach of information and operational
technologies and applications to holistically monitor, analyze and manage water quantity and quality
throughout the hydrologic cycle. Water management solutions include water sourcing and rainfall
forecasting, groundwater monitoring, water availability analysis for water supply, water treatment
plants, wastewater treatment facilities, desalination and filtration, as well as water refarming through
recycling of rainwater.
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Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Water is one of the critical resources that should be
managed closely in a sustainable and integrated urban environment. Water management, however,
requires a differentiated set of technology and service skills to cater effectively to the different
usage patterns in distribution, but also to water pollution and recycling, as well as natural disasters,
such as flooding or drought. Those skill sets include reporting and management tools for
infrastructure and sensors, as well as database and information aggregation and assessment tools.
System integration to connect physical infrastructure, including water meters, and remote water
sensors in dams and levees, is key to acquiring comprehensive datasets in real time for analysis
and forecast. In addition, many deployments require consulting to develop process and
management blueprints.
Stand-alone solutions for water consumption control or quality management mainly identify water
contamination, runoff and groundwater issues. However, the broader context of water
management, in the larger utility or municipal context, includes the opportunity to develop an
adaptive and flexible water management strategy based on intelligent information received and
analyzed from environmental sensor and satellite networks, smart water meters, and deep
computing and analytics engines. Water management can be fed information and data from the
supervisory control and data acquisition systems for the automated control of water delivery and
billing management. In many water management tools, key performance metrics around water
consumption, reuse and effective conservation are produced for commercial and private use.
Leakage prevention in water mains and distribution, the ability to predict water-pressure reduction
and the possible identification of contamination of water sources are key benefits that municipal
water suppliers look for to reduce their water infrastructure operational expenditures.
Advanced sensors installed in pumps, substations and meters read water flow and quality in real
time. Water management brings together a multitude of fragmented information sources and data
points between wastewater, drinking water and industrial water sources. This enables predictive
analytics to combine that data with other crucial environmental information about weather, pumping
pressures and water reserves, as well as demand-based water consumption, for a holistic view of
water supply. While the overall topic of water management is still in the emerging phase of grid
discussion and priorities being shifted by regional or national basis, the topic has gotten the
attention of industry players due to government initiatives, as well as the pricing development of
water once meters are installed that monitor true consumption. Especially in emerging economies,
such as China and India, where availability of drinking water is a key issue, analytics and advisory
services describing the impact of implementing water management tools and solutions are gaining
great momentum and government attention toward optimizing the infrastructure. For many
countries, the different challenges of water management have moved the hype beyond the peak, so
that now, various national and local water issues can find more standardized and commercially
available solutions in the market.
User Advice: Users (industries) and suppliers (municipalities) need to evaluate the implementation
of data management and analytics for their water infrastructure and water quality, especially when
they must report for, or comply with, increasing wastewater regulations, while improving efficiency
and reducing waste disposal costs. Especially in the emerging scenarios of intelligent city planning,
the build-out of smart grid and meter data management, together with water management data
analytics, can provide a real-time view of natural or managed hydrological resource consumption.
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Intelligent water meters on the consumers' premises enable water suppliers and municipalities to
monitor consumption and create incentives for more-efficient water use, as well as identify potential
customer service problems due to poor water pressure or quality. Remember to implement security
standards into the water management process, the physical infrastructure and the privacy policy on
consumer data.
Business Impact: Consolidating previously fragmented data points and tools to manage and
control water issues, from supply to reuse and recycling, is providing water suppliers and
municipalities with the ability to reduce costs and improve the interface between asset tools for
pumping stations, meters and monitors, as well as improve customer service with fewer water
supply failures and better water quality.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: ABB; Atos; General Electric; IBM; Kisters; Schneider Electric; Seams; Siemens
Recommended Reading: "Market Trends: Will Water Management Be the Next Smart Grid
Challenge?"
"Key Issues for Green IT and Sustainability"
"Competitive Landscape: The Who's Who in Water Management"

Definition: The vehicle information hub is a hardware- and software-based technology solution that
enables users to access and interact with digital content from any portable device or cloud-based
application in a safe and automobile-specific manner. The information hub doesn't store most
content, but provides an interface to access direct or mesh-up content as well as contextual
information by using portable devices or embedded (built-in) network access (that is, data SIM).
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: As the use of portable devices and applications
grows, consumers increasingly question the value of high-priced, embedded infotainment and
telematics options that are restricted to the vehicle. In addition, the limited ability to upgrade
embedded components, the fast turnover of portable devices and the availability of aftermarket
integration solutions are forcing the automotive industry to change its approach. Seamless
integration and usability of external content and applications in automobiles do not yet exist
broadly, but vehicle manufacturers and suppliers are increasingly developing such solutions.
Vehicle information hubs are also beginning to evolve in greater numbers in the consumer
electronics and aftermarket segments. This represents a growth opportunity and expanded value
proposition for personal navigation devices (PNDs). Recent product launches and announcements
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of vehicle-hub-centric solutions by Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Daimler and General Motors have increased
the automotive industry's interest in this cost-effective technology.
User Advice: To support consumer demand for portable devices and wireless services in the
vehicle, the automotive industry can create competitive differentiation through vehicle information
hubs that ensure a safe and satisfying user experience in the automobile. In particular, OEMs and
suppliers must focus on developing innovative connectivity (personal-area networks [PANs] and
WANs, for example), user interfaces (touch-based, haptic, steering-wheel-based input systems, for
example) and output technologies (audio and head-up displays, for example). Additionally, they
must collaborate with companies outside the automotive industry, such as consumer electronics
leaders, software/hardware providers and application developers. Vehicle-information-hub-centric
offerings don't address all vehicle information and communication technology (ICT)-related needs,
and they have some reliability challenges due to a simplified technology design that minimizes
embedded technologies (for example, for safety-related applications, such as automated air bag
deployment notification). Automotive companies should consider complementing a vehicle hub
solution with a traditional telematics service and should use the hub as a distribution channel and/or
application store for in-vehicle applications.
Business Impact: Vehicle manufacturers will be able to increase revenue from vehicle information
hub offerings (for example, via applications, services and/or devices) and create a flexible method to
enable users to access their portable devices and digital content in the vehicle. This will help the
automotive industry overcome some of the main challenges regarding product life cycle limitations
for embedded electronics (such as the fact that consumer electronics evolve much faster than
vehicles, often leading to outdated technologies in automobiles). Overall, this technology approach
will enable consumers to extend their digital lifestyles to the automobile and will help automotive
organizations extend their customer relationships to the driver.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Agero; Covisint; Delphi; EB; Harman; Microsoft; RealVNC; TomTom; Visteon
Recommended Reading: "Innovation Insight: The Connected Vehicle Will Dominate Automotive
and Mobility Innovations"
"Car Connectivity Consortium Aims at Device Integration"
"Vehicle ICT Evolution: From the Connected Car to the Connected Driver"

Analysis By: Rick Howard
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Definition: "Big data" refers to high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information assets that
demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and
decision making. Big data broadly encompasses data acquired from multiple sources and channels
that are linked and combined in novel ways to reveal phenomena that would not otherwise be
detected.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Big data has moved past the Peak of Inflated
Expectations. It will become an embedded and state-of-the-art practice by 2018 which is not
properly "obsolete before plateau" but this is the best way to describe the trend. Practices are
diverging at this point, with confusion starting to emerge regarding exactly what constitutes big data
and big data technologies, and how government agencies should manage both. Beginning early in
2014 and lasting through the end of 2015, big data will descend into the Trough of Disillusionment
as conflicting concepts of what it is and how organizations can benefit from its management and
analysis multiply.
Big data continues to present government with information management and processing issues that
exceed the capability of traditional IT to support the use of information assets. Existing practices
that selectively evaluate which data should be integrated are being challenged by the realization
that all data can be integrated with technologies that are specifically developed to do so.
MapReduce remains the favored choice for big data processing. Even with new additions or wider
use of the Hadoop project (including new services such as HCatalog), it remains a batch solution
and therefore has to be combined with other information management and processing
technologies. Hadoop implementations require expert-level staff or system implementers.
The adoption of big data concepts and initiatives in the public sector varies widely among
jurisdictions and, to date, is limited to specific use cases such as fraud, waste and abuse detection;
enhanced security capabilities; public health surveillance; healthcare management; or combining
data from IT and operational technology (OT) applications to enhance security monitoring or
increase situational awareness. Governments are searching for ways to use big data to gain
business process efficiencies and reduce costs, but are having limited success. The uneven uptake
is largely due to the challenges big data poses in the way of data security, privacy, data storage
constraints, disputed "ownership" and uses of data, and low levels of organizational competency
and workforce capacity to apply advanced analytics.
Some big data technologies represent a great leap forward in processing management especially
relevant to narrow but deep (many records) datasets such as those generated by OT, such as
sensor data, medical devices and mobile devices. Big data approaches to analyzing data from
these technologies represent a potential for big data solutions to overtake existing technology
solutions when the demand emerges to access, read, present or analyze any data. Notably,
organizations have begun to indicate that existing analytics will be modified and enhanced by big
data not replaced. (Only 11% of data warehouse leaders indicated they would consider replacing
the warehouse with a NoSQL or big data solution in November 2012. This figure is down from just
more than 20% considering it in 2011.)
User Advice:
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Establish the value of big data in the context of improving the performance of government.
Charter enterprise governance bodies to increase information exchange among multiple
agencies and across jurisdictions as a means to integrate service delivery for constituents.
Identify existing business processes that are hampered in their use of information because the
volume is too large, the variety is too widespread or the velocity creates processing issues.
Then, identify business processes that are currently attempting to solve these issues with oneoff or manual solutions.
Review existing information assets that were previously beyond existing analytic or processing
capabilities (dark data), determine if they have untapped value for the business, and make them
a first or pilot target of your big data strategy. In particular, look for information use cases that
combine diverse information assets into analysis and data mining solutions.
Plan to utilize scalable information management resources, such as those acquired from cloudbased services, through the reallocation of resources (infrastructure or workforce) or some other
strategy. Do not forget that gaining value is not just a storage or access problem. Complex,
multilevel, highly correlated information processing will demand elasticity in computing
resources similar to the elasticity required by storage/persistence needs.
Extend the metadata management strategies already in place, and recognize that more is
needed to enable the documentation of these information assets, their pervasiveness of use,
and the fidelity or assurance of the assets, tracking how information assets relate to each other.
Business Impact: There are three key considerations when dealing with big data, and success will
be limited unless all three are addressed. First, because volume, variety and velocity are typically
interdependent, the quantitative aspects of big data generally do not emerge one by one. The
second consideration is that innovation must be cost-effective, not only in the cost to deploy and
maintain, but also in terms of time to delivery solutions that arrive too late are useless, regardless
of cost. Finally, the focus must be on increased insight by the business into process optimization
from immediate automation through the development of completely new business models.
Big data permits greater analysis of all available data, detecting change at even the most granular
levels of the information corpus a precursor to effective insight and discovery. The primary use
cases emerging include leveraging social media data, combining operational technology (machine
data) with back-office and business management data, and further validating existing assets
(increasing their "fidelity"). Big data challenges IT governance to shift from top-down, centralized
decision rights to more end-user choice and information management competencies distributed
throughout the enterprise.
Perhaps the most important business benefits of big data management and analysis techniques are
analytics and decision processing capabilities that can include multiple scenarios such as highly
disparate definitions and temporality of events in the data. This means that analytics can present
many different scenarios in their analysis, with different starting and ending points, differing
relationships within the data, and circumstantial analysis that would support the monitoring of the
propensity of unlikely but possible event scenarios.
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Sample Vendors: Cloudera; EMC (Greenplum); Hortonworks; HP; IBM; Informatica; MapR
Technologies; Oracle; SAP; SAS; Teradata Aster
Recommended Reading: "Use Big Data Analytics to Solve Fraud and Security Problems"
"Big Data Forces Big Change in the Age of Smart Government"
"Big Data Opportunities, New Answers and New Questions"
"How the Nexus of Forces Will Impact Government"
"'Big Data' Is Only the Beginning of Extreme Information Management"

Analysis By: Joy Yang
Definition: Wi-Fi positioning systems measure the signal strength from available Wi-Fi hotspots to
calculate the position of Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Wi-Fi positioning can be measured from either the
network side or the terminal side. Wi-Fi positioning systems can be used to locate the position of a
person or a connected thing, especially when it is indoors where GPS is not available.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Location-based information is widely used in mobile
location-based services (LBSs). With the development of machine to machine (M2M), location
information is used to track the position of connected goods. Wi-Fi positioning systems are
becoming an important positioning methodology as a complement to GPS or Global Navigation
Satellite System (GNSS), especially indoors. Since Wi-Fi networks are now widely available, and
more terminals including laptops, tablets and smartphones have Wi-Fi embedded, Wi-Fi
positioning systems are considered to be an enabler for new business opportunities, such as mobile
marketing.
Wi-Fi positioning systems can be widely used in but are not limited to the following scenarios:
Indoor LBSs
Tracking children and pets
Security monitoring
Logistic tracking
Healthcare monitoring
Current Wi-Fi positioning systems are mostly based on a database with preloaded Wi-Fi access
point (AP) positioning data and measurement of the signal strength from the APs. The complexity of
different approaches varies, and provides different levels of accuracy. With the proximity sensing
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method, the terminal's position is considered the same as the connected access point, which can
give you an accuracy to within a few tens of meters. With the database of AP positions, together
with the receiving signal strength and angles from multiple stations, the system can calculate the
position of the terminals. However, this accuracy is determined by the resolution of the antenna
array; with high resolution beam-forming antenna the accuracy can be pinpointed to within one
meter.
Wi-Fi positioning system services have been provided by Google, Skyhook, YFind, and Navizon.
Wi-Fi vendors such as Cisco and Alvarion (formerly Wavion), have also expended some effort on
this technology to improve the capability of the network and the accuracy of the positioning.
However, there are privacy concerns about inappropriate usage of the location information, linking
with user identification information and user behavior.
User Advice: When choosing a Wi-Fi positioning system, users should evaluate the accuracy of the
technology, and the service provider's capability to maintain an up-to-date Wi-Fi AP database.
Users should also evaluate the privacy protection reputation of the service providers before making
their decision.
Business Impact: Wi-Fi positioning systems can be a great complement to GPS, when the terminal
is indoors. Widely deployed Wi-Fi hot spots and Wi-Fi-embedded terminals enable the Wi-Fi
positioning capability. Accurate position information can be very useful in location-based
applications in mobile services, and in M2M applications.
Sample Vendors: AeroScout; Alvarion (Wavion); Cisco; Ekahau; Google; Skyhook; Ubisense
Sliding Into the Trough

Continua 2012
Analysis By: Wes Rishel
Definition: Continua Health Alliance (Continua) is a global industry alliance that creates open
interoperability guidelines for personal connected health monitoring products and services. It
provides a logo for products that pass its certification tests and promotes adoption. Continua's
2012 Design Guidelines (CDG2012) are the most recent set of specifications in production use.
CDG2012 supersedes the Continua Design Guidelines CDG2011, which we detailed in "Hype Cycle
for Telemedicine, 2012."
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Continua specifications describe four kinds of
interfaces:
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Personal device to aggregation manager (over Bluetooth, low-power Bluetooth, ZigBee

healthcare protocol, near field communications or USB)
Aggregation manager to telehealth service center (over WAN)
Telehealth service center to electronic health record (EHR) or personal health record (PHR) over
WAN
Direct from the aggregation manager to the EHR or PHR
The aggregation manager is co-located with the personal devices. It provides patient identity
services and manages the flow of information from multiple in-home devices. The telehealth service
center is an optional component, a call center to support end users of remote devices.
Continua has more than 200 members, most of which are technology providers. Other members
include three very large healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs), 13 international standards
organizations, and government agencies from six countries. All but one of the 13 nonemployed
members of its board of directors work for technology providers. Similar alliances have worked well
for propagating interoperability technologies such as Bluetooth and USB. The approach, however,
has yet to be proven in healthcare.
There has been progress. In June 2013, Continua identified 90 devices that had been certified for
Continua compliance since 2007. These include weighing scales, blood pressure monitors, glucose
meters, pulse oximeters, cardiovascular monitors, thermometers, strength monitors, prescription
adherence monitors and peak flow monitors. Its website also included nine independent living
activity hubs, which provide a unified access to networks. In the first five months of 2013, Continua
certified 55 devices, compared with 48 in all of 2012. The number of devices available in any
specific market may be much lower than the total certified because some of the certifications were
for demonstration devices and submodules. Nonetheless, the data indicates a step up in
manufacturers' interest.
After six years, Continua has achieved little traction when measured by actual use connecting home
or portable devices to EHR systems. More traction has been achieved through manufacturers
putting devices in consumer supply chains that upload data using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth-enabled
smartphones to cloud-based, vendor-specific repositories. These devices do not use the Continua
specifications.
Recently, however, Continua has begun to see progress in several countries. Denmark published
the first public tender requiring Continua compliance in August 2012, with additional follow-ons; the
Singapore Ministry of Health Holdings announced it is requiring Continua certification for all
personal health devices and services offered within its National Health Platform; in England, the
Worcestershire County Council issued the first tender under the country's ambitious 3millionlives
telehealth re-engineering initiative. The English tender includes two key Continua standards,
although it does not require certified devices. Other national initiatives include Japan, with
commercial deployments that require the use of Continua standards; and Abu Dhabi, which is
developing a Continua standards-based mobile platform. To date there are no U.S. procurements or
regulations that require Continua standards or certification.
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Each of these tenders offers Continua the opportunity to prove its value proposition. Some
questions needing answers include: (1) will plug and play interoperability be achieved in practice, at
the technical as well as clinical data levels; (2) will manufacturers and labelers step up to the
support requirements in multivendor configurations; (3) will the operators of large-scale telehealth
initiatives be willing to restrict competition in the supply chain by restricting purchases under their
programs to certified devices; and (4) will the hub-based architecture conceived by Continua in
2007 be acceptable and add value in the high-mobility, cloud-based market that has developed for
consumer devices?
Continua advocates argue with justification that the value proposition is strongest at a very large
scale, with many manufacturers in a supply chain to consumers and consolidated, cross-modality
data flowing to HDOs, and that it removes complexity from the overall healthcare system by
enabling the use of standardized hardware and software modules. In the Internet era, there is a
counterargument that standardization is slowed by trying to do everything at once. Gall's Law
seems to describe the slow adoption of Continua. It says "A complex system that works is
invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked" (see "Maverick* Research:
Lessons Learned From Case Studies for Ultralean Development").
As Continua works to prove its value proposition, the growing number of certified instruments and
tenders portends progress. Gartner's methodology, however, does not indicate that we should
advance Continua on the Hype Cycle until we see actual adoption.
User Advice: Until Continua can prove its value proposition in the pioneering efforts in Malaysia and
Europe, HDOs in other countries (including the U.S.) are unable to rely on remotely monitoring
Continua-based devices until they are available in the supply chains of their countries and covered
by payers in their markets.
Governmental agencies that seek to pursue the higher level of patient engagement might benefit
from specifying Continua compliance, but they are usually reliant on other agencies to approve the
devices, and on the manufacturers to offer the devices in their markets. In addition, they have only
speculation or sketchy evidence that care programs based on such devices can produce
measurable improvements in population health status or costs. Such agencies may find it
advantageous to wait until the current pioneering efforts have borne fruit, particularly since it is
difficult to attract manufacturers into a market where their sales might be limited to pilot efforts.
An interim approach for immediate programs would be to rely on non-Continua devices in the
supply chain, and work out arrangements to download data from vendor-specific cloud repositories
directly or via personal health records. Even this approach involves significant investment and
would not be suitable to any but early-adopting HDOs.
Business Impact: Home and mobile monitoring has the potential to substantially improve the
quality of care and reduce costs by enhancing patient engagement; enabling more-frequent
interactions with caregivers and healthcare providers, rather than periodic office visits; and enabling
patients to remain in the community or at home. As these approaches become medically accepted
and find an economic niche, Continua can greatly accelerate its adoption and decrease the total
cost of using monitors by reducing the "technical therapy" required to get the monitors operating.
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Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Cisco; GE Healthcare; IBM; Intel; Medtronic; Orange; Panasonic; Philips
Healthcare; Roche; Samsung; Sharp Electronics; Tunstall Healthcare Group
Recommended Reading: "Continua Will Be Critical to Moving Care to Home and Mobile Settings"
"Cool Vendors in Healthcare Providers, 2012"
Microgrids
Definition: Microgrids are small-scale, low-voltage power systems with energy sources, storage
devices and controllable loads. They have two operation modes either connected to the main
power network, or "islanded" in a controlled, coordinated way. The operation of microgrids offers
advantages to customers and utilities by improving energy efficiency, reducing transmission and
distribution losses, improving reliability, reducing environmental impact, and providing more costefficient electricity infrastructure replacement.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Microgrids are small-scale versions of the centralized
power system that generate, distribute, store and regulate the flow of electricity to consumers, and
in which sources are co-located with loads. This includes remote rural electrification and residential
or community power networks to commercial, industrial, municipal, hospital, campus and military
base power grids. Microgrids offer a compelling alternative to traditional energy generation and
distribution, using smart grid technologies to enable integrated control of distributed power
generation assets, either in parallel to, or islanded from the utility power grid.
Microgrids also provide local choice regarding the electricity generation source and supply, such as
locally distributed renewable energy sources. They operate in coordination with the utility to
improve customer service, but the infrastructure is controlled either in part (as with a community) or
in whole (as with a university) by the local entity. Universities (such as Princeton and Harvard)
frequently own and operate their own microgrids, as do communities, airport operators and military
bases (such as Fort Bragg, North Carolina).
With the increased focus on renewable energy, efficiency and the need to make the business case
for the smart grid, a growing number of stakeholders are focusing on microgrids as a viable
approach to grid modernization at the local level. Microgrids incorporate local distributed energy
supplies and storage technologies that meet the needs of the constituents being served, while
networking with the larger grid. Smart microgrids, which are more commonplace in Europe and
Japan, face some policy and regulatory barriers in the U.S. that are being challenged as the
reliability, quality and environmental benefits they offer become clearer.
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Microgrids can also be seen as an "aggregated" demonstration of energy technology

consumerization, which challenges the traditional utility business model (provider of energy as a
cloud service). By facilitating consumer (or a group of consumers) integration into the energy
market, microgrids are also contributing to the "geodesic" transformation of the energy delivery
infrastructure.
User Advice: Many of the microgrid's technical requirements are the same as for traditional power
generation and delivery systems. However, the common use of alternative energy sources
(intermittent in nature) will require broad use of power electronic interfaces. To supply reliable,
quality power, the microgrid must have mechanisms to regulate voltage and frequency in response
to changes in customer loads and system disturbances. All power in microgrids comes from the
distributed generation within the microgrid, which will require significant investment in operational
technology to perform distributed control.
Despite the significant promise and industry excitement over the concept, few fully commercialized,
state-of-the-art microgrids with significant generation capacity are actually up and running in North
America. Promoters of the microgrid concept are struggling to find the appropriate business models
and regulatory structures to decentralize the power distribution infrastructure, while adding greater
reliability, security and self-healing capabilities to electricity distribution. The answers to these open
questions will have a profound influence on the evolution of the electric power industry.
Business Impact: Microgrids will impact generation and distribution domains, and will have
implications on energy retailing.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: GE Energy; Power Analytics; Siemens; Spirae; Viridity Energy
Recommended Reading: "Top 10 Business Trends Impacting the Utility Industry in 2013"
"MarketScope for Advanced Distribution Management Systems"
Analysis By: Zarko Sumic; Randy Rhodes
Definition: Distributed generation (DG) is an energy supply method that situates generation
resources at or near retail load. The generation resource may include diesel, biofuel, wind, solar or
fuel cell technologies; may be consumer-owned; and may be combined with on-site energy storage.
DG could potentially transform centrally managed, radial delivery networks into geodesic, selfsupporting networks. This could eventually improve power system resilience and enable more
thorough consumer-driven integration.
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Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Consumer desire to mitigate high supply costs and
volatility, in addition to increasing reliability and service quality expectations, will lead to greater DG
adoption, primarily by larger and more-sophisticated commercial consumers or, in some cases,
groups of adjacent residential consumers (neighborhoods). DG interconnection standards are
maturing; however, regulatory oversight is still a patchwork of interconnection rules. Issues with
siting and permitting costs still limit penetration. Locales where renewable portfolio standards apply,
and where feed-in tariffs and net metering arrangements are available, are more conducive to DG
deployment. For example, California expects that one-fourth of new generation resources installed
between 2012 and 2020 will come on the customer's side of the meter (mostly rooftop solar). Most
utilities have little incentive from their regulators to pursue DG, even when, on occasion, it can
provide business value. Few utilities have an organizational structure ready to coordinate and
facilitate a vast array of third parties, with interests in DG expansion. Benefits and logistical
challenges span utility organizational business units generation, transmission, distribution and
customer service.
DG technology champions find it difficult to convince business unit leaders to reallocate capital
when DG benefits fall outside their departmental budgets. DG resources are seen as less reliable by
transmission and distribution (T&D) leaders. Redirecting T&D capital budgets for DG resources to
defer T&D capacity projects incurs more risk. For example, what if the DG stops operating because
of higher fuel costs? In that case, the traditional grid-provided energy will be required as backup,
regardless of the cost. Consequently, the most ardent DG advocates are outside utilities typically
microgrid developers, often with financial interests in urban development or environmental/political
purposes.
User Advice: Marginal business cases can be helped by considering combined heat and power
(CHP), co-generation, solar power purchase agreements (PPAs), and high-availability applications
with energy storage or uninterruptible power supply equipment as part of the DG implementation.
Outsourcing day-to-day remote performance monitoring, operations and maintenance can be
considered as well. Utilities should look for T&D asset deferral benefits, but have backup plans if the
DG technology has an unplanned outage (just as with line design). As with demand response (DR),
utilities must propose incentives to regulators that would help them support cost-effective
alternatives to traditional utility wires infrastructure, but still within their service mandate.
Utilities must also consider the information management and communication effects of DG growth,
such as the need to expand communication networks and historian systems. Because a significant
percentage of DG will be deployed by customers in the form of renewable generation, it will also
enable consumer participation in carbon dioxide abatement.
Business Impact: Retail energy, distribution operations and the supply domain will experience the
greatest effect from DG.
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Sample Vendors: Arotech; Ballard Power Systems; Bloom Energy; Capstone Turbine; Caterpillar;
ITM Power; Plug Power; ReliOn
Recommended Reading: "Energy Technology Consumerization: The Quest for Lean and Green"
"The Utility of the Future: The Information Utility"
"Top 10 Technology Trends Impacting the Energy and Utility Industry in 2013"
Integrated and Open Building Automation and Control Systems

Analysis By: Simon Mingay; Stephen Stokes
Definition: These systems integrate and optimize the management and control of heterogeneous
building infrastructure equipment, using IP and open standards such as BACnet, data descriptions
and protocols. These systems will integrate the management of power distribution; uninterruptible
power supplies; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; lighting; energy monitoring; access
controls; surveillance and security; and on-site energy generation. They support remote access and
management, as well as distributed control over secure IP networks.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: These systems help support energy efficiency and
building automation, and can automate a response to pricing signals and demand response
requests from the utility. They may take other external data feeds, such as weather forecasts, and
based on a set of user-definable policies and rules take appropriate measures. The data from
these systems is made available to enterprise facilities management systems, and other enterprise
applications, through appropriate integration or data exchange mechanisms that make use of open
and industry standards, such as SOAP and XML. That may include published APIs and Web
services, and comply with any data standards that ensure data consistency.
Most of the individual parts of these solutions, such as industry standard communication protocols,
are available and are mature technologies. Many building systems are simply connected, rather
than integrated, although increasingly there are single-vendor solutions available that integrate
much of this. However, most enterprises don't have the luxury of a single-vendor environment, and
are faced with a heterogeneous portfolio of building assets and a capital budget that won't extend
to cover the associated costs. The challenge is to integrate through open standards ideally
across a range of equipment from multiple vendors and be able to securely integrate the systems
and data at low cost into existing enterprise networks, systems and building information
management software. The technology will continue to accelerate due to a combination of
continued convergence of the networking layers, increased awareness and demand for efficient
building performance, as well as wider deployment of sensors and networks capable of sensing
environmental and resource consumption data on increasingly real-time scales. The solutions will
increasingly integrate with cloud-based options.
Building management and automation systems are widely used to achieve new levels of visibility
and insight into campus, building and building subsystem performance. Building management and
building energy efficiency, in particular, are among the hottest spaces within the sustainable
business marketplace. Basic automation technologies have been around for a considerable time.
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What is new is the integration of these data feeds for the purposes of management and automation,
and into rich dashboards and cockpits, allowing for real-time analysis, process optimization and, in
many cases, significant shifts from reactive to preventive maintenance. It will also be easier to
integrate the management of both compute and building systems within the data center an area
data center infrastructure management is tackling.
User Advice: IT organizations will increasingly be drawn into discussions about building automation
and control, on the basis of architecting and operating converged building and enterprise networks,
or around security and remote access issues, or for data analytics. They should seek to influence
solution architectures and technology choices toward open systems and protocols that facilitate
integration and access to data. Early involvement in new builds and major refurbishments will be
important if influence is to be effective.
Business Impact: The business impact of building automation and control systems is considerable,
which increases in proportion to the extent to which building operational expenses represent a
substantial portion of total expenses. Application of existing, mature physical technologies and
related automation and control systems are capable of reducing energy consumption and
associated emissions from commercial building environments by more than 40%. Payback periods
on such projects and programs are shrinking quickly, and are commonly cited on time scales of less
than three years.
Sample Vendors: BuildingIQ; Honeywell; IBM; Johnson Controls; Powerit Solutions; Schneider
Electric; Siemens
Recommended Reading: "An Integrated Building Management System Puts the 'Smart' in Smart
Building"
"IBM and the Green Sigma Coalition Smarten Up the Built Environment by Turning Buildings Into
Business Priorities"
"An Energy-Efficiency and Sustainable Buildings Case Study: Johnson Controls Demonstrates
Leadership in Design and Execution"
"Cool Vendors in Green IT and Sustainability, 2013"

Analysis By: Bill O'Kane; Saul Judah; Andrew White
Definition: Master data management (MDM) is a technology-enabled discipline in which business
and IT work together to ensure the uniformity, accuracy, stewardship, semantic consistency and
accountability of the enterprise's official shared master data assets. Master data is the consistent
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and uniform set of identifiers and extended attributes that describes the core entities of the
enterprise, including customers, prospects, citizens, suppliers, sites, hierarchies and chart of
accounts.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: A single version of truth for master data domains,
such as customer, product and asset, remains a central ambition for many organizations in the
pursuit of their strategic business goals. MDM is therefore more a strategic program than a single
project, and can thus take many years to achieve, even though each phase of the program may add
to the scope (from customer national to customer global, for example). Given that MDM is a
technology-enabled discipline, we have to look at both the hype and maturity of the discipline as
well as the supporting technology. The discipline side is where the greater barriers to success
reside; this helps to explain what slows MDM momentum in relation to technologies requiring less
business engagement, governance and change management, and why there is only a slight
movement forward on the Hype Cycle curve for this year. Technology, on the other hand, is more of
a challenge than a barrier. Business case creation and program change management, as well as an
ability to effectively deploy information governance, keeps MDM limited to a minority of
organizations capable of mastering those skills. The technology itself is also maturing along a
different timeline since there is little really new to do with MDM from a technical side that has not
been done before in isolation, perhaps for some other purpose. What is new is that the various
capabilities needed to support MDM must be tightly integrated and managed to govern specific
master data.
Throughout 2013, the market for technologies supporting MDM will continue to evolve along
different dimensions. The first generation of single domain MDM technologies is characterized by
those programs focused on a single version of customer or (separately) on a single version of
product. Increasingly larger organizations will implement different hubs for each domain. We call
this "multiple domain" MDM. The second generation of MDM technologies referred to as
multidomain MDM are still relatively immature since the requirements for the most complex
objects across domains, industries and organizational structures are very complex indeed. There
are a small number of these implementations but they are, for the most part, not overly complex in
many dimensions. The next generation of MDM technologies, yet to fully emerge, are called
multivector MDM. These are multidomain-capable MDM offerings that can support all of the
implementation styles and any number of variations between them, all with one technology solution.
Some vendors are spending several years to "converge" several offerings; others continue to pile
new developments on single solutions. The reality is that this generation will not even fully emerge
until the second generation has become much more mature.
Business drivers differ by industry and span a number of areas: growth (revenue, service),
optimization (efficiency), agility (service-oriented architecture), improved decision making (business
intelligence [BI]), risk management, compliance and supporting merger and acquisition activity. New
trends in 2013 continue to span the visionary (for example, cloud-based capabilities and integration
with social/big data) as well as the more practical (better support for data stewardship and overall
governance workflow). Additionally, in response to pressure from clients and prospects, several
MDM vendors known for leading with prepackaged master data models and integration service
layers in their software have begun to enable more flexibility in the area of data modeling. Similarly,
vendors known for relying on client-driven master data models are responding to demand for
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domain-specific data model and service layer collateral by providing templates to accelerate the
technology development cycle. Despite the hype that comes and goes within any one year, the
overall level of interest in MDM continues to increase. The ongoing hype continues to grow around
multidomain MDM, and less so for single domain MDM, such as MDM of customer and product
data solutions, and the scope, breadth and complexity of MDM explain why this technologyenabled discipline will take many years to reach full maturity. Penetration of the addressable market
is close to 5% in terms of all aspects of MDM, though single domain MDM is a little over 5% and
multidomain MDM is less than 5%.
User Advice: Organizations with complex or heterogeneous application and information landscapes
will likely suffer from inconsistent master data. Sometimes the costs to use this data to improve
business outcomes becomes too high, at which point an MDM program may be more practical. This
may span any number of business applications including customer-facing, supplier-facing,
enterprisewide or value chain. More strategically, if your business strategy is dependent on the
consistency of the data within your organization, MDM may be adopted for strategic reasons. Many
Type As and innovators have adopted MDM in some fashion. Type Bs and fast followers are
beginning this journey too. Companies investigating the use of MDM should:
Ensure a clear line of sight to business benefits and business sponsorship. Understand which
business initiatives will require better master data to succeed and sell the need for MDM as part
of the project.
Identify specific solutions for the most important master data in your organizations, such as
customer, product and (potentially) financial data, paying particular attention to vertical industry
experience provided by the tools. Plan on using them for the next two to three years as the
second generation of MDM products matures.
Identify the architectural role that each implemented MDM solution will play in your enterprise
information management approach, relative to the information architecture. Use MDM as an
opportunity to practice sound information architecture fundamentals such as canonical
transaction formats for master data domains.
Leverage previous experiences in dimensional data development for BI initiatives to identify the
most fragmented but reused data domains in the organization. Begin your MDM efforts with
those domains.
Business Impact: Leading organizations that create an MDM strategy (to implement MDM and its
supporting technology) that is well thought out, holistic and business-driven will be able to deliver
significant business value in terms of enabling competitive differentiation and business growth,
improved customer services, reduced time to market and delivering on operational efficiency as well
as meeting governance, risk management and compliance requirements. MDM strategies that are
linked to strategic IT enterprise transformation efforts (such as ERP or CRM implementations)
provide significant additional value to those programs; conversely, MDM-centric business cases are
often used to surface opportunities for significant business process optimization.
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Sample Vendors: IBM; Informatica; Kalido; Oracle; Orchestra Networks; Riversand Technologies;
SAP; Software AG; Teradata; Tibco Software
Recommended Reading: "The Seven Building Blocks of MDM: A Framework for Success"
"Mastering Master Data Management"
"Toolkit: Program Manager's Guide to MDM"
"Research Library for the Seven Building Blocks of MDM"
"The Five Vectors of Complexity That Define Your MDM Strategy"
Machine-to-Machine Communication Services

Analysis By: Tina Tian; Sylvain Fabre
Definition: Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication services are used for automated data
transmission and measurement between mechanical or electronic devices. The key components of
an M2M system are:
Field-deployed wireless devices with embedded sensors or RFID technology
Wireless and wireline communication networks, including cellular communication, Wi-Fi,

ZigBee, WiMAX, generic DSL (xDSL) and fiber to the x (FTTx) networks
A back-end network that interprets data and makes decisions
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: M2M technology continues to fuel new business
offerings and support a wide range of initiatives, such as smart metering, road tolls, smart cities,
smart buildings and geofencing assets, to name a few. Revenue growth is now 30% to 40% per
year. Communications service providers (CSPs), business development managers and architects in
many industries should take a closer look at how M2M communication services can help grow their
business.
There is currently no one service provider than can deliver M2M services end-to-end. The value
chain remains fragmented. Service providers are trying to partner with others to create a workable
ecosystem.
M2M services are currently provided by three types of provider:
M2M service providers. Mobile virtual network operators and companies associated with an
operator that can piggyback on that operator's roaming agreements (for example, Wyless, Kore
Telematics and Jasper Wireless).
CSPs. Some CSPs, such as Orange in Europe and AT&T in North America, have supplied M2M
services for several years, but have not publicized them widely. However, CSPs are now
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marketing M2M services more vigorously, and those that have not had a strong M2M presence
so far are treating it more seriously by increasing their marketing or creating dedicated M2M
service divisions (for example, T-Mobile, Telenor and Vodafone).
Other organizations with different M2M strengths. These are combining to enter the market.
Jasper Wireless, for example, has also signed an agreement with AT&T to provide dedicated
support for M2M devices created jointly.
All three types will be viable options for clients to consider, and can be customized to meet M2M
requirements awaiting verification.
Besides the service providers mentioned above, there are companies with certain skills in strategy
and rollout that can manage the daunting value chain needed to implement M2M solutions.
Examples are:
Ventyx, an ABB company
Walsh Vision, which has rolled out an M2M-based pay-as-you-drive insurance solution
Capgemini, a leader in smart-grid and advanced metering infrastructure solutions
Integron, a logistics and integration partner for M2M solutions.
Wireless access is one of the many important links in an M2M deployment chain. CSPs have to be
well positioned for their role in the M2M market, based on an evaluation of their own strengths in
terms of multinational network coverage, application development skills and IT management ability
and their choice of a suitable business model and partner. CSPs also have to be in a position to
sell a series of new data plans (that accommodate an M2M solution's business requirements) as
well as provide some form of second- or third-tier support. These demands are being placed on
CSPs whose core expertise lies in the provision of mass-market voice and data services to
consumers.
One of the key technology factors that may affect M2M service deployment is mobile-networksupporting capability. Early M2M services were smart meters, telematics and e-health monitors,
which are expected to be widely used in the future. In its Release 10, the Third Generation
Partnership Project (3GPP) has been working on M2M technology to enhance network systems in
order to offer better support for machine-type communications (MTC) applications. The 3GPP's TS
22.368 specification describes common and specific service requirements for MTC. The main
functions specified in Release 10 are overload and congestion control. The recently announced
Release 11 investigates additional MTC requirements, use cases and functional improvements to
existing specifications. End-to-end real-time security will also become an important factor when
more important vertical applications are brought into cellular networks.
Another key factor on the technology side that may impact mass deployment of M2M
communication services is the level of standardization. Some key M2M technology components
such as RFID, location awareness, short-range communication and mobile communication
technologies have been on the market for quite a long time. But there remains a lack of the
standardization necessary to put the pieces of the puzzle together to make M2M services costeffective and easy to deploy, and therefore to enable this market to take off. M2M standardization
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may involve many technologies (like the Efficient XML Interchange [EXI] standard, Constrained
Application Protocol [CoAP] and Internet Protocol Version 6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal
Area Networks [IPv6/6LoWPAN]) and stakeholders (including CSPs, RFID makers, telecom network
equipment vendors and terminal providers). The European Telecommunications Standards Institute
has a group working on the definition, smart-metering use cases, functional architecture and service
requirements for M2M technology.
User Advice: As M2M communications grow in importance, regulators should pay more attention
to standards, prices, terms and conditions. For example, the difficulty of changing operators during
the life of equipment with embedded M2M technology might be seen by regulators as a potential
monopoly. Regulators in France and Spain already require operators to report on M2M connections,
and we expect to see increased regulatory interest elsewhere.
For the end user, the M2M market is very fragmented because no single end-to-end M2M provider
exists. A number of suppliers offer monitoring services, hardware development, wireless access
services and hardware interface design and other functions to enterprise users. As a result, an M2M
solution adopter has to do a lot of work to integrate the many vendors' offerings, on top of which,
business processes may need redefining. M2M will speed up IT/operational technology alignment
and convergence, as IT and communications solutions will come closer to users' operations and
control through M2M technology.
An enterprise's M2M technology strategy needs to consider the following issues:
Scope of deployment
System integration method
Hardware budget
Application development and implementation
Wireless service options
Wireless access costs
Business Impact: M2M communication services have many benefits for users, governments and
CSPs. They can dramatically improve the efficiency of device management. As value-added
services, they also have considerable potential as revenue generators for CSPs the success of
these services will be important for CSPs' business growth plans.
M2M communication services are expected to be the critical enablers for many initiatives that fall
under the "smart city" umbrella and contribute to the Internet of Things. Examples are smart-grid
initiatives with connected smart-grid sensors to monitor distribution networks in real time, and
smart-transportation initiatives with embedded telematics devices in cars to track and control
traffic. M2M communication services will also connect billions of devices, causing further
transformation of communication networks.
M2M communication services should be seen as an important set of facilitating technologies for use
in operational technologies. At an architectural level, particular care should be taken when choosing
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M2M solutions to ensure they facilitate the alignment, convergence or integration of operational
technology with IT.
Sample Vendors: AT&T; France Telecom; KDDI; Qualcomm; Sprint Nextel; Telefonica; Telenor;
Verizon; Vodafone
Recommended Reading: "How CSPs Can Successfully Optimize M2M Opportunities for Growth"
"The Time is Right for CSPs to Move Into M2M Management"
"Sourcing Strategies Must Assess External Providers When Integrating M2M Communications Into
IT/OT Initiatives"
"Competitive Landscape: M2M Platform and Software Providers for CSPs, 2012"
"Market Trends: Overcoming Machine-to-Machine Challenges to Realize the Market Potential"
"Technology Overview: Mobile M2M Network in Japan"
"IT and Operational Technology: Convergence, Alignment and Integration"
Customer Gateways
Analysis By: Zarko Sumic; Chet Geschickter
Definition: Customer gateways are logical interfaces that connect utility systems with consumer
systems and devices, such as home energy management and smart appliances, to enable
consumer participation in the smart grid by delivering pricing signals and supporting secure twoway communications to coordinate energy management.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Customer gateways are an enabling technology for
energy technology consumerization and an interface between utility and home energy management
(HEM) and a home-area network (HAN) system. They are critical components for customer inclusion
in energy markets through on-site renewable generation and storage, as well as energy efficiency
programs. In addition to becoming stand-alone devices, customer gateways can be provided by
utilities and integrated in an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI a smart metering solution), or
they can be integral parts of HEM/consumer energy management solution.
Customer gateways, coupled with an AMI, enable the consumer to effectively make choices about
energy consumption, primarily in the face of price signals through the programs, such as economic
demand response. This is done through systems that are programmable by the consumer to
alleviate the impact of high prices by reducing consumption or shifting consumption to lower-priced
hours. Limitations of first-generation AMI consumer gateway technology (specifically shortcomings
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in ZigBee Smart Energy Profile 1), the gradual pace of demand-response adoption and electricity
pricing reform, and the slow uptake of HEM systems have slowed the pace of customer gateway
deployment. The release of Smart Energy Profile 2 and forward progress in the HEM market
adoption will drive growth and maturation of customer gateways.
User Advice: Energy IT organizations should prepare for the impact of information and energy
technology consumerization by providing communication links and control schemas to incorporate
customer-installed gateways, HEM systems and smart devices. Gateways are also a point of
contact between utility-deployed technology and HEM solutions provided by communication
service providers or other consumer technology vendors. Options for a customer gateway platform
include smart meters, home gateways or cloud-based services that customers can access via a
Web browser or an Internet-connected device (such as a smartphone or a tablet). Technology
architects should educate the business on the pros and cons of each option within the context of
overall smart grid strategy before making a platform commitment.
Business Impact: Customer gateways will affect energy retail and will be a key enabler of energy
technology consumerization. They will act as a portal between utility and consumer energy
technology, such as on-site generation and storage and smart appliances supporting consumer
HEM, and enable energy provisioning transformation. Customer gateways support demandresponse and energy efficiency initiatives, and can serve as an enabling component for prepayment
and dynamic pricing programs. Benefits are likely to be higher for utilities deploying AMI.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Comverge; Digi; Echelon; Ember; Tendril
Recommended Reading: "Top 10 Business Trends Impacting the Utility Industry in 2013"
"Innovation Insight: Smart Grid Drives Innovation in the Utility Sector"
"Energy Technology Consumerization: The Quest for Lean and Green"
"Technology Overview for Home Energy Management Technology Overview"

Analysis By: Barry Runyon; Jessica Ekholm
Definition: Mobile health monitoring is the use of IT and mobile communications to monitor the
health of patients, and to help ensure that appropriate action is taken. Patients are provided
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wearable and portable monitoring devices that capture physiological metrics, such as blood
pressure, glucose level, pulse, blood oxygen level and weight, and then transmit or stage the patient
data for analysis and review using mobile device and carrier services.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Advances in smartphone platforms, sensor
technologies, cellular networks, cloud computing and portable medical devices have removed many
of the technical barriers to mobile health monitoring. Industry cooperatives such as the Continua
Health Alliance, the ZigBee Alliance and the Bluetooth Special Interest Group have furthered the
cause of device interoperability. Over this past year, we have seen an increased interest in mobile
health monitoring due to a number of factors:
The increased burden of chronic disease in emerging markets, many of which have poor
landline coverage and better mobile coverage, is generating interest from government
healthcare agencies in deploying mobile versions of home health monitoring devices.
A growing interest among healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs) in developed and emerging
markets in using mobility to overcome the "location dependence" limitation of home health
monitoring technologies. The use of portable or wearable devices opens the possibility not only
of monitoring patients who are active and mobile, but also continually and in real-time.
The emergence of personal health record (PHR) applications is enabling healthcare consumers
to create Web-based healthcare data repositories that are able to accept data from health and
fitness monitoring devices.
An increasing fascination with the so-called "quantified self." Sports product manufacturers,
such as Adidas and Nike, are offering motion trackers that help create a better jogging
experience. Professional sports teams use a variety of dedicated sensors and devices to
measure the performance of team players. The widespread adoption of smartphones with lowcost applications that enable mobile health monitoring is leading to growing interest from
healthcare consumers in self-monitoring.
In February of 2012, Telcare (see "Cool Vendors in Healthcare Providers, 2012") began shipping
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared glucometers that automatically connect to a
cellular data network and integrate with Telcare's own website, payer call centers and the electronic
health records (EHRs) of healthcare providers. There is no requirement for the user to sign up or to
connect to a Wi-Fi network initially or after each reading. The connected glucometer is no more
difficult to use than an unconnected glucometer, and far easier than those that use Bluetooth or
cords to connect the device to an intermediate PC or gateway.
Despite growing interest, most deployments of mobile health monitoring are pilot projects. HDOs,
for the most part, are not yet convinced that the business case for mobile health monitoring is viable
and have not yet shown the organizational commitment to develop sustainable services on a large
scale. The ease of deployment of products such as Telcare will help move some pilots to largerscale, operational programs. During the next few years, as mobile health monitoring evolves and its
clinical uses become more clearly defined, it will most likely fragment into certain submarkets
focused on particular clinical areas, such as obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), diabetes and cardiac care.
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User Advice: Whether mobile health monitoring pilots evolve into operational deployments depends
on the ability of HDOs to overcome multiple obstacles, including legal and licensing restrictions,
inconsistent reimbursement by healthcare payers, and the reality that mobile health monitoring will
require new staffing and workforce considerations and new business processes for dealing with
remotely generated patient data, as well as new ways of integrating this information into their
business and clinical systems.
HDOs should focus on the process and business issues raised by mobile health monitoring. It is
essential to develop the ability to manage large numbers of mobile devices and remote patients, to
change business and clinical processes to handle a remotely generated patient data, and the
staffing model to be able to orchestrate time-critical interventions for patients.
HDOs should not rush to replace home health monitoring in favor of mobile health monitoring.
Mobile monitoring will be used to supplement home monitoring, but will not replace it in the near
term.
Business Impact: If deployed appropriately, mobile health monitoring will enable closer monitoring
and faster intervention in the care of certain groups of patients. Mobile health monitoring can
improve patient engagement, enhance the patient experience and increase adherence to care
plans.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Abbott Diabetes Care; Aerotel Medical Systems; Ideal Life; Johnson & Johnson;
Medic4all; Medtronic; OBS Medical; Preventice; Ringful Health; Roche; Tunstall Healthcare Group
Recommended Reading: "As the Mobility Movement Gains Momentum, Healthcare Delivery
Organizations Must Prepare to Adapt"
"Analytics Gets Personal with the Quantified Self"
NFC
Analysis By: Mark Hung
Definition: Near Field Communication (NFC) is a wireless technology that enables a variety of
contactless applications, such as tap-to-act, information exchange, device pairing, mobile
marketing and payments. It has an operating range of 10 cm or less using the 13.56MHz frequency
band. Three user modes are defined for NFC operation:
Card emulation
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Tag reading
Peer-to-peer (P2P)
These modes are based on several ISO/IEC standards, including ISO14443 A/B, ISO15693 and
ISO18092. The NFC Forum is the industry group that specifies the use of these standards.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: For the past decade, NFC has been a technology
looking for a solution. Originally intended as the foundation for next-generation payment systems
using smart cards, it never caught on due to the lack of a compelling value proposition. As mobile
phones became more prevalent globally in the first decade of the 21st century, Nokia tried to push
the technology in this new platform. However, the ROI was still unclear for financial institutions,
payment processors, credit card issuers and most importantly, merchants. Nokia introduced it on
only one feature phone, the 6131.
In November 2010, Google breathed new life into NFC by embedding it in its latest smartphone, the
Google Nexus S. This became the first widely available smartphone with built-in NFC. During the
next several months, Google enhanced the Android OS to eventually support all three modes
specified by the NFC Forum another first. Currently, all the major smartphone OS vendors, with
the notable exception of Apple, provide native support for NFC:
Android: Acer, Asus, HTC, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sony, ZTE
BlackBerry OS: BlackBerry
Symbian: Nokia
Windows Phone: HTC, Nokia, Samsung
By embedding NFC in the smartphone platform, the hardware and software companies hope to
move beyond payments and provide the developer community with another tool to foster innovative
applications. Several smartphone and consumer electronics companies have been particularly
aggressive in exploring new NFC uses:
Samsung: Has highlighted several NFC use cases, such as video exchange, in its commercials.
Several of these have been used to distinguish its Galaxy line of smartphones from the iPhone.
Sony: Has introduced a complete line of consumer electronics devices, such as TVs, remote
controls, boomboxes, speakers and headsets, with NFC capabilities built in.
LG: Has expanded NFC capabilities into home appliances, such as refrigerators and vacuum
cleaners.
Nintendo: With the inclusion of NFC in Wii U's GamePad, it not only enables NFC functionality
for future game play, but the company is also planning on using it for digital payments.
NFC payment, however, with multiple parties that have differing interests and agendas, remains the
most complex and time-consuming application to implement. For the next few years, growth of
NFC will be primarily in smartphones and the surrounding digital ecosystem devices, such as
tablets, PCs, printers and TVs. For NFC to take off in payments, a compelling case must be made
for the merchants and the financial ecosystem to invest in the necessary infrastructure.
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In other markets, NFC has started to get more traction. In transportation, proprietary contactless
technologies (such as NXP's Mifare) have dominated the market. New industry organizations, such
as the Open Standard for Public Transport (OSPT) Alliance, are now looking to promote standardsbased NFC for this application. In the enterprise, vendors such as HID Global are now promoting
NFC-based solutions for both physical access (e.g., building entry) as well as IT access (e.g., server
login).
User Advice:
Electronic equipment manufacturers should carefully examine NFC's possible use cases and
determine which of their mobile, computing, communications and consumer electronics devices
can benefit from its inclusion.
Software developers should explore the combination of NFC with a smartphone's other
capabilities to bring about innovative applications to bridge the online and physical worlds.
Wireless connectivity semiconductor vendors should re-examine their product road map and
decide how to offer this capability to their customers, whether through a partnership,
acquisition or organic development. This will become a checkbox item for connectivity on
smartphones within two to three years.
Business Impact: NFC can bring about unrealized applications by embedding identity in a
multifunction computing and communications platform, such as the smartphone. Although this will
have the most impact at the consumer level at first, it may eventually have a strong influence on
context-aware computing and security control in many different industries and enterprises.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: BlackBerry; Broadcom; Google; Inside Secure; Nokia; NXP Semiconductors;
Samsung
Recommended Reading: "Innovation Insight: NFC Bridges Mobile Devices, People and Things"
Advanced Metering Infrastructure

Definition: Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is a composite technology comprising several
elements: consumption meters, a two-way communications channel and a data repository (meter
data management). Jointly, these elements support all phases of the meter data life cycle from
data acquisition to final provisioning of energy consumption information to end customers (for
example, for load profile presentment) or to an IT application (such as billing, revenue protection,
demand response or outage management).
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Position and Adoption Speed Justification: The different drivers for AMI deployment combined
with the different market structures around the world (integrated or unbundled) and their different
meter ownership models result in diverse solutions implemented in various energy markets. In
some markets, such as the U.S.; Ontario, Canada; Victoria and Western Australia; Ireland; and
Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), AMI deployment is driven by the need to
address future supply shortages by enabling demand response and energy efficiency. In other
markets, such as the Nordic countries, the main driver is the need to facilitate retail market
switching by providing more-frequent meter reads. In an early deployment in Italy, the primary driver
was reducing customer service provisioning costs.
In the U.K., government plays a more significant role in AMI technology selection (that is,
communications and meter data repository) through government organizations such as the
Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
(Ofgem). In the U.S., technology is selected by utilities that manage asset and customer
relationships. The U.S. approach creates more of a heterogeneous AMI environment with rising
interoperability concerns.
While a number of U.S. utilities have deployed AMI following the U.S. government's Smart Grid
Investment Grant (SGIG) program concerns with investment recovery for the matching part of the
program's grants have slowed some implementations. In addition, customer backlash in the
California and Texas markets has impacted some projects, raising concerns over metering, billing
accuracy, data privacy and electromagnetic fields. The primary element in the backlash, however,
has been the lack of a good utility customer communications strategy. As a result, utilities now
realize the need to invest more strongly in consumer education to ease the end-user technology
adoption challenge.
Most EU member countries are considering plans to replace 80% of their meters by 2020. The U.K.
is on a more aggressive path, following the DECC's proposal to replace 100% of the meters with
AMI (smart meters) by 2020. Similar programs exist elsewhere notably in Australia and New
Zealand as well in China, which has set a nationwide smart metering replacement program by
2020.
User Advice: AMI deployment can be used as a proxy for a more strategic smart grid project to
identify potential governance issues. AMI technology spans the IT domain (meter data management)
and the operational technology (OT) domain (such as the communications backbone and smart
meters). IT and OT each operate within different organizational and process maturity levels, and
both have different frameworks to assess technology asset supportability and maintainability.
However, the infusion of computational power on the OT side influences technology life expectancy
and raises supportability issues. Maintaining smart meters will be increasingly similar to maintaining
an IT asset, such as desktops and laptops, because they both share the same distributed nature,
increasingly Internet Protocol-enabled communications and shorter technology update cycles.
The technical requirements for an AMI are similar to revenue metering for large commercial and
industrial customer segments (such as interval meter data with at least daily meter interrogation).
The one significant difference is the scale of deployment, because it usually includes all customer
segments. An additional difference is that, as an enterprisewide environment, AMI must support a
variety of applications and end-user needs for energy consumption data. Therefore, AMI must meet
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a wide spectrum of requirements for data latency, persistency and scalability. As an enabling utility
technology, AMI has the potential to significantly transform key aspects of the utility business.
Because of its composite technology, AMI requires interdisciplinary governance and can be treated
as a proxy for wider smart grid deployment.
The flood of stimulus funds in the U.S., and from policymaker initiatives globally, may force utilities
to make premature decisions and embark on AMI initiatives without a clear understanding of the
project ownership, expected deliverables, governance, security, intellectual property considerations,
technology maturity and the vendor's expertise. Utilities should be careful about technology
selection, available standards, component interoperability, security implications, performance,
scalability and future-proofing technology selections to meet upcoming needs.
Business Impact: Affected areas include customer service, billing or revenue management,
revenue protection, real-time and time-of-use pricing, demand response, prepayment, distribution
network analysis and outage reporting. In addition to providing utility-centered benefits (such as
meter reading cost reduction, out-of-schedule meter reads, revenue theft prevention and outage
notification), AMI can also provide benefits related to the energy market, such as enabling customer
switching by remote turn-off or turn-on functions; customer and societal benefits by supporting
energy efficiency programs (for example, bill reduction); and carbon emissions abatement initiatives.
In addition to its primary function of supporting all phases of the meter data life cycle, AMI
frequently includes the ability to remotely manipulate customers' connections (connect or
disconnect) and, in some instances, to provide on-premises displays to notify customers of variable
energy prices and other consumption-related information. In some installations, AMI enables the
utility to control consumer load (demand dispatch) by accessing smart thermostats, or by accessing
consumer appliances via home-area networks, such as in-home broadband over power line or
ZigBee.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Aclara; eMeter; Echelon; Elster; Itron; Landis+Gyr
Recommended Reading: "Innovation Insight: Metering Innovation Powers Energy Grid
Transformation via Information Infusion"
"Magic Quadrant for Meter Data Management Products"
"Top 10 Business Trends Impacting the Utility Industry in 2013"
"Management Update: Top 10 Technology Trends Impacting the Energy and Utility Industry in
2012"
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Cloud Computing
Analysis By: David Mitchell Smith
Definition: Cloud computing is a style of computing in which scalable and elastic IT-enabled
capabilities are delivered as a service using Internet technologies.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Cloud computing is still a visible and hyped term, but,
at this point, it has clearly passed the Peak of Inflated Expectations. There are many signs of
fatigue, rampant cloudwashing and disillusionment (for example, highly visible failures). Although
cloud computing is approaching the Trough of Disillusionment, it remains a major force in IT. Users
are changing their buying behaviors, and, although they are unlikely to completely abandon onpremises models or buy complex, mission-critical processes as services through the cloud in the
near future, there is a movement toward consuming services in a more cost-effective way and
toward enabling capabilities not easily done elsewhere.
Although the hype has peaked, there is still a great deal of hype surrounding cloud computing and
its many relatives. Every IT vendor has a cloud strategy, although many aren't cloud-centric.
Variations, such as private cloud computing and hybrid approaches, compound the hype and
demonstrate that one dot on a Hype Cycle cannot adequately represent all that is cloud computing.
The hype around cloud computing is shifting as the market matures. It has moved from cost savings
to being about the business benefits organizations would realize due to a shift to cloud computing.
Organizations have realized some disappointment about the cost savings and are likely to
experience some of the same related to business benefits.
User Advice: User organizations must demand road maps for the cloud from their vendors. Users
should look at specific usage scenarios and workloads, map their view of the cloud to that of
potential providers and focus more on specifics than on general cloud ideas.
Vendor organizations must begin to focus their cloud strategies on more specific scenarios and
unify them into high-level messages that encompass the breadth of their offerings.
Cloud computing involves many components, and some aspects are immature. Care must be taken
to assess maturity and assess the risks of deployment. Tools such as cloud services brokerages
can help.
As user organizations contemplate the use of cloud computing, they should establish a clear
understanding of the expected benefits of a move to the cloud. Likewise, organizations should
clearly understand the tradeoffs associated with cloud models to reduce the likelihood of failure.
Benefits and tradeoffs should be well-understood before embarking on a cloud computing strategy.
Business Impact: The cloud computing model is changing the way the IT industry looks at user
and vendor relationships. As service provisioning (a critical aspect of cloud computing) grows,
vendors must become providers, or partners with service providers, to deliver technologies
indirectly to users. User organizations will watch portfolios of owned technologies decline as service
portfolios grow. The key activity will be to determine which cloud services will be viable, and when.
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Potential benefits of cloud include cost savings and capabilities (including concepts that go by
names like agility, time to market and innovation). Organizations should formulate cloud strategies
that align business needs with those potential benefits.
Maturity: Early mainstream
Sample Vendors: Amazon; Google; Microsoft; salesforce.com; VMware
Recommended Reading: "Agenda for Cloud Computing, 2013"
"The What, Why and When of Cloud Computing"
Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communications
Definition: Vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technologies create autonomous data
networks using dedicated frequencies, such as DSRC or LTE, between vehicles and the road
infrastructure for safety, traffic management, environmental or e-mobility applications, such as
electric vehicle (EV) charging station finders and availability. For example, if an accident occurs, an
affected road section could be shut down automatically, and information will be sent to traffic signs
or navigation solutions, which will redirect traffic to new, unobstructed areas.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Vehicle-to-infrastructure communications require
costly investments in road infrastructure and automobiles. Government-sponsored initiatives to
improve traffic management and overall traffic safety, such as the U.S. government's Vehicle
Infrastructure Integration (VII) and IntelliDrive initiative, are critical for the long-term success of carto-infrastructure communication efforts, but more committed funding is needed to accelerate
progress. Recent government focus on smart cities, automated/autonomous driving, and transportrelated emissions from automobiles and e-mobility, in particular, has led to renewed interest in
vehicle-to-infrastructure initiatives.
User Advice: Automotive companies, municipalities and technology companies: Lobby for more
support by governments for vehicle-to-infrastructure initiatives, and generate public awareness for
this new technology. Leverage the increased sensitivity and awareness for environmental
responsibility in these efforts. Major cities, which are more likely to suffer from traffic congestion
and accident rates, should be prioritized. New road infrastructure initiatives should consider vehicleto-infrastructure-related technology requirements. Identify innovative vendors in this space that can
help accelerate deployment of such efforts. Potentially consider investing in some of these vendors
to help expedite their market reach. Consider the use of portable consumer devices to help collect
relevant driving data before a ubiquitous infrastructure exists. Stay on top of privacy-related data
issues to minimize user rejection and to define use cases.
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Business Impact:
Vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technologies enable the automotive industry and
governments to address growing traffic management, environmental and safety issues, but can also
offer new revenue opportunities in the form of safety and driver assistance offerings.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Bosch; Cisco; Continental; Delphi; IBM; Infosys; Nokia; Verizon
Video Visits
Analysis By: Barry Runyon
Definition: A video visit is the use of videoconferencing technology for remote consultations
between clinicians and patients. Video visits can be used in conjunction with devices such as digital
stethoscopes, otolaryngoscopes and digital cameras that enable the remotely located physician
access and control. Most video visits are scheduled in advance by coordinators, but there is a
growing move toward allowing patients to schedule visits themselves.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Video visits are best suited for medical disciplines in
which the caregiver normally does not need to touch the patient for example, rehabilitation and
mental health and for triage purposes including pre- and postsurgical evaluations, to determine
whether a face-to-face visit is needed. Today, most video visits occur in specially designated areas
that are equipped with the appropriate devices. Although video visits often use dedicated video
carts, the use of desktop and tablet video is growing, and as a result, video visits have the potential
to move into the home and workplace for encounters that don't require specialized equipment.
Video visits are particularly useful when patient transportation, frailty of the patient or security (for
example, prison inmates) is an issue. Various business models and examples include:
An academic medical center provides leadership in facilitating video visits with rural hospitals to
cut travel time and avoid inappropriate referrals (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Medical Center).
An academic medical center provides stroke patients follow-up care in their homes
(Massachusetts General Hospital).
A single geographically dispersed organization creates a central coordination function for video
visits (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, University of Texas Medical Branch, Queensland
Health).
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An organization collects membership fees from independent hospitals in exchange for providing
video visit services (Ontario Telemedicine Network).
Aside from such pioneering organizations, many of which are providers as well as payers of
healthcare and, therefore, do not have the challenge of getting reimbursed by healthcare
payers, the barriers to adoption remain high, such as:
Designing a service that meets the needs of all constituents clinicians, patients and
healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs).
Setting up an infrastructure for scheduling and coordinating visits and providing technical
support.
Establishing a mechanism for reimbursement, and obtaining reimbursements that are

substantial enough to justify the use of video visits.
Determining how to deal with the imbalance between the fact that the benefits (convenience,
travel savings) typical accrue to the patient, but the costs typically are borne by the HDO or
healthcare payer.
Changing cultures and working practices to ensure that clinicians and patients are comfortable
using video.
The lack of integration with normal clinical workflows and EHR systems.
The significant costs of the IT infrastructure to delivery video visits services (network, endpoint
devices, support).
Only in some large organizations or networks have HDOs been able to cooperate to get enough
scale to justify these investments hence, our positioning of video visits toward the Trough of
Disillusionment.
Despite these barriers, some countries are making progress in making video visits a regular part of
healthcare delivery. The growing acceptance of video visits in Canada was estimated to have saved
Canadians living in rural and remote communities an estimated 47 million kilometers of travel and
some $70 million in personal travel costs, and a cost avoidance for the health system of
approximately $55 million in 2010.
Video visits are also being facilitated by technical advancements. Government agencies in many
countries continue to spend money to improve broadband coverage (broadband infrastructure and
affordable Internet access), including in the U.S., U.K., Canada, India and Australia. In addition,
desktop video has continued to mature, thanks to advances such as scalable video coding and the
incorporation of desktop video into unified communications. The ability to conduct video-based
consultations using a clinician's or patient's desktop or tablet, rather than dedicated room-based or
kiosk units, will accelerate the adoption of video visits.
We have scaled back our adoption rate estimate from 5% to 20%, to 1% to 5% of the target
audience to better reflect the existing installed base; the cultural, medico-legal and technical
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challenges to adoption; and the level of inquiry interest from Gartner healthcare provider clients
worldwide.
User Advice:
HDOs should explore how to collaborate with partners, such as insurers or other healthcare
providers, to create sufficient scale to justify the development of an infrastructure for video
visits, including personnel for scheduling and technical support. The most attractive
opportunities in using video for clinical care are in mental health, rehabilitation, triage,
preoperative assessment and postoperative assessment.
HDOs should explore additional uses of video, including medical education, clinician-toclinician meetings, interpretation services, rounding robots and administrative meetings.
Government healthcare agencies that serve large numbers of citizens in isolated areas or large
prison populations should consider establishing regional or national video visit programs.
HDOs should assemble evidence of value and lobby healthcare payer organizations to establish
appropriate levels of reimbursement for video visits.
HDOs should plan for an eventual future where patients and clinicians will interact via video
through the desktop or mobile device one that includes home and mobile health monitoring,
e-visits and personal health records.
HDOs should closely track the evolving market for room and desktop videoconferencing
systems to take advantage of reductions in price and improvements in quality, interoperability
and security.
Investigate video over the Internet versus expensive carrier circuits and specialized endpoint
devices.
HDOs should consider video visits as part of an overall plan to reduce energy costs and carbon
emissions.
Business Impact: Video visits can reduce travel time and costs for patients and clinicians, and can
help HDOs make better use of clinicians' time. Moreover, they can help HDOs reduce costs and
enable a more rapid and effective delivery of care to patients in isolated locations.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: American TeleCare; Attend Anywhere; Cisco; Eceptionist; GlobalMedia; IBM;
InTouch Health; LifeSize; Polycom; Tely Labs; VCON; Vidyo
Recommended Reading: "Key Lessons From a Video Visit Deployment in Ontario"
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Electric Vehicles
Definition: Electric vehicles (EVs) or fully electric vehicles use only battery-stored electricity to
power an engine and are recharged by connecting the vehicle to a public or home power outlet, as
well as through regenerative braking.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Although the technology is not new, EVs are viewed
as an important powertrain technology to address governments' emission mandates, which require
lower impending carbon dioxide emission levels in the coming years. Continued R&D efforts into
battery, energy production and infrastructure advancements are crucial to making EVs a viable and
large-scale alternative powertrain technology for passenger and commercial vehicles.
Current usage limitations and high EV prices due to costly batteries are dampening consumer
enthusiasm for EVs. Cost and drive range limitation issues will need to be addressed by
automakers, infrastructure providers and governments to increase consumer interest. If
governments want to promote large-scale EV adoption in the short term, then they will need to offer
higher subsidies and other incentives (for example, no mileage-based taxation or lowered electricity
charging rates). Furthermore, vehicle information and communication technology solutions need to
be developed to address usage challenges, including range anxiety and other behavioral change
requirements (for example, charging schedules). EVs will become an important powertrain
technology option for the automotive industry, but short-term and midterm sales may not be as high
as proponents had initially hoped.
User Advice: Automakers and fleet operators should balance investments in electric powertrain
technology to address consumer demand for efficient transportation solutions and fulfill corporate
fuel-efficiency standards that are mandated by governments, but balance them with other
powertrain options, such as hybrid technologies. Minimizing vehicle pollution will address societal
demands and provide green credibility in the market. Offer broader initiatives aimed at helping
consumers maximize fuel efficiency and environmental benefits by expanding remote diagnostic
capabilities to measure ongoing fuel-consumption and usage/ownership benefits (for example,
range estimation integrated in navigation systems and automated billing applications for recharging
in public). Develop partnerships with IT and service providers to build a reliable infrastructure for
charging EVs on a broad scale (such as partnering with utilities).
Due to high battery costs, EVs should initially be offered as premium vehicles with sport and
technology sophistication or as small city cars. A breakthrough in battery technology, subsequent
cost reductions and capacity increases will be needed to achieve broad market adoption.
View EVs and supporting connecting vehicle applications as elements in new mobility programs that
you should define, especially for mature and urban markets. Recent business challenges and
bankruptcies of EV-related companies are highlighting the challenges the industry is facing but will
also clear the way for a more robust of renaissance of future EV offerings.
Business Impact: EVs offer a response to the increasing consumer demand for fuel-efficient, zerotailpipe-pollution vehicles; offer product differentiation; and will allow companies to meet
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governments' fuel-efficiency and emission requirements. EVs are also an important aspect of new
mobility solutions that focus on car sharing and battery leasing. However, EVs also require
significant financial and human resources and at least in the short term may not produce the
desired ROI.
Sample Vendors: AeroVironment; Airbiquity; Better Place; Bosch; ChargePoint; Continental
Automotive Group; Hitachi; Panasonic; Tesla Motors
Recommended Reading: "Gartner Study: Strategic Market Considerations for Electric Vehicle and
E-Mobility Adoption in Germany"
"Gartner Study: Strategic Market Considerations for Electric Vehicle Adoption in the U.S."

Analysis By: Barry Runyon; Angela McIntyre
Definition: Home health monitoring is the use of IT and telecommunications to monitor the health of
patients at home to help ensure that appropriate action is taken. Patients are provided monitoring
devices that capture physiological states, such as blood pressure, glucose level, pulse, blood
oxygen level and weight, and then transmit or stage the data for clinical review. Other devices are
used for communications and messaging gathering information from patients on their symptoms,
cognitive state and behavior, and sending them information and advice.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Home health monitoring involves sending data
through wired or wireless connections to a hub or gateway device in the home, which, in turn,
transmits the data to an external server or cloud where it is analyzed and sends alerts to clinicians
as needed. Home health monitoring is appropriate for certain groups of chronically ill, homebound
patients and others who need frequent monitoring. If implemented correctly, it can improve health,
assist in keeping patients at home, reduce the need to travel, reduce emergency room visits and
delay inpatient admission. It has the potential to allow patients to live at home longer before being
admitted to a long-term care facility and to support remote monitoring by the adult children of
homebound patients. Home health monitoring appeals to patients, and a successfully implemented
home health monitoring program could enhance the reputation of a healthcare delivery organization
(HDO).
To date, many home health monitoring deployments have been pilot projects. However, there are a
few examples of ongoing services:
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has deployed home health monitoring to more
than 50,000 patients with high-cost conditions such as chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The VA
has reported significant reductions in hospital readmissions, favorable patient satisfactions
scores and lower care costs.
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Home health agencies in the United States, which receive a fixed fee per patient from Medicare
for up to two months after a hospital visit, have a financial interest in using technology to reduce
the cost of delivering care. There is strong interest among hospital-owned home health
agencies.
In Canada, the Canada Health Infoway program and the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN)
are making significant investments in home health monitoring. The Canadian Home Care Assn.
pilot in British Columbia has found that more patients are released to home care when home
health monitoring services are available.
In Europe, home health monitoring received a boost from the 2008 European Commission (EC)
Communication on Telemedicine, in which the commission addressed the problems of
confidence, evidence, regulation, reimbursement and interoperability.
The EC also launched Renewing Health in 2010, which will evaluate nine regional home health
monitoring deployments across Europe, and will help them scale up to become national
deployments.
In England, a number of primary care trusts have added home health monitoring to existing
programs of telecare (technologies for safety at home). Most of the English deployments are
pilots, but a few have moved to mainstream status. One notable English initiative, 3MillionLives
(http://3millionlives.co.uk/), is based on the assumption that at least 3 million people with longterm, chronic conditions and/or social care needs could benefit from telehealth services, which
would include home health monitoring.
Italy, Germany and Spain are already providing mainstream home health monitoring services to
their populations.
In the Asia/Pacific region, home health monitoring is mostly pilot projects.
The Australian state of New South Wales has an initiative in place, Connecting Care, which aims
to make home health monitoring available to 43,000 patients by 2015.
Barriers to adoption include legal and licensing restrictions, inconsistent reimbursement by

healthcare payers, electronic health record (EHR) integration, and the need for new staffing and
information-sharing approaches. For family caregivers, barriers include the perceived high cost and
a belief that the care recipient will resist using the technology. Clinical and financial results from
existing pilot programs need to be better understood by healthcare providers, along with regulatory
implications. Existing operational home health monitoring programs need to lead to best practices
so HDOs can determine how and when to introduce home health monitoring.
U.S. attention to home health monitoring has been boosted by initiatives created and expanded
under healthcare reform laws. Key initiatives in this regard include patient-centered medical homes
and accountable care organizations. Despite the media enthusiasm of late, and the undeniable
potential of home health monitoring, home health monitoring remains in the Trough of
Disillusionment, with no real movement from last year's position. However, recent studies indicate
that the number of patients monitored in the home worldwide will increase significantly over the
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next three to five years particularly in support of conditions such as congestive heart failure,
COPD and diabetes.
User Advice: HDOs should identify ways to make home health monitoring economically viable for
them to deliver, and attractive for healthcare payers to fund. The ability to care for patients at home,
and keep them out of skilled nursing facilities, has great appeal to patients and their families. In
competitive healthcare markets, this visibility will be an important factor in building up an HDO's
brand value and attractiveness. Therefore, it makes sense for HDOs to promote their home health
monitoring programs through their enterprise/consumer or patient portals.
Home health monitoring is particularly well-suited for closed health systems, with tight links
between the providers and payers of healthcare, and in situations where the healthcare provider
assumes the financial risk for the costs of patient care. Clinicians should be encouraged to
incorporate home health monitoring in cases where the adoption will improve care and reduce
inconvenience to the patients.
HDOs should deploy home health monitoring as part of a program of chronic disease management
and as a tool to help patients better manage their medical conditions. HDOs, research centers and
trade associations must continue to demonstrate to healthcare payers the positive outcomes of
home monitoring to encourage them to reimburse it more widely. While patient satisfaction and
clinical outcomes have proven relatively easy to measure, financial outcomes the ROI from
deploying a home health monitoring program are much harder to measure.
HDOs should recognize that home health monitoring devices will eventually become commodities.
What will differentiate a home health monitoring deployment will be the software, associated
decision support, and the support network available to intervene in the case of alerts, and who are
trained in standard procedures for referral, assessment and patient education. HDOs should look
for home health monitoring devices that are compatible with open standards for interoperability
(e.g., the Continua Alliance), connectivity and data and those that have alliances with notable
vendors of data tracking and analysis applications, consumer electronic devices and home health
monitoring services.
Business Impact: The potential impact of home health monitoring remains high. It can enable
improvements in the quality and timeliness of care, improve the accessibility of care, reduce
patients' and clinicians' travel time (as well as cost and environmental impact), and permit elderly
patients to remain at home longer before entering a skilled nursing facility. It can also reduce the
number of hospital admissions, readmissions and bed days.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Aerotel Medical Systems; Alcatel-Lucent; American TeleCare; AMD Global
Telemedicine; A&D Medical; Bosch Healthcare; Broomwell Healthwatch; Cardiocom; Docobo; Entra
Health Systems; Honeywell HomMed; Ideal Life; Intel; Intel-GE Care Innovations; McKesson;
Medgate; Medic4All; Nonin Medical; Numera; Omron; Philips Healthcare; Samsung; SHL
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Telemedicine; TaiDoc; Telbios; TeleMedCare; Tunstall Healthcare Group; Viterion Telehealthcare;

Wipro
Recommended Reading: "A Quick Look at Cloud Computing in Healthcare Payers and Providers,
2012"
"Healthcare Reform Driving Cloud Services Providers Toward Maturity"
Climbing the Slope

Definition: Public telematics represent automotive information and communication technologies/
services with the aim of improving traffic flow and congestion, improving taxation, addressing
environmental issues, and providing intelligent transport system (ITS) solutions. These initiatives are
often government-initiated, but they also leverage private-sector-based services and offerings (for
example, parking management solution providers).
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: Most public telematics initiatives continue to be
deployed by governments in Europe, Asia/Pacific and the U.S. The main focus is on minimizing
traffic congestion, enforcing toll road collection, reducing emissions, addressing driver distraction,
and providing alternative pay-per-use taxation and insurance solutions. Legislative requirements
regarding automobiles are another market driver and include the European Union's eCall
(emergency call) initiative. Such mandates can increase the number of telematics-enabled vehicles
that can receive consumer-focused telematics services. To drive the broad market adoption of
public telematics, companies must address consumer privacy concerns and demonstrate value
propositions to consumers. The U.S. and EU governments' growing attention to public
transportation and emission reductions from automobile traffic is likely to increase investments in
public telematics focused on traffic and energy management (for example, the U.S. government's
IntelliDrive initiative). The increased interest by governments in "smart city" initiatives further
emphasizes the importance of public telematics efforts including smart parking infrastructures and
road network utilization. Although automobiles will increasingly be connected going forward, the
infrastructure requirements needed to enable public telematics initiatives will require significant
resources. Given the increasing or remaining global economic challenges, many governments and
municipalities are likely to make required infrastructure investments for ITS more slowly than
originally planned.
User Advice: Proactively seek opportunities to participate in government-related public telematics
initiatives that address growing traffic management challenges. It's in the automotive industry's
interest to ensure social compliance and to minimize vehicle-related problems. Observe new vendor
and solution developments focused on smart-city initiatives to identify potential collaboration or
partnership opportunities. Explore data-collecting and sharing opportunities to accelerate public
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telematics initiatives (for example, sharing of speed data to identify areas of congestion) via
aggregation to avoid potential privacy implications for your customers.
Business Impact: This technology provides revenue opportunities via congestion charging, toll
road, real-time parking, emission management, traffic management and pay-per-use services (for
example, taxation). It supports consumer- or fleet-oriented telematics offerings that can take
advantage of the hardware installed in vehicles for public telematics. The technology will also
accelerate the emergence of intermodal transportation solutions that can leverage widely available
transportation information to optimize transportation choices based on traffic, cost/price and user
needs.
Maturity: Emerging
Sample Vendors: Atos; Deutsche Bahn; IBM; Kapsch; SAIC; Streetline; Toll Collect
"Business Drivers for Technology Investments in the Automotive Industry"
"BMW i Launch Exemplifies Gartner's Prediction of a New Mobility Era"
"Public Telematics Offers Chance to Remedy Traffic Congestion"
Consumer Telematics
Definition: Consumer telematics represents end-user-targeted, vehicle-centric information and
communication technologies (vehicle ICTs) and services that use embedded technology or mobile
and aftermarket devices. Network-enabled cars for consumers provide in-vehicle services, such as
emergency assistance, navigation and routing, traffic information, local search (for example, for
charging stations or restaurants), financial services (for example, usage-based insurance), and
concierge services.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: As a result of growing consumer demand for
telematics and vehicle ICT, automakers are increasingly exploring opportunities to offer costeffective, cloud-based solutions that ensure sustainable business models without substantial
upfront investments. Rather than having to develop the required technology (that is,
communications hardware) and resource infrastructure (that is, call centers) in-house, automotive
companies are looking to engage third-party providers with comprehensive offerings that will take
over the development, management and billing of vehicle-centric services. In addition, companies
are looking for automated, Web-based services that leverage online or server-based information
and make it accessible in a vehicle.
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In the near-term, the supply chain for telematics and connected vehicle offerings will change and
will focus on extending mobile applications and services (from the mobile and Internet service
industries) to vehicles, in addition to creating specific automotive functions (for example, expanding
application ecosystems, such as those based on Android applications, to the vehicle). Telematics
service providers (TSPs) will face competition from market entrants coming from the IT industry that
will aggregate other third-party wireless content and develop core technological value propositions
from a mobile device perspective. These companies will also include smaller software, hardware
and content providers that target specific aspects of a holistic consumer telematics application and
work closely with automakers or system integrators to ensure compatibility and reliability.
Consumer telematics is also increasingly developed for the automotive aftermarket by TSPs,
network providers and insurance providers. In mature automotive markets, such as the U.S. and
Western Europe, most manufacturers will offer consumer telematics in virtually all their models by
2020 because of long product development cycle times. In emerging automotive markets, this
milestone may occur slightly later.
User Advice: As telematics and connected vehicle services, applications, technology and content
providers emerge, vehicle and device manufacturers (for example, consumer electronics
companies) will have to choose the providers that best fit their business and technology
requirements. Companies wanting to offer connected vehicle services to consumers should take
advantage of the emerging offerings in the mobile- and location-based service space. The market is
becoming more mature, and vendors have made significant investments in building the expertise,
resources and partnerships that can help companies accelerate their vehicle ICT launches.
Furthermore, vehicle manufacturers and device manufacturers must differentiate between core,
vehicle-centric telematics offerings that are embedded in a vehicle (most safety and security
applications) and personal telematics offerings (primarily information and entertainment services),
which consumers access by integrating portable devices with the vehicle.
To enable device-to-vehicle and service-to-vehicle integration concepts, vehicle manufacturers
must collaborate with consumer electronics companies, service and content providers (regarding
interfaces), and connectivity solutions. The introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) will give consumer
telematics a boost, because seamless EV ownership experiences will greatly benefit from
connected data services (for example, finding the next charging station and informing drivers of the
available range left).
Consider your choices in growing the connected vehicle ecosystem by identifying best-of-breed
technology providers instead of a single-solution approach. Both options have their benefits and
disadvantages; however, with increasing in-house expertise for the connected vehicle, automotive
companies can be more selective in their partner choices to better balance innovation and cost
objectivity factors (for example, innovation within connected vehicle offerings should reside with the
automakers).
Business Impact: Consumer telematics provides an opportunity to differentiate product and brand
values (for example, infotainment access and human-machine interface experience), to excel in new
or complemented customer experiences, to create new revenue sources (for example, preferred
listings for infotainment content), to collect vehicle-related quality and warranty information via
remote diagnostics, and to capture consumer insights.
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Sample Vendors: Agero; Airbiquity; AT&T; Google; Intel; Microsoft; Nokia; Nvidia; OnStar; Sprint;
Verizon; WirelessCar
Recommended Reading: "GM's Global LTE Strategy Aims for New Connected-Vehicle
Experiences"
"U.S. Consumer Vehicle ICT Study: Web-Based Features Continue to Rise"
Entering the Plateau

Analysis By: Monica Basso
Definition: Location-aware technology includes sensors, RFID and Near Field Communication
(NFC) tags, GPS/global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), and various methods for detecting or
calculating the geographical position of a person, a mobile device or other moving objects, such as
unmanned aircraft systems.
Position and Adoption Speed Justification: More than 13 types of location-aware technologies
exist, and Gartner expects more to emerge during the next few years. For example, one active area
of research is peer-to-peer location systems, and other emerging areas include wireless LAN
(WLAN) signal strength mapping and beacons.
GPS/GNSS receivers are key enablers for accessing navigation and other location-based services
as external receivers or embedded capabilities in mobile devices. At this point, the U.S. GPS
dominates. GPS has become a standard technology for many mobile devices: By the end of 2013,
nearly 100% of devices with open OSs will have GPS in mature markets, and 80% will have GNSS
in relative markets. Meanwhile, the European system (Galileo) should go live in 2013, and the first
Glonass phone (based on a chipset from Qualcomm) was launched in Russia in May 2011. The
intention is to provide global coverage by 2020. The emerging Chinese system (Beidou) has some
satellites launched and provides coverage in China already (see "2012 Strategic Road Map for
Satellite Navigation").
For high-accuracy location, assisted GPS (A-GPS), from Qualcomm's SnapTrack, is a variant of
GPS, combined with information from the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, and
successfully deployed by CDMA network operators in the North American and Asia/Pacific regions.
CSR's Cambridge Positioning System's Enhanced GPS (E-GPS) for Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM) and wideband CDMA networks put together Enhanced Observed Time
Difference (E-OTD) and GPS capabilities to achieve high accuracy in indoor and outdoor
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environments. CSR and Motorola created an open-industry forum to evaluate and foster E-GPS
technologies, joined later by Agilent and Spirent Communications. Hybrid solutions will be used to
optimize applications.
High-accuracy location technologies for private Wi-Fi networks enable location services within
buildings and hot spots. A different technology is Skyhook, which uses the access point ID in
private and public Wi-Fi networks to detect a wireless device location and displays it in maps
through Internet services. Technologies based on ultrasound (Ultrasound Positioning System and
Indoor Positioning System) have been adopted by Sonitor Technologies to locate and track
movable equipment and people in hospitals.
Through 2014, there is a risk of degraded GPS performance. Some GPS satellites started failing in
2010, because replacements weren't launched and they were at the end of their planned life. The
EU's alternative, Galileo, has longer-term deployment plans.
In terms of obstacles, we believe indoor positioning is still emerging and fragmented, while privacy
concerns may still affect adoption.
User Advice: Users will need multiple technologies, because no technology works everywhere or is
suitable for every situation. Users should:
Evaluate the potential benefits of location-enabled products to their business processes, such
as personal navigation devices (for example, TomTom and Garmin), as well as WLAN location
equipment that automates complex processes, such as logistics and maintenance.
Monitor the availability of high-accuracy services and products (such as digitally augmented
satellites offered by mobile operators and service providers in their regions), because these
could represent viable tools to support the mobile workforce, as well as end-user customers in
a business-to-consumer model.
Evaluate software that synthesizes sources from multiple location-based services, such as
Yahoo Fire Eagle or other brokers, in order to improve precision or other functions.
Organizations in businesses that require GPS/GNSS should monitor performance to identify

degradation and should explore alternative systems (if they're lower precision) as a fallback.
Business Impact: Although the market will see consolidation around a reduced number of highaccuracy technologies and their hybrids, the geolocation service ecosystem will benefit from a
number of standardized application interfaces that deploy location services and applications for a
wide range of wireless devices and apps.
As an increasing number of devices include location sensing, organizations should look for ways to
improve their business process by using location-aware technology.
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Maturity: Mature mainstream

Sample Vendors: Cisco; CSR; Ekahau; Polaris Wireless; Qualcomm; Skyhook; Sonitor
Technologies; TruePosition
Recommended Reading: "Location Technologies: Sensors, Tags, Beacons and More"
"Tracking People, Products and Assets in Real Time"
"Forecast: GPS-Enabled Devices, Worldwide, 2004-2011"
Appendixes
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Figure 3. Hype Cycle for Smart City Technologies and Solutions, 2012
LBSs in Automotive
Water Management
Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles/Electric Vehicles
Sustainability Business
Operations Consulting Services
Augmented Reality
Remote Health Monitoring
Thermal/Concentrating Solar Power
Smart Fabrics
Home Energy Management/
Microgrids
Consumer Energy Management
Combined Heat and Power
Continua 2011
NFC
Integrated and Open Building
Internet of Things
Automation and Control Systems
Cloud Computing
Customer Gateways
Intelligent
Machine-to-Machine
Lamppost
Communication Services
Consumer Telematics
Sustainable Performance Management
Master
Data
Management
Hydrogen Economy
Advanced
Mobile Health
Metering
Photovoltaic Generation
Monitoring
Infrastructure
Car-toWireless Electric Vehicle Charging
Public Telematics
Infrastructure
Communications
Real-Time Parking
Video Visits
Electric Vehicles
expectations
As of July 2012
Technology
Trigger
Peak of
Inflated
Expectations
Trough of
Disillusionment
Slope of Enlightenment
Plateau of
Productivity
time
Plateau will be reached in:
less than 2 years
2 to 5 years
5 to 10 years
more than 10 years
obsolete
before plateau
Page 95 of 99
Hype Cycle Phases, Benefit Ratings and Maturity Levels

Table 1. Hype Cycle Phases
Phase
Definition
Innovation Trigger
A breakthrough, public demonstration, product launch or other event generates

significant press and industry interest.
Peak of Inflated
Expectations
During this phase of overenthusiasm and unrealistic projections, a flurry of wellpublicized activity by technology leaders results in some successes, but more
failures, as the technology is pushed to its limits. The only enterprises making
money are conference organizers and magazine publishers.
Trough of
Disillusionment
Because the technology does not live up to its overinflated expectations, it rapidly
becomes unfashionable. Media interest wanes, except for a few cautionary tales.
Slope of
Enlightenment
Focused experimentation and solid hard work by an increasingly diverse range of

organizations lead to a true understanding of the technology's applicability, risks
and benefits. Commercial off-the-shelf methodologies and tools ease the
development process.
Plateau of
Productivity
The real-world benefits of the technology are demonstrated and accepted. Tools
and methodologies are increasingly stable as they enter their second and third
generations. Growing numbers of organizations feel comfortable with the reduced
level of risk; the rapid growth phase of adoption begins. Approximately 20% of
the technology's target audience has adopted or is adopting the technology as it
enters this phase.
Years to Mainstream
Adoption
The time required for the technology to reach the Plateau of Productivity.
Table 2. Benefit Ratings

Benefit Rating
Definition
Transformational
Enables new ways of doing business across industries that will result in major shifts in
industry dynamics
High
Enables new ways of performing horizontal or vertical processes that will result in
significantly increased revenue or cost savings for an enterprise
Moderate
Provides incremental improvements to established processes that will result in

increased revenue or cost savings for an enterprise
Low
Slightly improves processes (for example, improved user experience) that will be
difficult to translate into increased revenue or cost savings
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Table 3. Maturity Levels

Maturity Level
Status
Products/Vendors
Embryonic
In labs
None
Emerging
Commercialization by vendors
Pilots and deployments by industry leaders
First generation
High price
Much customization
Adolescent
Maturing technology capabilities and process

understanding
Uptake beyond early adopters
Second generation
Less customization
Early mainstream
Proven technology
Vendors, technology and adoption rapidly
evolving
Third generation
More out of box
Methodologies
Mature
mainstream
Robust technology
Not much evolution in vendors or technology
Several dominant vendors
Legacy
Not appropriate for new developments

Cost of migration constrains replacement
Maintenance revenue focus
Obsolete
Rarely used
Used/resale market only
Recommended Reading
Some documents may not be available as part of your current Gartner subscription.
"Understanding Gartner Hype Cycles"
"The Internet of Things Will Shape Smart Cities"
"Innovation Insight: Smart City Aligns Technology Innovation and Citizen Inclusion"
"Agenda for IT/OT Alignment, 2012"
"Predicts 2013: Smart City Business and Service Models Need to Keep Citizen Value in Mind"
"Cool Vendors in Smart City Applications and Solutions, 2013"
More on This Topic
This is part of two in-depth collections of research. See the collections:
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Gartner's Hype Cycle Special Report for 2013
The Nexus of Forces Works Its Way Into the Enterprise
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Hype Cycle For Smart City Te 252791

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Hype Cycle For Smart City Te 252791

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Hype Cycle for Smart City Technologies and

Analyst(s): Alfonso Velosa, Bettina Tratz-Ryan

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Smart Governance Operating Framework.................................................................................39

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Opportunistic projects funded by either national or international organizations.

Execution of trophy projects for the mayor or city department leaders.

On occasion, vendor funding of demonstration projects.

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The Hype Cycle

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Agile Workplace Solutions

Augmented Reality Applications

Car Sharing Services

Consumer Energy Storage

Decisions and Recommendations as a Service

Smart City Framework, China

"Continua 2011" to "Continua 2012'

"Car-to-Infrastructure Communications" to "Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communications"

"Public Telematics" to "Public Telematics and ITS"

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Big Data Information Management for Government

Combined Heat and Power

Mobile Health Monitoring

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles/Electric Vehicles

Remote Health Monitoring

Sustainability Business Operations Consulting Service

Thermal/Concentrating Solar Power

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Big Data Information Management for Government

Home Health Monitoring

more than 10 years

Source: Gartner (July 2013)

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The Priority Matrix

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years to mainstream adoption

more than 10 years

Agile Workplace Solutions

Vehicle Information Hub

Electric Vehicle Charging

Home Health Monitoring

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Security and authentication: A comprehensive security and authentication process is required

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Decisions and Recommendations as a Service

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The growing need to leverage real-time data or granular operational data.