IBM and Cisco Retain Leading Positions in Navigant Research Assessment of Smart City Suppliers

Competition intensifies as the smart city supplier market enters a critical phase

Mar 15, 2016

A new Leaderboard report from Navigant Research examines the strategy and execution of 16 leading smart city suppliers, providing industry participants with an objective assessment of these companies’ relative strengths and weaknesses in the global market.

City leaders around the world are embracing the smart city concept by heralding innovative projects and laying out a vision for how cities can use technology to meet sustainability goals, boost local economies, and improve services. Despite increasing competition, two technology providers continue to lead this market, offering a breadth of experience with cities globally and a commitment to innovation. Click to tweet: According to a new report from @NavigantRSRCH, IBM and Cisco retain leading positions in Navigant Research’s most recent assessment of smart city technology providers.

“The smart city market continues to be highly attractive to a broad range of suppliers, but it is also a challenging area with complex dynamics,” says Eric Woods, research director with Navigant Research. “City leaders are often cautious about new technologies, budgets remain tight, and decision-making can be complicated. In this environment, suppliers need to be prepared to adapt to the evolving needs of their customers and innovative in their approaches.”

Though IBM and Cisco continue to lead the market for smart city technology providers, a number of other players are investing in their smart city capabilities, partner networks, and city relationships, including Microsoft, Siemens, Huawei, SAP, Panasonic, and General Electric (GE). According to the report, today’s competitive suppliers are developing offerings that meet the growing interest in urban Internet of Things (IoT) applications, big data solutions, and the transformation in city approaches to energy policy, urban mobility, and city resilience.

The report, Navigant Research Leaderboard Report: Smart City Suppliers, examines the strategy and execution of 16 leading smart city suppliers with the capacity to provide leadership on large-scale smart city projects spanning multiple operational and service areas. These smart city suppliers are rated on 10 criteria: vision, go-to-market strategy, partners, product strategy, geographic reach, market presence, sales & marketing, product performance & features, product integration, and staying power. Using Navigant Research’s proprietary Leaderboard methodology, vendors are profiled, rated, and ranked with the goal of providing industry participants with an objective assessment of these companies’ relative strengths and weaknesses in the growing global smart city market. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.

Contact: Lindsay Lorenz

+1.303.493.5477

lindsay.lorenz@navigant.com

* The information contained in this press release concerning the report, Navigant Research Leaderboard Report: Smart City Suppliers, is a summary and reflects Navigant Research’s current expectations based on market data and trend analysis. Market predictions and expectations are inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from those contained in this press release or the report. Please refer to the full report for a complete understanding of the assumptions underlying the report’s conclusions and the methodologies used to create the report. Neither Navigant Research nor Navigant undertakes any obligation to update any of the information contained in this press release or the report.