Whilst still a fancy name and not much else in some cases, the idea of "smart cities" is slowly taking hold around the globe - promoted mainly by tech and lighting giants. The main, yet overlooked vital ingredient of Smart Cities is "Internet of Things" (IoT).

Of course, IoT is a great deal more than just smart cities - cars, homes (heating, lighting, CCTV) , and businesses (take manufacturing as a key example) are all becoming "connected", and there is no shortage of companies new and old, dipping their toes into IoT.

The big players, including the likes of Google, Apple, and Microsoft are all actively taking steps to ensure that their IoT technology is one of the first into everyone's cars, homes and businesses.

So what makes a City Smart?

Just think for a moment about the Sci-Fi films of the noughties such as minority report and the like. Motorways, lighting systems, road junctions, public transport, trams and airports, all inter-connected using sensors to provide real time and up-to-date information to measure and calculate the most efficient means of traveling. Imagine local authorities being able to provide it's residents with real-time air quality data, in conjunction with public transportation options, to help mitigate the environmental impact of the world's drivers and even to adjust road toll charges based on the quality of air for example.

Moving the world's commuters efficiently is only the tip of the smart city iceberg though. Smart Buildings are also part of this "smart city world". Cisco as an example, are working with a number of US based authorities to build affordable housing developments with automated solutions that alert emergency and service providers to almost everything from relatively minor problems such as water leaks to potentially life-threatening situations such as fires, intruder alerts and the like.

Connected Cities means Big Opportunities

Gartner expects there to be over 1.1 billion connected "things" this year as part of the smart city's expansion. That's a big number but is tiny in number in comparison to what's expected to be connected by 2016 and beyond. Gartner predicts that by 2016 smart cities will account for over 1.7 billion devices, and this will likely rise to nearly 2.7 billion in 2017.

And it get's bigger - by 2020, Gartner predicts there will be nearly 10 billion connected items across the world's cities. Gartner says that "Smart cities represent a great revenue opportunity for technology and services providers (TSPs), but providers need to start to plan, engage and position their offerings now."

Cisco Seem to Be Leading in Smart Cities

Cisco seem to be standing out from the pack is their focus on smart cities. According to research analyst Gartner, the opportunities for Cisco in a smarter and more connected world are staggering. After all, they pretty much dominate the inter network and internet space from a connectivity perspective so it stands to reason that would be one, if not the leading player in the connected everything space.

Cisco has already signed agreements with a host of international cities including Hamburg, Barcelona, Santiago, Chile, and multiple cities in Denmark showing that Cisco is actively and aggressively pursuing the smart city opportunity.

Cisco have recently opened a new "IoE Innovation Center" in Australia, which takes the total count to eight globally.

Of course, Cisco will not be limiting its IoE efforts to just smart cities. Companies such as Apple and Microsoft have already inked with car manufacturers, and Google's recent $3.2 billion deal for Nest, means they are serious about getting into Smart homes. Competition in these IoT markets is fierce, and will become even worse going forward. With Smart Cities though, Cisco, though not alone, seem to be miles above the rest, and this market is still just in it's infancy!!