Investments in "Smart" Cities will Reach $ 80 billion in 2018

There is growing interest in technology for the implementation of smart cities projects, according to a new report by IDC, which provides a forecast for the market in the current and near years.

Costs related to initiatives to create intelligent urban infrastructure will amount to $ 80 billion in 2018. The rate of investment will increase, and investment in this area will reach $ 135 billion by 2021, according to IDC, quoted by TechNews .

Recently, the smart city programs have evolved from a series of separate projects into a large, growing market that will attract significant technology investments in the 2018s and following years.

Towards strategic directions that attract the greatest investment, analysts include intelligent transport management systems, public security, the continued work of the energy sector, and other urban infrastructure.

From a cost perspective, driving scenarios for smart home technology are expected to become road traffic and urban transport management systems, fixed video surveillance, smarter intelligent lighting, and environmental monitoring.

The priorities in different countries may be different, IDC notes. For example, the United States and Western Europe are planning the largest investment in smart transport infrastructure projects, while China's priority is fixed video surveillance, and Japan focuses on environmental monitoring.

The United States is the smallest smart home technology market where $ 22 billion will be spent on projects in this area in 2018. China ranks second with a predictable amount of $ 21 billion in clever investment.