JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 30, 2011— The City of Jacksonville has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cisco to develop networking capabilities that will weave together people, services, community assets and information to transform Jacksonville's physical communities to connected communities. Jacksonville is one of a number of cities Cisco is collaborating with as part of this initiative, called Smart+Connected Communities, which uses networked information to join citizens together, share resources and support social, economic and environmental stability.
By working collaboratively toward the common Smart+Connected Communities vision, the city and Cisco will use technology to deliver services in a different way to improve public safety and better connect citizens with government services.
"Jacksonville, like many other urban centers, struggles with multiple technology-based systems and protocols that do not interoperate," said Kevin Holzendorf, chief information officer for the City of Jacksonville. "I see the opportunity, using Cisco's experience and expertise, to integrate these systems to improve productivity, growth, innovation and savings."
For the next six to 12 months, Cisco and the city will pilot an Internet-based, connected community model to improve public safety and the delivery of services to citizens in Jacksonville. The Smart+Connected Communities initiative will focus technology resources on: enhancing existing traffic engineering to increase emergency response time for the Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Department; and remotely connecting citizens to services to reduce the need to travel in-person to government offices. Based on the outcomes of the pilot program, the initiative could be launched citywide. As outlined in the MOU, Cisco has established a program management office in Jacksonville that will offer project planning, implementation and ongoing technical support.
"We are very pleased to collaborate with the City of Jacksonville and its progressive leadership in their efforts to create a 21st century smart city. Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities initiative is enabling many cities and communities around the world to become economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. Using technology as a key enabler, we will be able to create new business models, new ecosystems, drive public-private partnerships and deliver enhanced experiences to the citizens," said Anil Menon, president, Globalisation and Smart+Connected Communities, Cisco. "I am confident that Jacksonville will soon be a leading example and inspiration for many other cities around the world."
About Smart+Connected Communities
Cisco works with customers from idea to execution, taking advantage of industry solutions built on the network as an open, integrated platform, a broad ecosystem of partners and innovative business models to change how communities are designed, built, managed, and renewed. Cisco Smart+Connected Communities enables citizens, mayors, developers, urban planners and other community stakeholders to address the challenges and opportunities of an urbanized world. It drives economic, social, and environmental sustainability. For more information on Cisco Smart+Connected Communities, please visit www.cisco.com/go/smartconnectedcommunities.
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.
