Copenhagen gets smarter with IoT data boost

Hitachi Insight Group launched a new big data platform that will set lots of information free and help Copenhagen become a smarter smart city.

The launch of the City Data Exchange for the Danish city of Copenhagen is among the earliest initiatives of the Hitachi Insight Group. The Hitachi subsidiary was formed recently to consolidate the Japanese technology giant’s Internet of Things (IoT) under one roof.

The Copenhagen data exchange is a technology platform that will make private and public data accessible in an effort to drive innovation in the city, improve citizens’ lives and boost the local economy. The initiative also supports Copenhagen’s push to become carbon neutral by 2025.

“Data is the fuel powering our digital world, but in most cities it is unused,” said Hans Lindeman, Senior Vice President, Hitachi Insight Group, EMEA. “With the City Data Exchange, Hitachi does all the heavy lifting: we are the connection between organizations holding the data and the people who urgently need them to help the citizens of Copenhagen

All of Copenhagen’s data in one place

The City Data Exchange stitches together a previously fragmented data landscape of information from private and public data providers into a one-stop-shop for data in the Copenhagen region.

“Smart Cities need smart insights, and that’s only possible if everybody has all the facts at their disposal,” said Lord Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen. “The City Data Exchange makes that possible; it’s the solution that will help us all to create better public spaces and – for companies in Copenhagen – to offer better services and create jobs.”

Hitachi said that security and privacy are paramount in Copenhagen’s City Data Exchange, with the data format guidelines only permitting data that has been fully anonymized. This will allow propriety data, once it is stripped of its identifiable information, to become a business resource that can be monetized outside of the source company or organization.

Hitachi said the stringent security and privacy guidelines will enable many datasets to become accessible to the public for the first time.

The City Data Exchange will start off by offering customers raw data but will add analytical tools later this year. The business model for the data exchange will allow data processing and gathering costs to be recovered by subscription and service fees. Hitachi says the fees will likely be considerably lower than a company would pay to gather and integrate the data itself.