Edinburgh looks to become 'intelligent city'

When it comes to digital strategy, much of the infrastructure in place across key cities is ill equipped to handle the growing needs of a modern and connected society. 

Scotland is no exception, and we must continue to develop our infrastructure with the ultimate goal of developing an “intelligent” city where the usage of data moves from reactive understanding of what has happened to proactively using the collection of data gathered to change the future.

Across Scotland, our public and private sector organisations have many initiatives and exciting future developments. There is however the need sometimes for more coordination, consolidation and sharing of best practice. To address these concerns and in collaboration with others, the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce is launching an Inspiring Technology group where members across all business sectors will share insight and lessons learnt on what can sometimes be a time consuming, expensive and complex area of business development.

Edinburgh already has the potential to be a leading gigabyte city in the UK with investment plans for 150 kilometres of ultra-fast pure fibre network. Future-proofing Our Capital City is critical as the thirst for greater bandwidth continues to grow exponentially.

The need for clearer guidance is particularly important to the future growth of the SME sector, where more than 80 per cent have highlighted that adequate communication services are fundamental to their business and over 90 per cent are active internet users.

Consumers across the UK are the biggest online shoppers in Europe and not only does this impact future business models but the impact on high streets and the wider built environment.  Our local development plans and regulations need to be continually reviewed to reflect what will be a fundamental shift in the way we go about our daily lives, the way we work and the way we socialise.

David Birrell is chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce