Page 123 - Reference framework for integrated management of an SSC - A U4SSC deliverable on city platforms

6.3.8 City Platforms

Therefore, from the city's perspective, a Smart City platform that allows the control of multiple
applications will facilitate a more efficient and effective control of infrastructure and public services.
It will also allow economic efficiencies and play a fundamental role in achieving environmental and
social objectives such as reducing crime and improving mobility. In addition, the deployment of
other applications can be speeded up and simplified.

The SSC Platform has capabilities for accessing different sources of information, sharing resources,
analysis capacity, and coordination of services (orchestration) based on predictive analysis. The
concept of horizontality provided by this platform, in which information from all sources can be
used arbitrarily, is key in the Smart City concept.

Defining a standardized architecture of Smart City management, which is a platform or city operating
system, is the object of increasing attention, especially in aspects such as interoperability between
SSC Platforms, between these and legacy applications, proprietary information systems, and with
MTC devices and IoT.

There are different solutions on the market that try to cover this objective, are modular and pay
special attention to the integration of IoT devices, interoperability with legacy systems and the
incorporation of specific functional blocks such as Big Data or Artificial Intelligence. In this sense,
a significant standardization effort has been made to ensure that the architecture model can be
compatible with the different implementations of the market and guarantee interoperability. 48

As an example, Recommendation PNE UNE Standard 178104:2017 “Comprehensive systems
for a smart city management. Requirements of interoperability for a Smart City Platform” defines
the concept of interoperability based in a layered structure model that enables the integration
of different systems through an open and, if possible, standardized exchange mechanism. The
standard also presents the definition, requirements, and interfaces between the layers of the SSC
Platform, which powers and facilitates the deployment of SSC services and the re-use of existing
applications.

In the UNE Standard 178104, the basic elements of each layer have also been defined to ensure
that the SSC Platform provides the essential services required by the city and, at the same time,
enables the generation of new services and applications that improve the quality of life of citizens.
The model has been developed to ensure maximum efficiency, scalability and integration, and
promote local and social-economic development through competitiveness and innovation.

The second edition of this UNE Standard 178104 (2017) takes into account the work promoted by
Spain in Study Group 20 on IoT and Smart Cities of ITU-T. This architecture is compliant with the
one described in ITU-T Y.4201.

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