Why Smart City Technologies Are Important (And How to Deploy Them)

On October 10, 2019 at 1pm EST, Blacksands will host our first webinar on “How to Enable Cities to Become ‘Agile Smart Cities.'” This 30-minute panel-style webinar will address exponential growth in IoT and other Smart City technologies, and how cities can avoid pilot gridlock. 

Our panel will feature Sol Salinas, the Global Leader of Accenture’s Smart Cities practice and a North America Sustainability Practice Leader, Michael Lake, a smart cities expert and the President & CEO of Leading Cities, and Nathan Pawl, the CEO of Blacksands. CBS News Analyst & Cyber Security Expert Mike Lyons will be moderating the discussion. Please see the full agenda and register below.

When: October 10, 2019 at 1pm EST

Who: 

• Sol Salinas, Global Leader of Accenture’s Smart Cities Practice – Panelist
• Michael Lake, President & CEO of Leading Cities – Panelist
• Nathan Pawl, CEO of Blacksands – Panelist
• Mike Lyons, CBS News Analyst & Cyber Security Expert – Moderator

What: 

Moderator Mike Lyons will guide the panelists through the following discussion points:

1. With exponential growth in IoT and other Smart City technologies, how can cities avoid pilot gridlock?
2. What are the dangers of taking too long to successfully deploy smart city technologies?
3. How can cities act quickly when it comes to piloting and deploying new technologies?
4. What are some innovative approaches to getting these important discussions moving?
5. How can your city leverage internal or external innovation centers?
6. How can you generate clear acceptance criteria in an effort to help city officials make a decision?

Case Study: Critical Infrastructure

Customer problem: With individual engineers and technicians scattered around the world, connectivity is required from various remote locations. Connections allow remote support and control of power plant operational management system, devices, and applications.

Connection to three types of services is required, including PC remote access, web application access, and video access to individual video cameras and sensors.

Solution: Blacksands Secure Connection as a Service is a scalable, simple solution that provides the below functionality without IT personnel. Here’s how it works:

1. Remote technician located in the U.S. requires connection to a power plant located in the U.K., including monitoring, operation and repair.
2. Technician logs into Blacksands and is presented with a list of the services they can access, based on certificate credentials and authorization. 
3. Access is granted, and a point-to-point encrypted connection is brokered between the technician’s device and the data collection application.
4. A point-to-point connection is also brokered between the technician’s device and a live video feed overseeing operations.
5. Remote employee is connected quickly, safely and securely.

With Blacksands’ simple, secure, scalable, and affordable connectivity solutions, cities across the U.S. and beyond can become the agile smart cities of the future. Register below to learn more in our upcoming webinar.