Smart Cities and the Internet of Things –
the biggest opportunity in history?

Synopsis

Since it was first opened to the general public in the early 1990s, the Internet has fundamentally changed the way we communicate, live and do business.  But according to Alan Boyd, over the next five years the Internet itself will change beyond recognition.  The number of Internet-enabled devices will grow from 2 billion today to 50 billion by 2020. This “Internet of Things” will give rise to “smart cities” that will completely transform every aspect of our daily lives and business.

China has announced it will build 193 new smart cities.  This program will be the biggest project ever undertaken by man – many times the size of the USA’s space program – and will have a greater impact on the world than any other technology development.  The space program gave us the semiconductor.  How will the Chinese smart city program change how we live and work?  And what new opportunities will this create for entrepreneurs around the world?