Forum on Data Management

The Forum on Data Management: Transforming Data Into Value organised by ITU will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 12, 2017. This forum is a global platform that will facilitate discussions on how data can be transformed into value and how international standards can facilitate that process. Participants will learn about the current state of data management, discuss ways to address interoperability and security issues, and explore the capabilities and protocols needed to manage IoT data in smart cities. The following questions are to be discussed during the Forum:

– The role of IoT data in smart cities;

– Challenges and opportunities in a data-driven world. It will address questions related to building innovation-friendly ecosystems that incentivize private as well as public businesses to invest in the data economy both as producers of data and as providers of data-driven services;

– Technology and Standards for Data Management. The current activities of data standards with a special focus on recent trends of IoT data formats and standards will be reviewed. It will also review how metadata will be used to classify huge amounts of data generated by IoT sensors and used in cyber-virtual spaces; 

– Data Interoperability and Open Data Platforms . This session will also explore the changing landscape of data management with a special focus on the IoT ecosystem and smart cities. Accordingly, this session will also aim to determine how common standards could improve interoperability and portability of different data sets;

– Identification & Data Governance. It will address questions related to data identification and governance and also to the implications of new emerging technologies;

– Security & Trust in the IoT Ecosystem. This session will discuss perceived risks to privacy and security in the IoT ecosystem that could undermine the consumer confidence required for the full adoption of smart city technologies;

– Action Plan for Future Data Management. This session will summarize key issues from each session and identify action items and key milestones that can be carried out within ITU-T SG20 and/or other relevant ITU-T study groups, including collaboration and coordination with other organizations.

For reference:

The concept of "smart cities" is mentioned as one of the areas of integrative solutions for problems in the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the UN E-Government Survey 2016 on “E-Government in Support of Sustainable Development”, which is published every two years.  There is no clear and consistent definition of "smart city", and the term usually refers to the urban environment management with the help of ICT . Most part of the concept of "smart city" depends on the technology potential, not only for data collecting and processing, but also its integration through different services.

According to the  report "Harnessing the Internet of Things for Global Development", prepared by ITU and Cisco Systems in 2016, the IoT concept refers broadly to the growing number of devices – from computers and smartphones to simple sensors and RFID chips – that are connected to the Internet and able to communicate with other devices, often without the need for human intervention.

Wide implementation of the concepts of "smart city" and "Internet of Things" in the Republic of Belarus will simplify the design and implementation of automated systems in various areas (education, health, housing, public transport, environmental monitoring and protection), as well as their integration with existing solutions.