ASU’s Smart City Cloud Innovation Center wins IDC Smart Cities North America Award

Arizona State University’s Smart City Cloud Innovation Center, powered by Amazon Web Services, has been named a winner of the IDC Government Insights’ fourth annual Smart Cities North America Awards. The awards recognize the "most innovative and forward-thinking municipalities across North America.”

The center, or CIC, has developed solutions to improve public safety, spur economic development and increase sustainability, and the Civic Engagement award from the International Data Corporation (IDC) acknowledges the valuable output of its community-minded efforts. 

The CIC team partners with city leaders to tackle some of the most challenging of urban initiatives. From early drafting and brainstorming to the reveal of a prototype, the center employs Amazon’s innovation processes, cloud expertise and global solution platforms to advance the development of smart regions across Arizona and beyond.

“We are incredibly proud of the work our team and student interns have done over the past two years at the CIC,” said General Manager Ryan Hendrix. “One of our goals at the CIC is to be able to share and scale solutions with others. This award is great because it will help extend the reach of the work we are doing to advance digital transformation and smart city solutions in the greater Phoenix region.”

ASU's Smart City Cloud Innovation Center (CIC) uses Amazon's Working Backwards process to host interactive workshops with local leaders and experts to address complex urban challenges using smart-solutions.

Guided by the University Technology Office Deputy CIOs John Rome and Chris Richardson, the CIC is led by:

• Hendrix, general manager, ASU.
• Jubleen Vilku, program manager, AWS.
• Jason Whittet, digital innovation lead , AWS.

The CIC also provides ongoing opportunities for ASU students to get involved in the exploration of urban challenges and development of smart solutions through internships with the center.

The CIC’s place among other winners such as Las Vegas Smart City and Parks, the NYCx Co-Labs' Housing Rights Challenge and more is representative of the innovative work being done across the continent to improve communities. For more information about the awards, visit IDC’s site.

IDC Government Insights assists government policy, program and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. The IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events for the information technology market.