Sitowise: how a Finnish company makes cities “smart”
Smart cities, as a concept, appeared more than 20 years ago. This concept combines technologies that make the urban environment more functional and efficient.
The development of smart cities peaked in 2011-2019: 379 such projects were launched worldwide.
Revenues of companies that provide engineering solutions, technologies, products, and services for smart cities are projected to reach $129 billion in 2021. This is the revenue they receive by offering solutions to improve urban environments through innovative technologies. The Finnish company Sitowise is one of them.
What does it do:
- designs buildings;
- develops infrastructure designs;
- offers digital solutions.
What exactly are digital solutions:
- smart data management for the built environment, transport infrastructure, and urban development project;
- the mobility revolution: intelligent transport, MaaS, traffic data, and public transport planning;
- virtual environments, building information modeling, and VR;
- telecommunications consulting, 5G consultation, and smart infrastructure.
Projects
The company has created an interactive digital twin of the Finnish port of Oulu, which will provide port operators with up-to-date information and a visual picture of the current situation in the port. The most important option of the digital twin is to bring together the activities of different operators in one place, to share relevant information about the port’s operation throughout the ecosystem, for example, with pilot and security services, authorities and companies throughout the logistics chain.
The company’s experts deploy and maintain the road data systems of The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.
Sitowise also thinks about the future. As climate change is expected to lead to more rains and torrential downpours, Sitowise designs solutions for the availability of clean raw water, the prevention of environmental contamination, and the renovation of old water pipeline and sewerage networks.
The company’s operations are based on the famous Nordic sustainability. According to Sitowise, they prevent problems and complaints before they appear and create the most “smooth” experience:
“We bust our guts in the background so that transport, infrastructure, and different buildings could offer the best possible settings for safe and carefree daily life. A regular city-dweller probably won’t even notice our hand in things–until it’s missing”, Finnish experts explain their mission.
Other Sitowise projects:
- the installation of street furniture in the Finnish city of Lahti, which has become a meeting point and improved the atmosphere in the city: light furniture, according to Sitowise, creates “a brighter atmosphere to dim cities”;
- the Helsinki-Vantaa airport apron extension;
- a standard design for a 5G station in Helsinki;
- Jokeri Light Rail – participation in the design of light rail from Helsinki to Espoo;
- Crown Bridges – participation in the construction of three bridges with a tramway from the cape of Laajasalo to the center of Helsinki;
- participation in the renovation of the underwater service tunnel in the Gulf of Finland.
The company is actively developing, expanding its presence in the region; buys IT, architectural, and design firms that help it provide comprehensive services for the development and transformation of urban environments into smart ones. Sitowise sales are growing annually by 10% or more: 125 million euros in 2018, and 160 million euros in 2020.
Despite the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the company is confident about its future: the demand for designing a sustainable society will not disappear, they say. Sitowise’s activities are about such megatrends as urbanization, renovation, sustainable development, and digitalization.