“ You want to make sure you ’ ll be proud of what you build a hundred years from now ”
SHAWN SLACK CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER , CITY OF MISSISSAUGA
lots of challenges because you want to make sure you ’ ll be proud of what you build a hundred years from now .”
Partnerships When it comes to partnerships , the City of Mississauga , like most municipalities , has them by the dozen . SAP ’ s S4 / HANA technology has been “ a foundational shift ” for the digital transformation . “ We took what would traditionally have been heavy compute desktop technology and made it completely lightweight mobile . That meant leaders across the corporation had access to information and could process things like expenses , time off , paying invoices on a cell phone or remotely . The decision to go with S4 / HANA was about getting ready to adopt new innovative features such as artificial intelligence , auditing , and compliance capabilities . The quality of the data is also important , and is going to enable better decision making . That was a great journey .”
Cisco too , is a key partner , helping the City of Mississauga to build out its IoT infrastructure . “ When we created our living labs , which is in our business improvement area , Cisco helped with the engineering and understanding how to build district Wi-Fi . They were a big partner in that .
“ Microsoft was actually a big partner in creating the Economic Development collaboration platform . An innovative way to engage the industry when meeting in person was not possible . Front Desk was a champion for us as well , and working with the City of Mississauga established them with a strong presence in Canada .”
Managing those partnerships is a tricky balance , given the scale of the City ’ s projects . And Slack thinks enabling digital in the public realm is key to being a Smart City . “ If there ’ s something that ’ s going to work , let ’ s agree to that . If it ’ s not going to work , let ’ s agree it ’ s not going to work and move on . You just have to be upfront about these things .”
Slack is under no illusion about how hard it is to run a modern city . Cities are complex because they ' re made up of many different services , whether it ' s transit , recreation , parks , economic development , or libraries . So I think it ' s understanding the broader context of a City and really what ' s important ,” he says .
As Mississauga eyes the top spot in ICF ’ s listings , Slack , his colleagues , and partners are making it look easy .
* All images shown were taken before COVID-19
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