Smart City Evolution 2017: Itron’s Acquisition, Open Standards, and the City‑as‑a‑Platform Manifesto

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It is often surprising how quickly industry dynamics shift. While preparing to meet Silver Spring Networks’ executive Brian McGuigan at London’s Smart Summit 2017, I discovered that the company had just been acquired by Itron.

After refining my questions, Jeremy Cowan noted that senior executives, including McGuigan, were bound by a strict silence agreement on the acquisition—an arrangement overseen by a PR colleague. Despite the “elephant in the room,” I steered the conversation toward the broader smart‑city landscape.

“No two smart cities are identical,” says SSN’s Europe sales director for Smart City Solutions. “Each city has unique funding, politics, and team structures. This diversity makes wholesale transformation impossible, so adopting an open standard is essential.” He added that cities often prioritize common goals—such as smart parking—yet support local startups, which necessitates flexible building blocks.

Elephant in the Room

When I asked McGuigan whether Silver Spring’s messaging targets cities or solution vendors, he replied, “Both.” Over the past 18 months, several city procurements have mandated openness to avoid vendor lock‑in, forcing large vendors to broaden their offerings. He noted that small‑to‑medium businesses still struggle to gain traction.

“Is it still a minority of deployments that are open?” I inquired. McGuigan paused before responding, “We may be at a tipping point, especially in smart lighting—our most common solution. We received a smart lighting award in Copenhagen in 2013 for 20,000 lights. Four years later, we have deployed roughly 1.5 million lights worldwide. Our open‑standard philosophy is built on Wi‑SUN, enabling us to participate in a broader ecosystem.”

Back at the office, I reached out for details on the $830 million acquisition. Before I received a reply, analysts at IHS Markit in the United States weighed in. Pablo Tomasi, senior research analyst for smart cities and IoT, explained, “The acquisition lets Itron diversify its portfolio into other smart‑city verticals—an essential move in a market shifting toward multi‑vertical solutions. To grow, Itron must continue enhancing the trend set by SSN, where over 20 % of revenues come from SaaS and managed services. This aligns with the broader IoT shift from product‑based to service‑based models, easing high upfront costs and generating recurring revenue.”

Tomasi added, “The two companies were targeting similar segments; the acquisition primarily strengthens Itron’s leadership in energy and efficiency, covering utilities and smart cities.”

City as a Platform

These business insights are echoed in recent industry movements. On Wednesday, the TM Forum—a global association driving digital transformation in communications—announced that 40 cities, regional and government bodies, telecom operators, technology providers, and associations have endorsed its City as a Platform Manifesto. Launched at the SmartCity In Focus event in Yinchuan, China, the manifesto outlines ten key principles for aligning private and public sectors in deploying digital city platforms.

Signed by cities such as Atlanta, Belfast, Chicago, Dublin, Las Vegas, Leeds, Limerick, Liverpool, Medellín, Miami, Milton Keynes, Tampere, Utrecht, Wellington, and Yinchuan, the manifesto also boasts support from the European Commission, telecom operators like Orange, Tele2, and NEC, and institutions including the CABA, FIWARE Foundation, Fraunhofer, Future Cities Catapult, and the OASC.

(We’ll bring you more on this on Monday. Ed.)