Cisco and Lake Nona to Create Orlando Smart+Connected Community

ORLANDO, FL - Cisco and Lake Nona announced a strategic engagement through which Cisco has been appointed as the lead partner for information and communications technology (ICT) planning for Lake Nona, a 7,000-acre master planned community within the city limits of Orlando being developed by private investment organization Tavistock Group. This development makes Lake Nona one of nine global Iconic Cisco Smart+Connected cities in the world and the first in the U.S. Cisco will work with Lake Nona over the next 15 years to build out Smart+Connected Communities solutions, including smart work centers and innovation and incubation centers.

Working with Cisco and Cisco-registered partner Dais, Lake Nona plans to integrate the latest networking technologies and digital infrastructure design to enrich the experience for more than 25,000 planned residents, tens of thousands of on-site employees and countless visitors. Pursuant to the proposals, Lake Nona will significantly expand its current IP-enabled smart services to deliver hundreds of additional services such as smart work centers, intelligent buildings, a virtual safe community, and unified lifelong health care delivery, learning and education.

An Integrated Urban Plan
Technology solutions, such as integrated data and voice and wireless services, FTTH, digital signage, common-area IP video surveillance, energy management systems, unified communications, video and collaboration will deliver more than 20 smart services across the entire Lake Nona community. An integrated urban plan will enable information exchange between services, fulfilling the need for increased security, energy conservation, enhanced productivity and digital lifestyle.

As competition among cities for talent, business, investment and tourism increases, city leaders see a growing role for technology to enable the development of communities that champion social, environmental and economic sustainability. A Smart+Connected Community is designed with technology at the center to improve the efficient management of city operations and the development and delivery of new services to citizens.

"Lake Nona is using ICT as a strategic differentiator putting technology at the foundation of its expansive community,” says Anil Menon, Cisco president, globalization and Smart+Connected Communities. “Utilizing the network as the platform, Lake Nona will be much more sustainable, allowing for a smarter, better designed and better managed community that will bring about new and improved citizen experiences, today and in the future.