As enterprises confront the issue deciding their position on on-prem, cloud and hybrid options, the cities in which these companies make their homes are also working to develop their online solutions and structuring.

At this year’s Juniper NXTWORK event, Doug McCollough, CIO of the city of Dublin, Ohio, met with John Furrier (@furrier) and Stu Miniman (@stu), co-hosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, to discuss how technology is being implemented in his city’s infrastructure and what changes it’s having on the physical world.

Virtual changes

McCollough, the first acting CIO for Dublin, described his role as being “larger than dealing with only the technology of the city. … I deal with the larger idea of technology’s role in the city.”

He also addressed the engagements between the city and its local enterprises, noting, “As citizens, as members of the city, we have certain demands of the companies around us.” Tied into that, the development work of the city’s technology is being altered to keep up with the activity of its partners. “The public sector is going to be expected to innovate with at least faster cycles, as the private sector is,” McCollough said.

Innovative intelligence

“We find ourselves shifting into more cameras, more sensors, more intelligence,” McCollough shared, going into further detail on how the networking and security sides of the City of Dublin’s technological capacities were becoming more evident. “It is expected and appreciated by our residents to be a changing and innovative place,” he said.

McCollough also described a number of infrastructural projects the city has undertaken, including the laying of fiber-optics and the development of the 100-gigabit DubLink broadband service. Describing the rationale behind these projects, McCollough stated, “Instead of having a tax-abatement model, the city of Dublin [is looking to lower companies’ costs.]”

Advising supports

“We have established these relationships in a lot of public-private relationships, and that’s really helped us stay on top of [the situation,]” McCollough shared. “What I recommend to other communities is that you need certain components,” he added, with education and other governments highlighted in the list of key supports.

Beyond those recommendations, McCollough also advised a degree of flexibility in dealing with problems, and with internal organization. “Government sometimes has to get out of its own way. Be small, efficient and innovative,” he said.

Looking at the online connectivity aspects that have become so vital to modern businesses, he noted, “Having stable, reliable Internet, with competition … is essential. … We really do see analog and digital have converged.”

Watch the complete video interview, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of Juniper NXTWORK 2016 event.

Photo by SiliconANGLE