The effort to execute and design the smart city strategy in Dallas got a boost this week with the announcement that entegra technologies inc. will be joining the Dallas Innovation Alliance.

DIA is a public-private partnership leading the smart city charge in Dallas, leveraging social and technological infrastructures aimed at improving the quality of life in the city. Entegra technologies inc. is a cybersecurity and managed services company based in Plano.

“Cybersecurity is a critical and integral component in establishing smart infrastructure and Internet of Things networks,” Jennifer Sanders, executive director of the Dallas Innovation Alliance, said in a release.

“As uncharted territory for many cities, having the proven expertise of companies like entegra technologies is essential in the design of these next-generation projects that can bring enormous benefit to infrastructure and service delivery.”

“The power of this Public/Private Partnership shows real vision, creating value for Dallas and North Texas, and serves as a model for other cities across the country.”
Nancy Shemwell 

The DIA has created a Living Lab in the West End neighborhood of downtown Dallas that features smart LED light bulbs in some of the streetlights, area Wi-Fi, and two 55-inch touch screens that display points of interest, restaurants, parks, and other information that could help pedestrians.

“The power of this public/private partnership shows real vision, creating value for Dallas and North Texas, and serves as a model for other cities across the country,” Nancy Shemwell, entegra’s CEO, said in a release. 

Shemwell said her company’s EntegraBLU solution provides “leading-edge technology solving the cybersecurity issues with industrial controls systems and the associated IoT elements, key components throughout the cities infrastructure.”

Entegra joins a prestigious list of companies and organizations that partner with DIA, including AT&T Inc., Cisco, Current, Gardere, AECOM, Universal Mind, and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.

Smart City issues have been a growing topic of discussion across the region and the world. 

The Dallas Innovation Alliance is seeking votes for two panels it has planned for South by Southwest 2018 in Austin.

On it’s Facebook page, DIA is asking the public to vote on its smart cities sessions.

The first panel is titled “If You Want to go Fast … Go Together: Smart PPPs,” and it will cover the issues cities face in beginning a smart city program. You can find the SXSW PanelPicker page for that panel here.

The second panel is called, “Smart Cities Experiences, Solutions & Plan.” This panel will address how smart cities use data and analytics to improve how to protect people, improve mobility, conserve resources, promote health, and more. Go here to find that panel’s SXSW PanelPicker page.

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