Jakarta Smart City uses IoT analytics to better serve residents

Jakarta and SAS team up to create an award-winning approach to public services and disaster management

An epicenter for commerce, tourism, politics and jobs, Jakarta is the largest city in Southeast Asia and one of the most densely populated cities on Earth. Considered one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, Jakarta’s rapid rise has brought both opportunities and challenges, especially in data management.

In the past, the government of Jakarta faced data challenges with its legacy public records system. Unstandardized data was scattered across siloes, which made accessing the right data difficult and slowed decision making. Additionally, each of the city’s 56 departments used separate applications for their services. A person would need to download more than 100 apps to use all of the city’s public services.

So in 2019, Jakarta decided to prioritize digital transformation and cutting-edge technology to better meet the needs of its residents. To achieve its goals, Jakarta Smart City – a regional public service agency under the government’s Department of Communication, Informatics and Statistics – established Jakarta Kini (JAKI), a one-stop digital platform and “super app” for multiple government services.

Digital transformation and analytics open the door for new, personalized public services

Despite the advancements JAKI provided, city officials still struggled to manage and analyze incoming data effectively. Data was scattered, unstandardized and difficult to visualize. As a result, not all available data was used in policy decision making.

Yudhistira Nugraha, Director of Jakarta Smart City, knew the city needed a way to analyze data more effectively to serve residents better. “As a government agency, we want to offer personalized public services, but we did not have a data analytics platform that could support us in making data-driven policy decisions and promote an evidence-based culture,” he explained.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Jakarta Smart City used the disruption as an opportunity to fully embrace digital transformation.

On a mission to enhance public services, the city partnered with SAS to develop an analytics platform that would integrate with the JAKI app. Jakarta Smart City implemented advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions on SAS Viya. The new system standardizes data and integrates millions of data points into digestible information that can be used for decision making.

Combining the one-stop super app with SAS Viya set the stage for Jakarta to create an integrated city that connects government, residents and businesses. Now the people of Jakarta can rely on JAKI as their one-stop shop for accessing public services and updates on safety, transportation, health, education and more. In addition to obtaining vital information, users can also report incidents and share information with others. For instance, with JAKI one can access:

• Important news and emergency updates.
• Weather, river flow and floodgate information.
• Bus departure and arrival schedules.
• Locations of free public Wi-Fi.
• Air quality monitoring via location-specific data.
• Health and COVID-19 updates.
• Learning materials and classes for kindergarten through high school.
• Tools to report an accident, medical emergency or crime.
• Tools for checking and calculating taxes.
• Directory of emergency hotlines.
• Surveys and feedback forms about policies and facilities.
• And much, much more.

This streamlined approach also helps the City of Jakarta personalize offers, updates and notifications. By customizing these elements of public services, residents are more likely to use these services.

The new system has also been instrumental in helping prevent fraud. With a streamlined database, Jakarta can more easily verify eligibility for social programs and identify fraudulent requests. To date, JAKI has helped distribute more than 150,000 packages of social aid.

“Given the growing needs of citizens worldwide, digital is the way to go to develop solutions more accurately and instantly,” Nugraha says. “This partnership with SAS has helped Jakarta City Government serve its people better and further elevate the resilience of Jakarta residents,” Nugraha says.

Proactive emergency response fueled by data

Data and analytics can also help improve disaster response strategies.

With 40% of this densely populated city below sea level, flooding is Jakarta’s most common and costly emergency. Historically, the city’s response strategy to flooding was reactive. With its newfound advanced analytics, machine learning and IoT capabilities, Jakarta began taking a more proactive approach to flooding and disaster management.

Using SAS, the city builds models to predict and mitigate flooding. This predictive capacity enables faster response times to flooding incidents and reduces damage to lives, properties and businesses.

“Previously, the data gathered from one sensor took one hour to update. With the SAS Analytics for IoT solution, we can download the data we need in one to five minutes,” Nugraha says. Thanks to this speed, the government can make fast, accurate decisions during all types of emergencies.

Award-winning smart city efforts

Innovation by Jakarta Smart City has earned international attention and accolades, including two prestigious awards for recent work:

• 2022 IDC Smart City Asia Pacific Awards (SCAPA), under the Public Safety – Next Generation Emergency Services category.
• 2022 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in the ICT Applications: e-Science category.

Paving the way for continued innovation

While Jakarta Smart City has seen many tangible benefits from its digital transformation, this is only the beginning.

Officials in Jakarta are focused on using technology to continually improve quality of life, economic growth and sustainability. They plan to add more personalization options for users and make more data-driven policy decisions. Officials also will continue collaborating with stakeholders across the city to build a data ecosystem that the entire government can use via an open API.

“To make an impact with technology in Jakarta, we need to be supported by a leading and experienced partner like SAS,” Nugraha says. “Our mission is to build not only a Smart City in Jakarta but also a knowledge management center and an ecosystem. SAS has been our partner throughout the journey, and we look forward to collaborating with SAS in delivering even greater benefits to residents.”