“Command and Control” is a term that has emerged from the dictionaries of the military and associated terms. The meaning on the term is defined as “the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission”.  It is an IoT platform that facilitates such an exercise.

The Internet of things (IoT) is the inter-networking of physical devices, "connected devices" and "smart devices", buildings, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enable these objects to collect and exchange data. The IoT platform is a suite of components that enable:

• Deployment of applications that monitor, manage, and control connected devices and systems
• Remote data collection from connected devices and systems
• Independent and secure connectivity between devices
• Device / sensor management. 

A smart city needs to be instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent. All the governing, and civic bodies running the city need to be on a centralized command and control centre. This enables regular monitoring of public services and facilities through a unified system for governing public administrations by technology providers. This requires a robust physical infrastructure powered by a future-proof, secure, and scalable IoT technology platform for managing millions of varied devices, networks, connectivity, analytics, and industry- specific applications. The role of technology providers, especially those who can bring together an end-to-end IoT platform through Command and Control Centre (CCC) is hence very crucial. For proper functioning of a smart city a future-ready, industry-proven integrated platform optimized for delivering M2M (machine to machine) communications services, which include online connectivity management, cloud-based application enablement platform, analytics, and more is essential. The platform will facilitate seamless flow of information through a centralized command and control centre, and enable the transformational needs of smart cities across areas such as energy consumption, transportation, healthcare, connectivity, sustainability, and environment management. Such a system will deliver smart access to public services and also create a maintainable infrastructure. Citizens will benefit with enhanced service delivery, convenience, efficiencies, affordability, security, privacy and time savings. This not only enables real-time monitoring for better governance, but also enables timely smart decision making and maintains peaceful law and order situation in the city but also captures the real progress made in the city ensuring the effective utilization of funds.