When a disaster such as an earthquake, flood or wildfire strikes, cities must act fast. They have to rapidly deploy first responders and resources to all affected areas to minimise damage to critical infrastructure and move people to safety. In the immediate aftermath, they need to quickly assess the full scale of the damage, identify risks of further incidents occurring, and collaborate with first responders and other organisations to coordinate relief efforts. Crucially, they must continually share accurate real-time updates with their teams and members of the public as the situation evolves.
“Managing so many moving parts is challenging and requires city leaders to have access to real-time insights from multiple data sources so they can optimise resources and make well-informed decisions,” says Doug Priest, public transportation and urban infrastructure lead for worldwide government at Microsoft. “They need to know where their teams are operating, what actions they’re taking, whether the incident is spreading, and how everything from people to houses, roads and power grids have been impacted.”
One way they can do this is by using generative AI and machine vision technology to analyse images and videos from satellites, aerial drones and other citywide cameras.
“Generative AI can rapidly analyse this complex data alongside information from other sources, such as communications between first responders and to give city leaders a clear picture of what’s going on,” explains Priest. “Virtual assistants built on tools such as Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Azure OpenAI Assistant can help workers to quickly interrogate this data and get useful information back in simple language, so they can make better-informed decisions in real time.”
These tools also enable government organisations to rapidly share safety updates with members of the public who have been affected – both during the emergency and afterwards. “Unlike traditional ways of disseminating this information, digital agents can provide fast individualised responses to citizens’ queries about road closures, evacuation orders, the nearest shelters and more,” says Priest. “This reduces the administrative pressure on government employees, allowing them to focus on more important tasks.”
Data can also help city leaders to predict and prepare for future disasters. This is particularly important now more cities around the world are facing increasing climate hazards – a 2024 survey by environmental data charity CDP found 83 per cent of the 1,131 cities who responded expect to be challenged by flooding, extreme heat, drought and wildfires in future.
“Some places are more prone to natural disasters or climate change, and being able to proactively prepare for these incidents can vastly improve the outcome when they do occur,” says Priest. “It’s essential for city leaders to act now by building data platforms and harnessing technologies like AI and predictive analytics to fully understand the impact these incidents could have on everything from physical infrastructure to service delivery and the local community. That way, they can proactively develop solutions to mitigate these risks.”
Government-owned firefighting agency Alberta Wildfire has already adopted these technologies to better predict fire risk and strategically allocate resources across 39 million hectares of protected forests in Alberta, Canada.
Built by AltaML, the agency’s wildfire occurrence prediction system leverages Microsoft Azure Machine Learning to analyse tens of thousands of data points to forecast the likelihood of new fires occurring the next day by region. AltaML is continuously improving the model, which now accurately predicts the likelihood of a new wildfire 80 per cent of the time.
“Alberta Wildfire’s new proactive approach enables it to optimise resources, invest more prudently and develop better long-term operational strategies,” says Priest. “Most critically, it maximises the agencies chances of preventing or containing wildfires quickly, thereby minimising the danger to people and property.”
Alberta Wildfire uses Microsoft Azure Machine Learning to analyse tens of thousands of data points and predict the likelihood of new fires a day in advance
Priest adds that data insights can equip city leaders with the knowledge they need to build more resilient infrastructure and better prepare their assets to withstand emergencies too.
“If critical infrastructure such as public buildings, roads, bridges and tunnels are poorly maintained, they’re more likely to fail in emergency situations,” he says. “Regularly inspecting these assets is expensive, time-consuming and resource-intensive, but AI combined with machine vision technology can automate parts of the process and facilitate predictive maintenance. It can also quickly notify the relevant government department about issues such as potholes in roads or cracks in bridges that need urgent attention.”
Some cities are encouraging members of the public to play an active role in reporting this type of issue. In Norway, the Stavanger Kommune municipality joined forces with Microsoft partner Bouvet to build a unified data platform and a self-service citizen feedback app using technologies such as Azure OpenAI Service and Power Platform. These tools help its 11,000 employees work more efficiently and make data-driven decisions to enhance everything from road safety to the delivery of multiple services essential to the lives of the municipality’s more than 145,000 inhabitants.
Now, the municipality can combine resident feedback with insights from data captured from various sources to prioritise the projects that matter most. For example, it might install traffic calming measures on a road reported as dangerous by residents, or allocate budgets for a new bike lane in a neighbourhood calling for safer cycling. “This optimises how Stavanger Kommune operates, while significantly improving residents’ quality of life,” says Priest. “Importantly, this approach increases residents’ trust in the municipality because they feel heard and can see their opinions matter.”
Delivering fast, frictionless and personalised services to the public is a key priority for the City of Burlington in Ontario, Canada, too. Working with Microsoft partner MNP Digital, it used Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Power Platform to create the AI-powered MyFiles portal and cut the average time to process approvals for building permits from 15 weeks to between five and seven weeks.
“Typically, applying for a permit is a burdensome process – people have to share lots of detailed information, provide specific documents and often visit the city hall,” says Priest. “One tiny mistake can lead to lots of back and forth conversations with permit officers, so it can take weeks or months before applications are approved.
“AI-powered solutions like MyFiles expedite the process in two key ways. First, they can guide people through the application forms to ensure they’re completed correctly. Second, they can automatically check submitted applications against policies, regulations and other documents in the city’s databases to help permit officers rapidly finalise approvals. This significantly decreases both waiting times for applicants and the administrative burden on permit officers.”
MyFiles was conceptualised and deployed within just eight weeks, which Priest claims is a good indicator of how quickly generative AI-powered solutions are “fundamentally changing” public service delivery and the way cities operate.
“Governments are embedding AI across every department to optimise processes, automate administrative tasks and analyse vast volumes of data so they can make data-driven decisions that will transform the citizen experience,” he explains. “Generative AI enables them to enhance their current services and deliver them at a much wider scale than ever before. More importantly, it’s also allowing them to implement innovative services and solutions that were previously impossible to develop due to a lack of data insights, skills, knowledge or money.”
To captialise on the potential of generative AI, however, it is “tremendously important” for city leaders to start with the right technology foundation.
“Data must be at the core of any smart city initiative,” says Priest. “Cities should modernise their data estates and move towards unified platforms and governance. A solution like Microsoft Fabric can combine data from both their own and external sources, while Copilot can make it more accessible and usable in employees’ day-to-day workflows.”
Cities should also migrate to the cloud, advises Priest. “This will ensure they have sufficient computational power to maximise the use of technologies like generative AI,” he explains. “It’s crucial to roll out strong cybersecurity and data stewardship policies too.”
Once cities have a solid technology foundation in place, they can integrate specialised solutions developed by Microsoft partners to solve specific challenges.
“Cities might start simple by rolling out virtual assistants with the help of Microsoft partners like Bravent, or they may deploy sophisticated modelling solutions from Scenexus to optimise urban planning,” says Priest. “Alternatively, cities looking to improve safety may use Esri’s geographic information systems and geospatial digital twins, while those aiming to upgrade transport management could implement solutions from Parsons Corporation, or cut congestion with real-time and historical traffic data from TomTom.”
One city that has benefitted from centralising all government services in one unified platform is Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Here, government departments have integrated their legacy systems and aligned their data to merge 950 services into one platform and create an AI-powered self-service app for more than 2.5 million citizens, residents and businesses. People can use the TAMM app to apply for birth certificates and marriage licences, register cars, pay traffic fines or energy bills, renew visas, submit photo reports of issues such as potholes, and more. TAMM, which is powered by Azure OpenAI Service and the G42 Compass 2.0. enterprise AI platform, can communicate in several languages and provide voice-activated assistance too.
“Abu Dhabi’s multi-year project to centralise government services and make them more accessible for everyone is paying dividends,” says Priest. “Residents benefit from faster, smarter and personalised services, while the government has improved coordination between different departments and reduced service disruptions. It is also using predictive analytics to optimise maintenance and resource allocation.”
People living and working in Abu Dhabi can use the TAMM app to access 950 government services
Whether they aim to deliver personalised government experiences, plan and run thriving cities, operate resilient infrastructure or transform emergency response, it’s crucial for governments to focus on people first.
“Smart cities aren’t about technologies, they’re about people,” says Priest. “There’s a proliferation of technologies with lots of exciting use cases but it’s ultimately about solving the real-life challenges residents and government employees are facing. First they should identify the problems they need to solve and the services they want to deliver, then find technologies and solutions designed to achieve these goals. By taking this approach, city leaders can empower their employees to efficiently deliver the types of services members of the public want.”
Microsoft will showcase how city leaders can use solutions from Microsoft and its partners to achieve these goals at its booth at Smart City World Expo Congress in Barcelona, Spain, from 4-6 November 2025.
“We’ll use real-world examples to demonstrate how our combined solutions are helping city leaders to achieve their goals across each of these four pillars,” says Priest. “For each pillar, we will showcase how technology investments made in the board room are actioned in the city office and how they impact the citizen experience. They’ll learn how to build safer, more resilient cities, while greatly improving the quality of life for everyone living, working or visiting there.”
Partner perspectives
We asked selected Microsoft partners how they are using Microsoft Azure and AI technologies to empower government organisations to operate safer and more connected cities
“AltaML’s GovLab is a public sector innovation hub that partners with municipalities, like the City of Calgary in Canada, to build safer and more resilient infrastructure,” says Chantal Ritcey, public sector industry and responsible AI lead at AltaML. “For example, we leveraged machine learning and Microsoft Computer Vision to automate and streamline time-consuming manual inspections. These AI solutions detect defects in sanitary pipes, pavements and road signage from video footage, enabling cities to prioritise repairs, reduce maintenance costs and enhance public safety.”
“AVEVA empowers tomorrow’s visionaries with contextualised value-chain insights that spark responsible innovation,” says Gary Wong, global segment leader of power, utilities and infrastructure at AVEVA. “Microsoft technologies are integral to this vision. Our Unified Operations Center, for example, enables industrial organisations to converge and visualise a combination of operational analytics, maintenance metrics, engineering documentation and financial performance.”
“Esri’s ArcGIS platform, integrated with Microsoft technologies, is helping leaders around the world plan and operate smarter cities,” says Dominik Tarolli, director of smart cities at Esri. “By leveraging 3D geographic information systems (GIS), indoor GIS, and geospatial digital twins – such as those used in Zurich, Switzerland – users gain immersive, real‑time geographic insights.”
“Microsoft technologies enable Schneider Electric to help government organisations reimagine energy infrastructure and accelerate the transition to resilient, connected cities,” says Chris Collins, senior vice president of US digital building and microgrids at Schneider Electric. “Through our EcoStruxure platform, which is powered by Microsoft Azure, we’re designing and deploying intelligent microgrids that integrate distributed energy resources, enhance grid reliability and provide forecasting and real-time insights into energy use, savings and carbon dioxide emissions.”
“Events such as the earthquakes in Turkey and the flooding in Valencia, Spain, have made it clear that minutes matter when the world changes significantly,” says Ralf-Peter Schäfer, vice president of product management, traffic and travel information at TomTom. “When disaster strikes, mobility means more than just movement. It becomes the lifeline for emergency services, supply chains and the communities trying to reach safety. By making our suite of traffic analytics products readily available in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, we enable transportation and city planners, and smart city and market intelligence platform providers, to understand, analyse, forecast and provide better services to citizens and travellers worldwide.”
Discover more insights from these partners and others, in the Autumn 2025 issue of Technology Record. Don’t miss out – subscribe for free today and get future issues delivered straight to your inbox.