How Forcelink is Powering Smarter, More Connected Cities through Citizen Platforms

At Acumen Software, we believe smart cities are built on structured information, connected systems, and responsive workflows - not fragmented conversations. That belief is what led Acumen Software to extend the Forcelink ecosystem beyond internal organisational operations and into the hands of citizens through My Smart City.

For nearly two decades, Forcelink has been used by utilities and service providers to manage work, field teams, assets, outages, and customer communication. Over time, it became clear that service efficiency is driven upstream, by the quality of issue reporting, prioritisation, and communication.

My Smart City was developed as a customer-facing portal powered by Forcelink, enabling citizens to engage directly with their cities and service providers in a structured, trackable way. Every issue logged or service request made through My Smart City feeds directly into Forcelink’s operational workflows, ensuring nothing gets lost, duplicated, or buried in inboxes.

This is what transforms everyday reporting into actionable intelligence.

A smart city isn’t defined by futuristic skylines or experimental technology. It’s defined by how effectively it uses data to make decisions.

By leveraging modern connectivity, AI, and IoT-enabled data collection, the Forcelink ecosystem enables cities to capture accurate, real-time issue data and manage service delivery end-to-end with greater accountability and transparency.

My Smart City provides the citizen engagement layer, while Forcelink powers the operational workflows that manage people, processes, and assets behind the scenes.

While structured issue logging is the foundation, My Smart City extends beyond fault reporting. The platform enables citizens to access city-specific tools and services from a single interface in an aim to simplify urban living. Each interaction feeds back into Forcelink, enriching the city’s operational data and enabling smarter planning and prioritisation.

As cities scale, so does the need for automation. My Smart City’s AI logging capability, powered by Acumen’s SPOTTER, allows issues to be identified and categorised more accurately and consistently. While citizens currently serve as the system’s eyes on the ground, Forcelink is increasingly integrating autonomous data sources, reducing response times, improving accuracy, and easing pressure on human teams.

The result is not just faster service delivery, but better-informed cities.

Connectivity doesn’t stop at infrastructure. Through partnerships such as My Smart City’s transport integration with MyCiTi, citizens can now plan public transport routes directly within the platform.

This feature brings transport data into the same ecosystem as service delivery, supporting affordable mobility and more accessible cities. As the platform expands, so will transport coverage and functionality, including future ticketing capabilities.

Globally, expectations around service delivery have changed. Citizens expect the same responsiveness from cities that they experience in digital services; fast, transparent, and accessible from anywhere. By combining My Smart City’s citizen engagement layer with Forcelink’s operational backbone, Acumen Software enables cities to transition toward on-demand, data-driven service delivery without costly, disruptive overhauls.

Smart cities aren’t built overnight. They evolve through better information, clear communication, connected systems and most importantly, collaboration between citizens, service providers, and city officials

My Smart City and My Smart City Pro are already active in over 20 cities across South Africa and Namibia, with municipalities such as George demonstrating how deeply integrated citizen platforms and operational systems can transform service delivery.

As the ecosystem expands into the UK and Europe, Forcelink continues to power the infrastructure behind smarter, more responsive cities, proving that innovation isn’t about futuristic concepts, but about connecting people, data, and systems to improve everyday life.