A Digital Twin Framework for Municipal IT Infrastructure Management: A Case Study from Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Using Multi-Year Incident Data

Year 2025, Volume: 12 Issue: 4, 1169 - 1186, 31.12.2025

Hakan Kaya

https://doi.org/10.54287/gujsa.1810013

Abstract

Digital twin technology has been introduced as a revolutionary technology in the field of smart cities, offering many solutions in an innovative manner in relation to city planning, management, citizen participation, and sustainability. Digital twin technology refers to a technology that combines data in a real-time manner in order to simulate, manage, and optimize city systems through a virtual representation of physical resources like buildings, infrastructure, and even entire cities. This study aims to examine how digital twin technology can be utilized in IT infrastructure management in municipalities, with a particular focus on a case study of Manisa Metropolitan Municipality, which has been structured in 11 different categories of failure and support from 2017 to 2024. The model that has been developed and used in this study has been produced with four major components, which are as follows: (1) IT hardware, (2) a data layer, (3) an analysis engine comprising a different analytical model, which uses both Z-Score analysis for detecting anomalies and Facebook Prophet for analyzing certain series of data, and fourthly, an interactive virtual representation platform that has been established with Plotly Dash. The results of this research reveal that there has been a highly concentrated demand in relation to the “Donanım” category, as well as “Yazıcı” in relation to “Hardware” and “Printers,” with a statistically significant value in relation to September 2024, with a value of +5.52 in the Z-Score; in addition, projected demands for 2025 in relation to this period are between 85 to 110.

Keywords

Digital Twin , IT Infrastructure , Local Government , Predictive Maintenance , Smart Cities

References

• Adade, D., & de Vries, W. T. (2025). An extended TOE framework for local government technology adoption for citizen participation: Insights for city digital twins for collaborative planning. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 19(1), 53-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-01-2024-0025
• Adreani, L., Bellini, P., Fanfani, M., Nesi, P., & Pantaleo, G. (2024). Smart city digital twin framework for real-time multi-data integration and wide public distribution. IEEE Access, 12, 76277-76303. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3406795
• Alioğlu, A., & Eren, Y. (2025, June 25-28). MipMap Digital Twin: A Scalable IoT-Based Framework for Smart Cities and Circular Economy. In: 2025 33rd Signal Processing and Communications Applications Conference (SIU), Sile, Istanbul, Türkiye. https://doi.org/10.1109/siu66497.2025.11112513
• Aslan, M. M. (2024). Bir akıllı kent uygulaması olarak dijital ikiz teknolojisinin kent planlaması ve yönetimi sürecindeki rolü. Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, 23(4), 1613-1624. https://doi.org/10.21547/jss.1514231
• Atar, E., Güler, F., & Usta, Y. (2025). Digital transformation in local governance: a study on opportunities and challenges in Turkey. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 19(4), 725-747. https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-03-2025-0053
• Aytekin, A., Özköse, H., Akgün, F., & Ayaz, A. (2025). The Role of Digital Transformation in Local Governments During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey: Opportunities and Challenges. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-025-02651-7
• Broo, D. G., & Schooling, J. (2023). Digital twins in infrastructure: definitions, current practices, challenges and strategies. International Journal of Construction Management, 23(7), 1254-1263. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2021.1966980
• Buuveibaatar, M., Shin, S., & Lee, W. (2025). Digital Twin Framework for Road Infrastructure Management. Applied Sciences, 15(10), 5765. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15105765
• Cárdenas-León, I., Koeva, M., Nourian, P., & Davey, C. (2024). Urban digital twin-based solution using geospatial information for solid waste management. Sustainable Cities and Society, 115, 105798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105798
• Colan, S. D. (2013). The why and how of Z scores. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, 26(1), 38-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.echo.2012.11.005
• Dani, A. A. H., Supangkat, S. H., Lubis, F. F., Nugraha, I. G. B. B., Kinanda, R., & Rizkia, I. (2023). Development of a smart city platform based on digital twin technology for monitoring and supporting decision-making. Sustainability, 15(18), 14002. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151814002
• De Benedictis, R., Cesta, A., Pellegrini, R., Diez, M., Pinto, D. M., Ventura, P., Stecca, G., Felici, G., Scalas, A., Mortara, M., Cabiddu, D., Pittaluga, S., Spagnuolo, M., Silvestri, S., Damiano, E., Sicuranza, M., Ciampi, M., Tognola, G., Strambini, L., … Campana, E. F. (2025). Digital twins for intelligent cities: the case study of Matera. Journal of Reliable Intelligent Environments, 11(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40860-025-00245-3
• Dembski, F., Wössner, U., Letzgus, M., Ruddat, M., & Yamu, C. (2020). Urban digital twins for smart cities and citizens: The case study of Herrenberg, Germany. Sustainability, 12(6), 2307. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062307
• Dulaimi, A., Hamida, R., Naser, M., & Mawed, M. (2022). Digital twin solution implemented on energy hub to foster sustainable smart energy city, case study of sustainable smart energy hub. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 4, 41-48. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-4-W3-2022-41-2022
• Elvas, L. B., Marreiros, C. F., Dinis, J. M., Pereira, M. C., Martins, A. L., & Ferreira, J. C. (2020). Data-driven approach for incident management in a smart city. Applied Sciences, 10(22), 8281. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10228281
• Evangelou, T., Gkeli, M., & Potsiou, C. (2022). Building digital twins for smart cities: A case study in Greece. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 10, 61-68. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-4-W2-2022-61-2022
• Faliagka, E., Christopoulou, E., Ringas, D., Politi, T., Kostis, N., Leonardos, D., Tranoris, C., Antonopoulos, C. P., Denazis, S., & Voros, N. (2024). Trends in digital twin framework architectures for smart cities: A case study in smart mobility. Sensors, 24(5), 1665. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24051665
• Galandarli, A. (2025). Mitigating AI risks: A comparative analysis of Data Protection Impact Assessments under GDPR and KVKK. Journal of Data Protection & Privacy, 7(3), 252-273. https://doi.org/10.69554/ATTT2755
• Hakimi, O., Liu, H., Abudayyeh, O., Houshyar, A., Almatared, M., & Alhawiti, A. (2023). Data fusion for smart civil infrastructure management: A conceptual digital twin framework. Buildings, 13(11), 2725. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13112725
• Huang, W., Zhang, Y., & Zeng, W. (2022). Development and application of digital twin technology for integrated regional energy systems in smart cities. Sustainable Computing: Informatics and Systems, 36, 100781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.suscom.2022.100781
• Iossa, R., Domenighini, P., & Cotana, F. (2025). Digital Twins from Building to Urban Areas: An Open Opportunity to Energy, Environmental, Economic and Social Benefits. Applied Sciences, 15(19), 10795. https://doi.org/10.3390/app151910795
• Kalodanis, K., Rizomiliotis, P., & Anagnostopoulos, D. (2024). European artificial intelligence act: an AI security approach. Information & Computer Security, 32(3), 265-281. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICS-10-2022-0165
• Karaarslan, E., & Babiker, M. (2021, December 2-3). Digital twin security threats and countermeasures: An introduction. In: 2021 International Conference on Information Security and Cryptology (ISCTURKEY) (pp. 7-11). Ankara, Türkiye. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCTURKEY53027.2021.9654360
• Li, J., & Wang, D. (2025). Federated learning for digital twin applications: a privacy-preserving and low-latency approach. PeerJ Computer Science, 11, e2877. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.2877
• Manisa Metropolitan City Open Data Portal. (2025). Manisa Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kurumsal bilgiler ve Bilgi İşlem Dairesi duyuruları. https://acikveri.manisa.bel.tr
• Mazzetto, S. (2024). A review of urban digital twins integration, challenges, and future directions in smart city development. Sustainability, 16(19), 8337. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198337
• Mohsin, A., Janicke, H., Nepal, S., & Holmes, D. (2023, November 1-4). Digital twins and the future of their use enabling shift left and shift right cybersecurity operations. In: 2023 5th IEEE International Conference on Trust, Privacy and Security in Intelligent Systems and Applications (TPS-ISA) (pp. 277-286), Atlanta, GA, USA. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPS-ISA58951.2023.00042
• Republic of Turkey Digital Transformation Office. (2021). National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2021–2025. Ankara: Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. https://wp.oecd.ai/app/uploads/2021/12/Turkey_National_Artificial_Intelligence_Strategy_2021-2025.pdf
• Republic of Turkey Digital Transformation Office. (2023). National Open Data Strategy and Action Plan (2023–2025). Ankara: Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. https://cbddo.gov.tr/en/national-data-strategy
• Republic of Turkey Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. (2020). Türkiye Akıllı Şehirler Stratejisi ve Eylem Planı 2020–2023. Ankara: T.C. Çevre ve Şehircilik Bakanlığı. https://cevresehiriklimkutuphanesi.csb.gov.tr/Books/Book/d77ef29f-070f-4f80-96d5-0ecdf3292d57
• Republic of Turkey Presidency of Strategy and Budget. (2022). Digital Turkey 2030 Vision Document. Ankara: Presidency of Strategy and Budget. https://www.sanayi.gov.tr/assets/pdf/plan-program/2030IndustryAndTechnologyStrategyENG.pdf?1751241600107
• Rodríguez-García, D., García-Díaz, V., & González García, C. (2021). CrowDSL: platform for incidents management in a smart city context. Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 5(3), 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc5030044
• Santos, R., Ochoa, J. M., Ochoa, S. F., & Chesñevar, C. (2025). Smart cities with digital twin systems for disaster management. In: T. A. Nguyen (Eds.), Digital Twin and Blockchain for Sensor Networks in Smart Cities (pp. 481-496). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-30076-9.00026-1
• Schrotter, G., & Hürzeler, C. (2020). The digital twin of the city of Zurich for urban planning. PFG–Journal of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Science, 88(1), 99-112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41064-020-00092-2
• Sohail, A., Shen, B., Cheema, M. A., Ali, M. E., Ulhaq, A., Babar, M. A., & Qureshi, A. (2025). Beyond data, towards sustainability: A sydney case study on urban digital twins. PFG–Journal of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Science, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2406.04902
• Suleiman, R., Maradapu Vera Venkata Sai, A., Yu, W., & Wang, C. (2025). Blockchain for Security in Digital Twins. Future Internet, 17(9), 385. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi17090385
• Uzun Yüksel, K., & Kutay Karaçor, E. L. (2025). A model proposal for disaster resilient neighborhoods: Düzce City case. City, Territory and Architecture, 12(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40410-025-00280-w
• White, G., Zink, A., Codecá, L., & Clarke, S. (2021). A digital twin smart city for citizen feedback. Cities, 110, 103064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.103064
• Wolf, K., Dawson, R. J., Mills, J. P., Blythe, P., & Morley, J. (2022). Towards a digital twin for supporting multi-agency incident management in a smart city. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 16221. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20178-8
• Yadav, Y., Colucci, E., Boccardo, P., & Zlatanova, S. (2024). A Geodatabase Design for the Development of a Digital Twin for Urban Environments: A Case Study from Turin, Italy. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 48, 525-532. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-2024-525-2024
• Yan, B., Yang, F., Qiu, S., Wang, J., Cai, B., Wang, S., Zaheer, Q., Wang, W., Chen, Y., & Hu, W. (2023). Digital twin in transportation infrastructure management: A systematic review. Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure, 2, liad024. https://doi.org/10.1093/iti/liad024
• Ye, X., Du, J., Han, Y., Newman, G., Retchless, D., Zou, L., Ham, Y., & Cai, Z. (2023). Developing human-centered urban digital twins for community infrastructure resilience: A research agenda. Journal of Planning Literature, 38(2), 187-199. https://doi.org/10.1177/08854122221137861
• Yıkıcı, A. (2023). Dijital ikiz şehir fenomeni: Dünyadan örnekler ve Türkiye’deki yönelimler. Kent Akademisi, 16(1), 138-163. https://doi.org/10.35674/kent.1195553