The expansion of urbanization is one of the main leading factors of the world in the current era. Societies around the world have encountered various challenges such as management issues, lack of resources and sustainable development as a result of a rapid growth in urbanization. The Smart City model, which is based on modern technologies, has been planned to overcome these challenges. The Smart City model would create new approaches and opportunities regarding management of resources, innovation enhancement, and sustainable development. Consequently, a novel ecosystem would be generated for businesses. Despite of several findings on the Smart City model, most of the studies have been failed due to lack of a full-scale understanding of the model. One of the most beneficial and recent technologies that has numerous applications in the Smart City model is the Internet of Things (IoT). This technology, which is an evolving technology and provides diverse opportunities, allows “things” to connect to the internet, their surroundings, and other smart “things”. Although the development of the Internet of Things could potentially eliminate a wide range of traditional professions and occupations, it could provide businesses with several new opportunities. In this research, we will demonstrate an in-depth analysis of the Smart City model, categorize varied implications of it, and discuss 43 outstanding and successful IoT-based businesses. This comprehensive analysis, categorization, and study of some successful cases assist us to identify the optimal ecosystem for businesses and recognize the opportunities and challenges they might confront. The fundamental components of the Smart City’s ecosystem are governments, societies, businesses, and educational institutions (universities). Each of these individual components have significant roles and needs in the development of this ecosystem, which can be found in the conclusion of this research
