• E-mail this page
• |  Print this page
• | 
• | 
• | 

Will IT Win A Medal?

The 2008 Summer Olympics, set to begin in Beijing on Aug. 8, is being billed as the "High-Tech Olympics." That's one of the three main themes set by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), along with the "Green Olympics" and the "People's Olympics."

According to the Beijing Games' official Web site, "A grand sporting event featuring high technology will be held by incorporating the latest domestic and international scientific and technological achievements. … The Beijing Olympic Games is to serve as a window to showcase the city's high-tech achievements and its innovative strength."

And indeed, IT will likely have a huge presence during the 17-day gathering of athletes from around the globe, as well as at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, a top-level sports event that will take place in September. The question is, will IT's performance warrant a gold, silver, or bronze medal? Or will it finish out of the medals entirely?

That's probably a simplification of things, because there are so many different facets of technology that will be used at different times and in many different places. Some of these might work great, others might fall short of expectations. There might be some glitches, as there almost always are at events as large and complex as this.

But the organizers -- chiefly Atos Origin, the Paris-based global IT services company that serves as the Worldwide IT Partner of the Olympic Games -- have gone to great lengths to test and retest the IT infrastructure that will support venues, staff, volunteers, athletes, officials, media, and visitors. Atos says some 200,000 hours of testing have gone into preparing the IT infrastructure for the Games.

And what's clear, no matter how the technology performs, is that the Beijing Games will be as heavily dependent on systems, applications, and networks as any Olympics in history. Here are some basic stats supplied by Atos Origin:

• Number of IT experts at the Games (including volunteers): 4,000
• Computers in use: 10,000
• Servers in use: 1,000
• Result system terminals: 5,000
• Printers: 4,000

These people and products will support some 10,500 athletes participating in 28 sports at more than 70 venues throughout China, as well as 21,600 media representatives, 70,000 volunteers, 5,500 officials, and an estimated 4 million spectators.

There are major systems in place to handle games management, accreditations, transportation, staffing, health care, broadcasting, and other areas. There's a huge information and physical security infrastructure in place, and a fully redundant data network to link thousands of computers and other devices.

Next, we'll look at the extensive testing program designed to help ensure that IT performs up to Olympic standards.

« Mobile Set To Revitalize Local Newspaper Business? | Main | Apple Mans Up To MobileMe Mess »