The International Olympic Committee (IOC), technology partner Atos and the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 officially opened the Technology Operations Centre for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The official opening comes during the 15th project review by the International Olympic Committee when the TOC is visited as part of the IT readiness review.
The Technology Operations Center is the Control and Command Center for Technology that supervises all 144 Olympic competition and non-competition venues. During Games time, this 800 m2 facility will monitor and control the IT systems that support the running of the Games and deliver the results from all the Olympic and Paralympic sports competitions to the world’s media in real time.
Rio 2016 is an important milestone in the digital transformation of the Olympic Games being the first time at a Summer Games that cloud will be used for key applications including the volunteer portal and the accreditation system. It is also the first time that the TOC in the host city will be supported remotely by a new permanent Technical Technology Operations Center (TTOC) in Spain. This will be the operating model for the future Games that will be delivered fully in SaaS and over the Cloud.
The role of the TTOC for the Rio Games and going forward is to centralise support of the critical Games IT systems in one location. The TTOC will then be reused for future Games and so improve efficiency and reduce costs. For the Rio Games, a team of 150 business technologists will provide support from Spain.
Since the start of the test events which started on 15 July this year, the Rio 2016 TOC has been operational with a core team. From 25th July 2016 the TOC will operate at full capacity with 500 business technologists covering 187 positions to manage and monitor 24/7 the technology infrastructure and systems. These include IT security, telecommunications, power and the results systems. It will be staffed by a combined team comprising the Rio 2016 Technology team and Atos, who are operating it jointly and the other technology partners.
Elly Resende, Rio 2016 Technology Director, said: “The TOC is crucial to the running of the Games and we are delighted with how it has already supported us during the tests events. It is the IT equivalent to the main stadium from where the IT team will have the best seats to watch all the IT action during the Games to ensure the results are delivered accurately, securely and in real time to the world.”
Patrick Adiba, Group Chief Commercial Officer, CEO of Major Events at Atos inforned, “Rio 2016 is a breakthrough moment in how we deliver IT for the Olympic Games. It provides a compelling example of how organisations that embrace full digital models can realise tangible benefits in terms of customer experience, business transformation, operational excellence and security.”
Although invisible to most people, the IT infrastructure and integration solutions provided by Atos playsan essential role in making the Games a success. For example, Atos provides the systems that enable delivering the results around the world in less than a second for use on television, online and on multiple devices; the IT portal to support the recruitment and training of 70,000 volunteers and the solution that processes 400,000 accreditation passes so those involved in the Games can access the areas they need during the Games as well as providing those in the Olympic Family (media, TOP Partners, athletes and sports officials) travelling from overseas with a visa to enter Brazil.
Delivering the technology for the Olympic Games is a huge team effort during four years and Atos works closely with Rio 2016 to integrate the other Technology Partners such as Omega, Samsung, Panasonic and EMC, among others, offering solutions in their areas of expertise.