Putting the Games to the Test

The athletes are not the only ones training ahead of London 2012 to achieve optimum performance at the Games

London - London 2012, and Atos Origin, Worldwide IT Partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, today announced the launch of the Technology Lab; where the Games will be put to the Test with an incredible 200,000 hours of testing.

The Technology Lab is a miniature version of the 36 Olympic competition venues, with the IT systems for every sports event and venue being put through a series of tests to ensure the Games run smoothly. During the initial stages of testing, the first pack of seven sports, including Athletics, Tennis, Basketball, Volleyball and Triathlon, that will be tested by Atos Origin and London 2012 will require half a million lines of code.

There will be no second chances or room for failure. It is not only the athletes, but also the IT team that has to deliver a perfect performance, training has started early!

Speaking at today’s Technology Lab launch, Patrick Adiba, CEO Atos Origin for Iberia, Olympics and Major Events, said: “We are delighted to be working with London 2012 on what will be our sixth Olympic Games as Worldwide IT Partner. We are now drawing on our extensive experience of delivering the technology infrastructure and systems for previous Games. We are working with London 2012 and our other technology partners to ensure London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are the best Games possible. The start of today’s tests marks the successful delivery of a major milestone for Atos Origin in our preparations for the Games.”

London 2012 Chair Sebastian Coe commented: The technology for London 2012 – like the athletes – is in full training for the Games and there are no second chances. Our teams, alongside our partners will undertake over 200,000 hours of testing to make sure that when it comes to technology, for the athletes it simply isn’t a consideration.”

Between now and the start of the Games, Atos Origin, as lead integrator, will work with its fellow technology partners under the direction of London 2012’s Technology Department to test and run the technology infrastructure and systems that will make the Games happen. This includes the portal to recruit 70,000 volunteers; the solutions that will deliver the results to the world’s media in 0.3 of a second and the systems to issue 200,000 accreditations that allow entry to the venues and serve as a visa for athletes, media, sponsor and officials to enter the UK, as well. By the time the Games arrive, Atos Origin will manage the deployment of 900 servers, 1,000 network and security devices and a staggering 9,500 computers.

Amongst the many hundreds of processes and systems set to be tested will be myInfo+ and the Commentator Information System (CIS).

myInfo+ will be available for the very first time at London 2012. The new internet application enables accredited media, sports officials and athletes to access information available to them. Competition schedules, medal ranking tables, transport news and sports records, will all be available via their laptops with users able to tailor their homepage so that it highlights the countries that they want to follow during the Games. The system also allows users to bookmark results and reports and use the hyper-links to easily navigate to other websites including those of the International Olympic Committee and London 2012.

The Commentator Information System displays results on touch-screen PCs in less than 0.3 seconds at venue broadcast sites, providing broadcasters with the results before they hear the roar of the crowd. CIS, myInfo+ and all other Atos Origin designed systems will, over the course of the next 18 months, be rigorously tested and cross referenced with every sports body and association to ensure they comply with the latest rules and regulations.

Commentator, Former world record holder in the 1500 m, 2000m and one mile, and Atos Origin Ambassador, Steve Cram, said: “As a commentator I fully understand the importance of being provided with information on the hundreds of athletes competing in the Games. Things can change in the blink of an eye and we need to be able to react to situations as and when they arise. The Commentator Information System, from Atos Origin, provides us with a constant flow of up to the second, detailed and invaluable information that, coupled with myInfo+, means we can deliver results almost instantaneously to the billions watching the Games.”

Atos Origin, who employ over 49,000 people in 40 countries around the world, has been the Worldwide IT Partner for the Olympic Games since Salt Lake City in 2002 and has, over the last eight years, become integral to making the Olympic Games a success. It is all of this experience and expertise that allows Atos Origin to consistently deliver outstanding results.

For the London 2012 Games, Atos Origin, as lead integrator, will work with its fellow technology partners under the direction of the London 2012 Technology Department to ensure successful delivery of the technology systems and infrastructure that make the Games happen. In the technology lab, the key partners are Acer for hardware, BT for communication services, Cisco for network devices and Omega for the critical testing of all the results systems and services.

The Olympic Games at a glance

* 17 days of competition (27th July – 12th August)
* 26 sports with over 300 events
* 94 Olympic venues, including 35 competition venues
* 10,500 athletes
* 70,000 volunteers
* 205 National Olympic Committees
* 300 medals events
* 4 billion people watched the 2008 Beijing Olympics
* 21,000 media and broadcasters present for the Games

The Paralympic Games at a glance

* 20 sports
* 21 venues
* 11 days of competition
* 4,200 athletes
* 147 countries represented
* 471 medal events
* 6,500 media and broadcasters
* 162 National Paralympic Committees
* 2,300 team officials

Atos Origin will be responsible for:

* Running 200,000 hours of testing in order to simulate every possible outcome
* Issuing 200,000 accreditations
* Managing 3,500 technology specialists
* 900 servers
* 1,000 network and security devices
* 9,500 computers

About Atos Origin
Atos Origin is a leading international information technology (IT) services company, providing hi-tech transactional services, consulting, systems integration and managed operations to deliver business outcomes globally. The company’s annual revenues are EUR 5.1 billion and it employs 49,000 people. Atos Origin is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Games and has a client base of international companies across all sectors. Atos Origin is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market and trades as Atos Origin, Atos Worldline and Atos Consulting.