Atos Origin runs final live test of Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games IT Systems

Testing complete for one of the world’s most complex IT systems six months before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games begin

Paris/ Vancouver, Atos Origin, the Worldwide Information Technology (IT) Partner for the Olympic Games, has successfully completed the final round of live testing of the Games-time IT infrastructure for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The tests that were held in conjunction with the Women’s 2009 Ice Hockey Canada Cup are part of Atos Origin’s massive testing program, a critical step in the run up to the Games, to ensure the successful implementation of the IT solution.

The women’s ice hockey sport event ran from August 31 to September 6 at General Motors Place in Vancouver. It was the eighteenth and final sport event before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and presented a key opportunity for the IT team to test in a live environment with real users in advance of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Atos Origin was able to deliver the same high standards to 72 media, 97 athletes and 280 organizers – including 190 volunteers – as they will deliver for the Olympic Games, including all results being relayed in less than 0.3 seconds. For the athletes participating in this world-class competition, it was a key milestone in their training program for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. For the IT team, it was a key milestone in the massive testing program leading up to the Games.

“Testing at this event was one of the remaining key milestones to ensure a flawless execution of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games on the world stage,” says Magnus Alvarsson, Atos Origin’s Chief Integration Officer for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. “It was also an opportunity to carry out final software additions, revisions and modifications.”

With less than 160 days to go to the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the IT team of 2,000 IT specialists is in place, as are all the major Games-time IT systems. The Technology Operations Centre (TOC), the ‘mission control’ for Games time, is up and running and most of the testing has been successfully completed.

Games-time will require 15 different systems all working together to provide a seamless experience for 3,000 athletes, 25,000 volunteers, 10,000 accredited media and the global audience. During the test event, Atos Origin tested all the components of the Core Games Management System – designed to manage the day-to-day operations of all the Games-time systems – and the Information Diffusion System – the central system that pushes out background information and games results to users around the world.

“Atos Origin’s tailor-made solutions for IT systems and infrastructure are critical for us to be able to deliver the 2010 Olympic Winter Games,” says Ward Chapin, chief information officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). “We are pleased with all of the testing results so far and believe Atos Origin’s solutions will ensure Games-time success.”

“Testing is critical to the success of the Olympic Games,” adds Alvarsson. “In the three and half years before the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Atos Origin will have spent over 100,000 hours testing the overall IT solution, including 18 different sport events, to ensure excellence in execution from the moment the Opening Ceremony begins to the end of the Games.”

Read More on Atos Origin’s project for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

About Atos Origin
Atos Origin is an international information technology services company. Its business is turning client vision into results through the application of consulting, systems integration and managed operations. The company’s annual revenues are EUR 5.5 billion and it employs 50,000 people in 40 countries. Atos Origin is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Games and has a client base of international blue-chip companies across all sectors. Atos Origin is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market and trades as Atos Origin, Atos Worldline and Atos Consulting.