Atos all set with Cloud and Lab for Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics

INDIA: Atos, a player in digital services and Worldwide IT Partner of the International Olympic Committee, opened the IT Integration Testing Lab for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It marks the successful completion of a major milestone in the run up to the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the start of 200,000 hours of IT testing, says the company.

Although invisible to most people, the IT provided by Atos plays an essential role in making the Games a success, as it explains ahead in the announcement. For example, Atos provides the systems that beam the results around the world in less than a second for use on television, online and on multiple devices; the portal to support the recruitment and training of 70,000 volunteers and the solution that processes 300,000 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.

Just like the athletes, the Atos IT team needs to prepare for the Games and it is in the IT Integration Testing Lab where they will do their training and test every Results related IT system, IT application and the IT infrastructure itself to help ensure the Games run smoothly. Covering 1272 m2, the Lab is a massive space bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Games under one roof. It comprises 42 cells covering each sport and venue plus 12 cells dedicated to the accreditation and results information systems.

The Rio 2016 Games represent a major step in the IOC’s IT strategy to embrace digital transformation to further secure operations, contain costs, and leverage experience and investment across multiple Games, as highlighted there. This means it will be the first time in a Summer Games where key systems are managed in the cloud including the volunteer portal and the accreditation system. It also means it will be the last time that the IT Integration Testing Lab is located in the host city. As all the IT systems and applications are transitioned to Canopy - the Atos cloud - a permanent testing lab in Spain will support all the testing for upcoming Games.

The Rio 2016 Games are a key milestone in the transformational shift to the cloud. The scale and intensity of the IT operations for the Olympic Games make it a secure, dedicated, agile cloud infrastructure essential. Canopy – the Atos Cloud - will work with its delivery partner – EMC Corporation – to transition most of the critical IT services provided by Atos today into the cloud for the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, as mentioned by the company.

Sidney Levy, Rio 2016 Committee Chief Executive Officer said: “Today the Olympic Games could not happen without technology and I am delighted that the IT Integration Testing Lab – an important milestone in our program – is on time and on budget. Let the IT testing begin.”

Patrick Adiba, Group Chief Commercial Officer, CEO of Major Events at Atos said: “Testing is critical to our success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and today’s opening is a major milestone in our technology roadmap. Rio 2016 marks our eighth Olympic Games, fourth Summer Olympic Games and importantly the first and important step in the IOC’s journey to digital, as we move to a new IT delivery model from a ‘build each time’ to a ‘build once and reuse’ model.”

Elly Resende, Rio2016 Technology Director said: “Atos plays an important role not only as a key integrator for our Games solutions but also as a true partner to support our challenges.”