Case Study: Atos Origin and the 2004 Athens Olympics - May 2004  

Atos Origin acquired the IT business activities of SchlumbergerSema in early 2004, and with it the latterís status as Worldwide IT partner and TOP sponsor of the Olympic Games. Sport and Technology spoke to Jean Chevallier, vice president for the Olympic Games Programme at Atos Origin, about the companyís plans for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.

SchlumbergerSema began its Olympic sponsorship at the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games, having signed the largest ever sports Information Technology (IT) related contract with the IOC in December 1998. SchlumbergerSema's sponsorship was due to cover the Olympic Games over the course of eight years: Salt Lake City, USA in 2002; Athens, Greece in 2004; Turin, Italy in 2006 and Beijing, China in 2008. But when French IT company Atos Origin - which has annual revenues of over $5bn and 47,000 employees in 50 countries - took over SchlumbergerSema in 2004, it assumed the role of Worldwide IT Partner for the next three Olympic Games.
So, did the Olympic sponsorship have to be renegotiated when Atos Origin acquired SchlumbergerSema? "No," says Chevallier. "It may have been a problem if SchlumbergerSema had been bought by a company that could have conflicted with another TOP sponsor, but because Atos Origin didn't conflict then the takeover wasnít a problem and the transition was a smooth one."
Chevallier has in fact witnessed the transition from initial Olympic Games operations contract to full sponsorship through his previous role at Schlumberger. He now sees Atos Origin taking the sponsorship to a new level. "This sponsorship is all about achieving excellence," says Chevallier. "There are no second chances with an IT sponsorship at an Olympic Games. There is no room for failure because the consequences would be drastic."

Design, build and operate

Atos Origin's responsibility as IT partner for the Olympics is to integrate, manage and secure the extensive IT system that relays results, events and athlete information to spectators and media around the world. For the next three Olympic Games, Atos Origin is aiming to make each event better than the last through its full-service, 'design, build and operate' approach to integrating people, processes, products and technologies. The company is leading a consortium of over 15 contractors in designing and operating the IT systems.
Planning for each Olympics takes four years, during which time Atos Origin's team designs and integrates multiple technologies and suppliers in order to deliver the IT infrastructure on time, to specification and within budget. For each network design, Atos Origin has an eye on the Olympics ahead. "We have people in Turin already for example," says Chevallier, "preparing for the 2006 Winter Olympics." Transferring knowledge ensures that learning gained at each Olympic Games is passed on to increase efficiency, decrease risks and lower costs Chevallier explains.
A customised suite of Atos Origin applications will power the 2004 Athens Olympic Games: the Games Management Systems (GMS) and Info Diffusion Systems (IDS). GMS applications are responsible for sports entries, qualifications, medical encounters, VIP activity protocol, transportation, accommodation and staff/volunteer management. IDS applications, including INFO 2004 and the Commentator Information System, relay real-time results data to press agencies, print journalists, broadcasters and commentators globally. The complete software suite for Athens contains more than 60 applications, representing approximately 10m lines of code.

Testing and more testing

Preparations prior to an Olympic Games include simulation lab testing; field testing at various World Championships; major systems testing with the IOC and sports federations, as well as technical rehearsals. "We test function by function and system by system," explains Chevallier. "Our technical rehearsal for Athens will peak in June when we will run tests involving 1,000 people across 19 venues. We will simulate problems at all levels including for example what would happen in the event of a technical failure or an evacuation."
At the time of writing, the Athens Olympic Games were still making headlines for delays in the construction of venues. However, Chevallier does not feel that represents a problem for Atos Origin's technical preparations. "It's not a huge challenge for us because we can carry out the majority of testing even when a venue is only partially completed. We have had a lot of input from ATHOC and have built a strong relationship with them in terms of preparation and planning. ATHOC is extremely well-structured and we don't envisage any problems in the organisation of the Games in August."
As far as planning for the unexpected is concerned, Chevallier acknowledges that "it is difficult to cover every eventuality, but there are enough elements in the chain to know for example that if the power fails in one place then it won't create a major crisis. We have plans A, B and C for scenarios that we have covered hundreds of times."
When the Athens 2004 Olympics commence, the Technology Operations Centre or Mission Control for the Games will be staffed 24 hours a day by 280 Atos Origin IT professionals. They will manage a team of more than 3,000 volunteers stationed throughout 62 competition and non competition venues, which include an Integration Test Lab, PC Factory, Data Centres and 35 competition sites.
It is fair to say that the eyes of the world will be on Atos Origin when the Games commence on 13 August. "Of course this is an extremely visible and complex project for us," says Chevallier. "But succeeding at an Olympics means we will be able to show that we can succeed in other difficult situations as well and work at any other event. It's about building up huge credibility for us and positioning ourselves through excellence."

Athens 2004 technical infrastructure:

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