In-depth

Going for Gold - IT at the London Olympics

The feverish preparations for the IT at the London 2012 Olympic Games are well under way and we managed to get a sneak peek behind the scenes.

10 Oct 2011

Just as impressive as the ITL is the TOC, the Technology Operations Center which is the main monitoring and management hub for all the cells deployed out at venues. Row-upon-row of operators and managers monitor, in real time, the time-measuring and score-keeping cells and their data. At the height of the Games, around 300-400 people will man the TOC. During our visit, the TOC was manned by around 100 staff tasked with monitoring the Archery test event at Lord's cricket ground.

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The Technology Operations Center or TOC the mission control for all the Acer computers deployed at the Olympic venues.

According to Olson and Trainor, the biggest challenge with deploying IT at the Olympics isn't technological. The need delivering hardware and services at a consistently high level over an extended period of time, the immutable start date of July 27th and the Games inflexible budget (due to the involvement of taxpayer funds) are unlike any wholly private sector project where there's always some leeway with delivery dates and money. The proof of whether Olson, Trainor and the hundreds of other Acer employees have succeeded will come next summer when the eyes of the world turn to the east end of London.