Building on the successful delivery of the IT systems that have supported the Olympic Games since Salt Lake City in 2002, Atos has primary responsibility for information technology including consulting, systems integration, operations management, information security and software applications development for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The Games themselves will involve some 3,000 athletes from more than 80 countries competing in 15 disciplines at 35 different venues. As well as handling all the results and information systems, the IT infrastructure also needs to be able to cope with over 25,000 volunteers, 10,000 members of the media from around the world, as well as systems handling ticketing, accreditation and transportation.

A winning IT team for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

In June 2006, only months after completion of the Torino 2006 Winter Games, Atos dispatched the first IT managers and engineers to start working on the Vancouver project. And during the 2010 Winter Games, Atos will manage a consortium of best-of-breed technology expert partners and suppliers, under the supervision of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games’ (VANOC) technology Department.

The technology consortium team is estimated at 2,000 staff, including 400 Atos experts, made up of locally hired staff, local volunteers and overseas Olympic Games technology experts. The Games-time IT that they operate and manage from the TOC (Technology Operations Centre) is made up of 13 systems, working together to ensure the smooth operations of the Games while protecting the information from internal and external threats. The infrastructure includes:

• 800 Servers
• 6,000 Computers
• 4,000 Printers
• Result system terminals, including:
  • CIS terminals (commentator information systems)
  • Intranet terminals (INFO2010)
• Over 100,000 hours of testing

“The IT project for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games is moving forward on schedule," said Chief Information Officer Ward Chapin at VANOC. “This is a result of the joint efforts of VANOC and Atos IT teams, enriched by Atos’s significant experience in IT support of major events. VANOC is happy with the initial results and we appreciate Atos's efforts in knowledge transfer from previous Games and building upon it according to our vision."

“Atos has successfully delivered and secured the critical IT systems for the last edition of the Olympic Winter Games, facing the weather and transportation challenging constraints that a mountainous environment brings,” stated Magnus Alvarsson, Chief Integrator at Atos for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, “The unique experience we have gained in managing complex large-scale events will be used in Vancouver to help VANOC and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) minimizing IT-related risks and costs."

For more information about the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, visit the official web site