With the 2010 soccer World Cup now over, Fujitsu is set to elaborate on how it rolled out key technologies used at the main event stadium.
In line with exacting demands from Fifa and high expectations from international broadcasters and football fans, the latest access control, ticketing and communications technologies had to be in place at Soccer City, now renamed FNB Stadium.
The stadium was hailed as one of the most technologically advanced ever. Sibongile Mazibuko, executive director of Johannesburg's World Cup department, said ahead of the event: "In terms of technology, the stadium is the most technologically advanced stadium, and to quote Jerome Valcke (Fifa general secretary), this is the best stadium he has ever seen in the world".
In addition to the traditional corporate IT systems, Fujitsu's team, in partnership with Cisco, was also the IT infrastructure provider for the building management systems, access control, ticketing system and venue operation centre.
These systems collectively manage the operation of the stadium functions from a central point and are responsible for switching on stadium flood lights; viewing of camera footage inside and outside of the stadium; access control for spectators and suite owners via the ticketing system; the stadium public address system; and monitoring human traffic.
Donovan Titus, key account manager at Fujitsu Technology Solutions in SA, says the technologies included high-speed fibre and copper cables connecting all the network systems within the stadium, linking over 80 Cisco Systems LAN switches inside the stadium and the surrounding precinct. Fujitsu employees also provided on-site support services at the venue for the full duration of the World Cup as part of Fifa requirements related to infrastructure support.
Fujitsu was instrumental in the design and the planning of the computer rooms, which contain several Fujitsu racks. It is in the Venue Operations Centre where Fujitsu equipment is at its most visible. Here, Celsius PCs and Primergy servers combine to power the heart of the stadium's operations. It is where all elements of an event are monitored, right down to the monitoring and observation of specific individuals if necessary.
Fujitsu will hold a Soccer City Showcase executive forum to explain how it went about the roll-out. The event, to he held on 22 September at the Southern Sun Grayston, will be free to qualifying delegates.
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