No margin for error on summit IT

Johannesburg, 29 Jul 2002

There is no margin for error in the IT infrastructure for the upcoming UN World Summit on Sustainable Development, advises T-Systems.

T-Systems, which is not involved in the technology preparations for the summit, recently supplied the end-to-end information and communication infrastructure for the World AIDS Conference in Barcelona.

The company says rolling out an efficient IT infrastructure for a mega-conference is significantly different to rolling out the IT for a sports event or office set-up; there is no margin for error and there is a major risk of tarnishing the entire event if systems fail.

Gert Schoonbee, business manager of solution crafting at T-Systems, points out that there is no stabilisation time available on a mega-conference IT infrastructure. "It is all in the planning," he says. "We spent 18 months planning the World AIDS Conference infrastructure in conjunction with the organisers. We were able to develop a CRM-type solution that noted the needs of every interested party and helped the organisers to ensure that the event met the needs and expectations of all the delegates. This contributed to a large degree to the success of the event - the biggest medical conference ever held."

Schoonbee says a short planning phase could result in important factors being overlooked and certainly does not allow time for delegates to be "wooed" via digital media.

T-Systems South Africa, with T-Systems staff in Spain and several partner companies, rolled out a system that catered for the information and communications needs of 20 000 people at the World AIDS Conference. A significant feature was the World AIDS Conference Web site, developed by T-Systems to allow for delegate bookings and registration, dissemination of all relevant stakeholder information, streaming of up to 80 presentations a day and provision of regularly updated media information. The site also featured a "virtual walkthrough" facility, which allowed delegates to explore the 25 000 square-metre venue before arriving at the conference.

T-Systems installed two Web caf's, with a total of 100 workstations on-site, and a media centre with 100 network points and 80 workstations. Smaller stakeholders such as UNAIDS required their own work areas, and a LAN network and server were installed to meet these needs. In total, over 400 workstations and 80 printers were deployed throughout the conference venue.

"The requirements for a mega-conference are very different from other infrastructure requirements," says T-Systems solution crafting, portal specialist, John Walsh. "The ratio of printers to workstations is different, as are the server requirements. For instance, we supplied 20 000 individual e-mail addresses for delegates, off a single server. On the other hand, we required a lot more tech support than you would need under other circumstances. We had MSCEs on site, backed up by 50 volunteers a day, to carry out simple tasks such as changing printer cartridges and loading paper."

Schoonbee says backup, security and firewalls are essential, even when the IT infrastructure is only to be in place temporarily. "We experienced a power failure and a serious hacking attempt from inside during the World AIDS Conference, but fortunately, we had taken the necessary precautions. Cutting corners in these areas could have serious consequences."

T-Systems had a total budget of three million euro to run the IT for the week-long event, with around half the budget spent ahead of the conference. "This kind of budget is essential for a successful event," says Schoonbee. "We have found that First World delegates have come to expect a certain level of IT to be available at major events. At the AIDS conference, delegates expected broadband Internet access and the media requested a T1 line. Even with the large number of workstations available, we had queues forming outside the Web caf's."

Schoonbee says if the summit organisers have left planning too late, it will be difficult for any company to completely salvage the event.

HP, which was brought on board as a summit IT sponsor last month, says it is hard at work developing the infrastructure for the event. Kirsten Leemans, HP`s IT project manager for the summit, says the company is working with partners to develop and implement an integrated hardware, software management and storage solution to address the summit`s communications and data needs.

HP`s sponsorship was announced a month ago, following months of uncertainty and speculation as to whether the summit organisers had the time or money to put the technology infrastructure into place. The tender process for technology requirements for the summit were put on ice earlier this year when Johannesburg World Summit Company (Jowsco) IT executive Mark Alexander announced intentions to secure sponsorship deals for certain technology requirements. The tender process resumed only in the middle of the year.

Jowsco IT executive Mohammed Haffejee could not be reached this morning to provide an update on the progress of the IT preparations.