Sun Microsystems provides Olympic technology backbone

Sun Microsystems technology played a key role in the 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens. The company provided the Athens International Airport with an advanced internal communications portal that supplied more than 1 000 airline employees and airport personnel with single sign-on access to vital operational information - essential to deal with the thousands of Olympics visitors.

Prior to that, Sun Microsystems had been at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games - together with Blues New Media, the companies delivered interactive live music and entertainment for the spectators. The company had also been at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City at which it was named as the official supplier of Unix servers.

"Sun's credentials as a key IT infrastructure supplier to three Olympic Games underscores the fact that we have the required experience to provide a host of services and technology offerings to future global sporting events. With SA hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup, we are well positioned to once again demonstrate that we are capable of offering similar IT services," says Vito Bonafede, regional director at Sun Microsystems sub-Saharan Africa.

"Sun is a leader in implementing and maintaining high-availability, mission-critical computer systems for customers all over the world. Our combination of sophisticated technology infrastructure using Java Enterprise System (JES) Portal Server, Java System Web Server and Java System Directory Server enables our customers to facilitate information access and further improve operational efficiencies," he adds.

The Athens International Airport (AIA) handles more than 15 million passengers annually. Staying ahead of the volume meant deploying portal technology that enables airport employees to access a range of operational applications via single sign-on.

The Sun end-to-end solution includes software, servers, storage and IT services - and it was put to the test at the AIA with thousands of athletes, spectators and sports enthusiasts passing through the airport during the Games.

"Sun technology was chosen because of its broad expertise and ability to deliver best-of-breed solutions that help customers achieve their business and technology goals now and in the future. The Sun solution has become critical in helping ensure the airport's systems are available and accessible around the clock," Bonafede says.

Last year, the airport started deploying Sun's Java Enterprise System (JES) - a package of directory, Web and collaboration server products. JES interfaces with existing applications and provides single sign-on through the airport portal server. Airline employees and partners have access to electronic billing, flight information and weather reports, among other applications, via a single point of entry.

JES's per-employee pricing plan lets the airport offer the services to partners and customers without having to pay more to do so.

"The immediate access to vital operational information with one user name and password has not only saved the airport money, but has also reduced complexity. The use of a portal enables the airport to streamline its systems and keep everything tightly integrated," he points out.

Sun's enterprise servers running the Solaris operating environment, along with its data storage systems, were the backbone of the information system at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

"The success of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games depended on collecting, processing and distributing information. Sun's systems and services played a key role in ensuring that people could stay in touch with the teams' performances and standings.

"The Sun system was based on an open systems solution and represented a major departure from the model deployed at previous Olympic Games. The entire information system at the Winter Olympic Games was deployed using a consortium of 15 technology providers, integrated and managed by SchlumbergerSema, the official worldwide IT partner of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games," says Bonafede.

The information system was used to capture and distribute time-sensitive information, such as scoring and timing results, team standings, medal standings, weather conditions and athlete biographies. This information was distributed to the worldwide media, the Internet service provider, and to athletes and spectators at the Games through special kiosks located at the various Olympic venues and other locations throughout Salt Lake City.

In 1996, Sun and Blues New Media, the digital and online arm of HOB Entertainment, joined forces to deliver interactive live entertainment for Olympic Games spectators in Atlanta and for global users of the Web.

Sun and Blues New Media built a Web site called the JavaJoint Online - using Java technology and Java network computing prototypes - that featured a full menu of live concerts, sporting events, chats with top performers and athletes, and cultural programmes throughout the Olympic Games.