Uthingo Management Company, the operator of the National Lottery, has built its mission-critical gaming applications on database software from e-business software supplier Sybase SA.
Sybase is the database of choice for GTECH, Uthingo's technology partner, which supplies software and services to more than 100 lottery operators around the world. GTECH supplies the terminals used by the outlets around the country, as well as a host of technology and support services, including the central computer systems, communications networks, and gaming software that run the lottery.
Kathleen Grace, computer operations manager at Uthingo, seconded from GTECH in the UK, says: "A lottery gaming operation places strong demands for scalability and reliability on its IT systems, which play a key role in supporting the distribution network, building the player base and increasing lottery revenues.
"It is particularly important that the core gaming applications are robust and scalable enough to handle millions of transactions, yet flexible and nimble enough to manage individual retailers and outlets. Sybase was the ideal platform for GTECH to use to develop agile and secure systems that can support today's fast changing lottery marketplace."
The South African lottery, launched in March 2000, is one of the 10 largest in the world, and has generated revenues of more than R1.5 billion. This operation is supported by one of the most sophisticated IT infrastructures in the country.
Uthingo's hybrid network uses satellite, radio and telephone technology to give all 359 magisterial districts access to the game at the same time, even where telephone network infrastructure is poor or non-existent. Around 6 000 terminals communicate with the GTECH lottery system running on Sybase software, controlling the inventory and validation checks every day.
"Sybase has stood up well against the strain that the system is under each day and particularly Saturdays when the draw takes place, processing thousands of transactions each week. Sybase also underpins the recently implemented system for the 'Iza Fast' scratch-card game, and is likely to remain a key component of software developed to support new games that will be rolled out over the coming years," says Grace.
The system is based on the Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise Database and Sybase Open Server connectivity software running on Compaq Unix and Open VMS servers at Uthingo headquarters in Auckland Park. An identical off-site system provides disaster recovery.
The Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise database features a multi-threaded architecture with internal parallelism, and efficient query optimisation, designed to support real-time, mission-critical environments such as that of SA's lottery.
The Open Server software provides multiple clients and servers access to the centralised GTECH application logic, easing the complexities involved in developing and deploying applications in a multi-tiered computing environment. This alleviates the need constantly to update individual clients.
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