Some 825 000 tickets sold, printed and delivered to spectators; no black market ticket incidents reported; and fully functional networks and support services for 51 days of ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 fever.
Results that Dimension Data, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the CWC 2003 Organising Committee can be proud of.
Dimension Data`s SA-developed world-class ticketing system was a huge success, running effectively for all 28 warm up matches, the opening ceremony and 54 World Cup games without a single glitch.
The system was designed specifically for the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) and the eighth ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 (CWC 2003) held in SA throughout February and March.
Said Dr Ali Bacher, executive director of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 on 5 March 2003 at a press conference: "This ticketing system is one of the unsung success stories of the tournament, a fully computerised system that provides absolute crowd control."
In addition to the ticketing system, Dimension Data also managed and hosted other areas of the ICC CWC 2003, such as the LAN (local area network) and WAN (wide area network) network infrastructures, access control to the stadiums (in association with DexPDMS and Turnstar, sub-vendors), accreditation and the media information system support services. These systems were also successfully implemented, managed and regulated.
"Since early 2001, 19 full-time Dimension Data staff have been working on the systems," says Graham Cook, program manager, Dimension Data South Africa.
The ticketing system focused on four areas - back-office administration, ticket sales, ticket delivery and stadium access control.
"The system handled 825 000 ticket sales, which were sold either via a secure Web sales channel, through a call centre or at the 12 World Cup venues in SA," says Cook.
"For the first time in South African sport, all tickets were barcoded using a two-dimensional (2D) barcode which cannot be duplicated or forged," he explains. The barcode allowed for scanning and verification through a sophisticated venue access control system, which in turn generated a customer database holding valuable information on all ticket purchasers.
"The access control system was designed to allow access to one person through the turnstile every four seconds, thus allowing 30 000 people into the stadium in just two hours, currently the capacity of SA`s largest cricket venue, Wanderers Stadium," adds Cook.
All aspects and components of the system were designed to ensure maximum security and stadium safety for the paying spectator.
"It is interesting to note that, through the security built into the turnstiles and ticketing system, over 14 000 people have tried unsuccessfully to gain access to grounds without valid tickets," says Dr Bacher. "Without this ticketing system, they would have gained entry undetected."
Says Cook: "In association with CWC 2003, we had detailed contingency and backup plans in place, to ensure continued serviceability of systems in the event of a primary IT system break down during the Cricket World Cup.
"During the Cricket World Cup, each match was followed up with a debrief and assessment of operations, in order to remain up to date on any new problem areas which may have arisen during the matches," continues Cook.
Post match reviews included detailed attendance reports by seat. Management information was provided back to event organisers on an ongoing basis, such as when block bookings had not attended a game, in order to assist the organisers in reselling these block bookings for future games.
"The IT technology and support services provided by Dimension Data as well as the world-class ticketing system, and the high levels of expertise they represent, are superb examples of what SA has to offer the rest of the world," says Dr Bacher.
"What we have been able to do is to show the world that we have the capacity to manage a global sporting event of this nature.
"What we need now is the people of SA to continue to buy into the importance of tournaments like this one, and to continue supporting the country the way they have done so commendably to date. In spite of the South African team`s early departure from the World Cup, SA has conclusively demonstrated that it has the capacity and capability to host major global events of this kind," concludes Dr Bacher.
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Dimension Data Holdings plc (LSE: DDT) is a leading global technology company. The Group provides solutions and services that optimise and manage the performance of IT infrastructures to enable business to build competitive advantage. To achieve this, the Group delivers solutions using its proprietary `Application Network` architectural framework and its expertise in networking, application integration and managed services.
Dimension Data, founded in 1983, had revenues of $2.1 billion in 2002 and operates in 30+ countries with over 9 000 employees.
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