The decision by Dimension Data to take on the challenge of beaming the toughest mountain-bike race on the planet to more than 60 million eager viewers around the world has seen the IT infrastructure solutions and services company support a race many refer to as "the Tour de France of mountain biking".
Coverage of the hundreds of kilometres of gruelling terrain will be conducted expertly during the 2016 Absa Cape Epic as in years past. As official technology partner of the 2016 Absa Cape Epic, Dimension Data's multifaceted role requires some of the best technical know-how.
The mission to provide all the technology, communications and personnel for the Absa Cape Epic will inevitably come with some glitches. The audacity to transmit - for eight consecutive race days - a bicycle race in remote parts of the Cape that have little or no connectivity is evidence of accelerated ambition that is sure to inspire future innovation.
Dimension Data's world-class connectivity will connect riders to fans, friends and family all over the world for the 652km course that meanders from Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville, to Tulbagh, through Wellington and Stellenbosch, and back to Meerendal.
More than 200 journalists will also use the connections provided by Dimension Data technicians to send live footage across the globe.
The expert skills from the team at Dimension Data are there to keep this from happening by ensuring the media and fans have a consistent and reliable connection worldwide through the 400 gigabytes of data that are transferred daily.
The technical expertise provided by Dimension Data's engineers also encompasses a 100% backup capability to ensure reliable uptime for over 100 000 viewers all day, every day.
Identifying and resolving problems will be done speedily to cope with traffic being generated by a huge number of devices that run bandwidth-hungry applications, which can cause serious capacity constraints.
Riders will enjoy access to complete WiFi connectivity in race villages courtesy of Dimension Data. They will be able update social media, catch up on the latest on the race and from around the world, as well as upload their rider data from their devices to analyse their performance from the very first day of the race.
Dimension Data will also provide live video feeds to one of the most isolated climbs during the race, to deliver messages of encouragement to the riders from their supporters. Visual communication through the high-definition video wall could be the spur that a rider needs to carry on. Last year, these images brought smiles and tears to racers' faces, and Cape Epic race founder Kevin Vermaak has described the video wall as "a game-changer for the event".
This technology solution and others that are on display during the 2016 Absa Cape Epic will certainly include future innovations in cycling and IT, while ensuring fans have access to engaging and rich content that raises that profile of the Absa Cape Epic even further.
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