With only a month to go before the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development gets under way in Johannesburg, local ICT companies are bracing themselves to cope with the expected influx of up to 65 000 visitors.
Companies involved in the summit infrastructure are completing the necessary planning and upgrades, while many companies based in Sandton are reported to be planning to relocate to rented premises in Midrand for the duration of the summit.
Exactly which companies are to move is a closely-guarded secret, but first-tier Internet service provider DataPro says it is aware of several companies that are planning to relocate to rented premises with mirrored backup IT systems before the event kicks off.
DataPro MD Douglas Reed says the companies are concerned about the threat of protests from an expected 40 000 activists from environmental, youth, labour and women`s groups during the event. He says the businesses have given the assurance that their day-to-day business activities will not be disrupted.
Preparations by companies involved in planning the summit, which will cost Johannesburg about R65 million, are also well under way.
HP gets IT infrastructure in place
Summit technology partner HP is hard at work developing the IT infrastructure for the event, says Kirsten Leemans, HP`s IT project manager for the summit.
He says the company is working with partners to develop and implement an integrated hardware, software management and storage solution to address the communications and data needs for the summit.
"The hardware will be allocated to address the three primary IT requirements - accreditation, information and operations. These requirements span 39 sites linked via multiple VLANs located in and around Johannesburg, including airports, hotels, the Sandton Convention Centre, Nasrec, Jowsco [Johannesburg World Summit Company] headquarters as well as the Wanderers Stadium and three media centres."
In addition, a production environment has been set up at Jowsco for testing, solution integration and accreditation.
"The site at Nasrec has been configured to provide disaster recovery for the Sandton Convention Centre and vice versa. A remote management solution using HP OpenView for proactive monitoring will ensure support staff are kept up to date as to the status of all technologies linked to the networks," says Leemans.
A broad range of technology will be utilised, including 2 300 PCs, 128 servers, 53 notebooks, iPAQs, 10 scanners, 274 printers, webcams, digital cameras, switches, storage, security software, network node management and over R2 million in consumables.
Jowsco will also use HP`s digital cameras, webcams, colour scanners and printers for accreditation during the event. "The registration of delegates, media and the public is critical to the security surrounding the summit," says Leemans. HP will work closely with the South African Police Service, the United Nations and other national and international security agencies to ensure delegates can concentrate on the tasks at hand with a minimum of distraction.
Equipment will also be provided for delegates to access transportation and events timetables, Internet and e-mail from their hotels. HP will also provide PC and server support for the security services stationed at each site in conjunction with access to secure police networks.
Elsewhere, HP`s servers, PCs, notebooks and iPAQs will be put to use in the summit`s call centres and media offices to enable a smooth flow of information from the expected 5 000 international journalists to the outside world. In addition, HP will manage the licensing, maintenance and support of the "system" at all 39 sites at the summit.
MTN boosts telecommunications capacity
MTN, a summit sponsor and exclusive telecommunications provider to the event, is completing a series of upgrades to boost capacity on its network.
MTN and Jowsco have also launched an interactive hotline on 083 123 9773 to provide the media, delegates, Johannesburg residents and businesses with up-to-date information on the summit. Information will also be distributed to callers via SMS from audio files on request so that callers may store critical information for retrieval later.
"We are well prepared for the summit," says Yvonne Muthien, head of M-Cell/MTN group corporate affairs. "We are upgrading existing base stations and installing new ones where necessary."
The Sandton Convention Centre, which will be the UN precinct for heads of state, will receive a dedicated, permanent base station of its own with capacity for up to 6 000 people. The venue is serviced by two exterior base stations nearby which are also being upgraded to provide additional capacity. Capacity at the Wanderers will be boosted with two mobile base stations. Five existing sites there are also being upgraded to cope with increased traffic.
The Sandton CBD will receive five new sites and capacity at all existing sites will be upgraded. In addition, capacity at all major hotels and shopping centres, such as Sandton City and the Sandton Sun, will be boosted.
Johannesburg International Airport has five sites that are being upgraded and additional capacity will be added if necessary. Nasrec`s four sites are being upgraded and one mobile base station will be added to ensure capacity for up to 30 000 people.
The summit takes place from 26 August to 4 September.
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