Rio 2016 Olympics passes final IT test

All the IT systems that support 2016’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro have been fully tested by IT supplier Atos.

More than 200,000 hours of testing has been completed in a technical rehearsal, which simulate the three days when systems are expected to be busiest from 9 to 12 August.

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This was the second technical rehearsal and it marks the end of the testing. It included 44 sport test events, which took place between August 2014 and May 2016, and testing cloud-based IT systems, such as the accreditation system and the volunteer portal.

The Atos developed accreditation system, one of its critical games management systems, recently went live.

The final technical rehearsal tested against nearly 1,000 pre-defined operational scenarios, including a flood, network disconnection, power failures, changes to the competition schedule and security attacks, across the 22 Olympic venues.

Patrick Adiba, CEO of major events at Atos, said this is an important milestone: “Testing the technology systems and our teams’ readiness is crucial to flawlessly deliver the largest sports IT contract in the world.”

The team and system were assessed to how they responded to each circumstance, allowing and enabling them to test, create and tweak full responses to nearly any situation for the upcoming Olympic games. 

“Much like the 7,000 athletes who participated in the testing events, 450 IT professionals from Rio 2016 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, Atos and other technology partners have now vigorously undergone 200,000 testing hours of its IT systems ahead of this year’s games,” said Elly Resende, Rio 2016 technology director.

“By simulating real events at real venues under conditions very close to those during the actual games, it allows us to fully prepare all the key players involved to ensure a successful Olympic Games.”

IT preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games started in 2012 when the systems and infrastructure design began. In 2013, the focus was on building the systems and testing facilities ready for integration and acceptance. Testing began in 2014.