Information Technology and Systems 2/3

Philippe Verveer, who has a Ph. D. from Paris University in electronics, has considerable company experience, and was Head of IT for the Winter Olympics in Albertville.

He joined the French Organising Committee in 1993 to do a similar job for the World Cup. Here he gives us a run-down on the policies and means adopted by the Committee in order to take on the fantastic challenge of IT for FRANCE 98.

WHEN DID YOU START WORKING ON WORLD CUP INFORMATION SYSTEMS?

In December 1993. Definite contacts with would-be partners were written up after the 1994 World Cup, and in January 1995 we were joined by our first partner, EDS, with Hewlett-Packard and Sybase close on its heels. And before this World Cup even starts, we will have had a number of opportunities to test ourselves in all-out operational mode. The Draws in 1995 and 1997 were two such occasions, and the Tournoi de France last June was another.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR PROBLEMS IN ORGANISING SOMEThING SO COMPLICATED?

Our main concern is to be ready in time, which, when all’s said and done, isn’t such an easy business where IT is concerned. Before the kick-off, we have very little time to install 2,000 PCs, 100 local networks and 600 printers, among a lot of other equipment. We have absolutely no margin for error. Everything has to function perfectly from the word go. The other major difficulty will be that all the places we have to cater for will come to life with a bang. A large part of our infrastructure has to be accessible from the ten stadiums and the International Media Centre. In total, hundreds of different areas-not always designed for the occasion, either-are scheduled to house IT equipment. But all that’s just on the operations side of the World Cup. The other challenge for the IT department is to be able to deal with all the very different and specific demands of the event, like ticket sales and managing accreditation.

WHAT METHODS ARE YOU ARE USING TO ENSURE THAT ALL THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS RUN SMOOTHLY?

During the competition, we shall have a centralised command post, which will be to all intents and purposes the brain of our set-up. We shall have a national network linking all the venues, and a local network within each venue. All networks will have back-up systems to avoid any break-downs-safety measures which have also been set up for the databases of the 200 IT servers accessed by the 2,000 PCs being provided, and which ensures that all data is recorded several times on different supports. It goes without saying that outside users will be blocked from accessing any of this. In addition, technicians will be constantly on the look-out for any breakdowns, and be ready to repair them before users are even aware that anything has happened.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WAS YOUR GENERAL APPROACH?

We will be doing what we must to ensure things go off without a hitch. Don’t get the idea, however, that we’re trying to make this the “Technology World Cup.” We want technology to be entirely at the service of the event by providing exactly what it needs, and anticipating all its specific demands and limitations.