IT Team Responds Well to 76 IT Scenarios

IT Team Responds Well to 76 IT Scenarios London, May 25, 2004 - Atos Origin, a leading IT services company that has primary responsibility for IT for the Olympic Games, today announced that the first of two technical rehearsals has been successfully completed for the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games. Seventy-six different scenarios were tested over a one-week period by a team of almost 200 IT professionals operating in Games time conditions. The team was led by the ATHENS 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Atos Origin. First Phase of Olympic Games Technical Rehearsals Successfully Completed The scenarios ranged from information security issues, such as uncontrolled access to the IT systems, through to power outages, staff unable to turn up for work and sports events being rescheduled. A non-operational team set these scenarios and then monitored and evaluated the behaviour and reaction of the operating team. Representatives from the media and sports participated in the trial, using the Commentator Information System and INFO2004, as they would during Games-time. The technology rehearsal is a critical step in the run up to the Games and is designed to ensure that all the necessary processes and policies are in place in the event of any potential IT mishap that may occur during the Olympic Games. Atos Origin, leading the IT consortium, managed the same high level of IT applications and support that will be used at the Olympic Games, scaled down for the purposes of the rehearsal. "Once again we have been impressed by Atos Origin and its ability to deliver on time," said Jean-Benoit Gauthier, IOC. "The technical rehearsal is integral to the IT preparations of the Games. The entire team performed extremely well. The lessons learnt during this trial will be invaluable when it comes to the real event in August this year." IT staff from ATHENS 2004, Atos Origin and all the IT consortium members were based across eight venues: the Technology Operations Centre - the mission control for the Games, where the complex IT network and infrastructure was monitored and managed, the Primary Data Centre and five competition venues: Tennis, Baseball, Swimming, Water Polo & Synchronised Swimming. All other sports were simulated in the integration lab. "This first technical rehearsal was a success: the IT systems functioned operationally; the team worked well together and their response to the scenarios was impressive," said Claude Philipps, chief integrator for the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games, Atos Origin. A second technical rehearsal will take place in June in which more venues will be used and some IT volunteers will participate. Since August 2003, Atos Origin has also been conducting live Sport Event tests. These are held in conjunction with live competitions at Olympic Games venues and rehearse the Games Management Systems (GMS), Information Diffusion Systems (IDS) and the supporting IT infrastructure - all critical to managing the Games and communicating competition results. The contract with the International Olympic Committee is the world's largest sports-related IT contract, covering the next three Olympic Games over four years:, Athens in 2004, Turin in 2006 and Beijing in 2008. In these Games, Atos Origin has primary responsibility for information technology consulting, systems integration, operations management, IT security and software applications development. When the Games go live in Athens this summer, Atos Origin will have trained and will be managing a staff of 3400 IT professionals and volunteers, and overseeing all IT activities at the TOC, primary and secondary data centers, and 62 competition and non-competition venues. ## About Atos Origin Atos Origin is an international information technology (IT) services company. Its business is turning client vision into results through the application of consulting, systems integration and managed operations. The company's annual revenues are more than EUR 5 billion and it employs 47,000 people in 50 countries. For more information, please visit the company's web site at http://www.atosorigin.com Atos Origin is quoted on the Paris Euronext Premier Marché and trades as Atos Origin, AtosEuronext, Atos Worldline, Atos KPMG Consulting and Atos Odyssée. Contacts for Press: Marie-Tatiana Collombert Caroline Crouch Tel. : +33 (0)1 55 91 26 33 Tel. : + 44 (0)20 7830 4233 marie-tatiana.collombert@atosorigin.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/05/25/20040525BIT21120/wkr0006.pdf