Technology delivers a superb FIFA 2010

As the vuvuzelas die down and everyone goes back to their routine, Dilbagh Gill, head of sport business and FIFA executive relationship at Mahindra Satyam, an Indian-based systems integration firm, has an interesting way of looking at the role of technology at the just concluded football bonanza.

He says technology and IT services are like the goalkeeper in football. No one seems to remember the goals the keeper saves. And the less you hear about the technology behind the event, the back office operations that keep the pictures flowing, the networks running and the communication alive, the better -  it means technology is playing its role effectively.

That could never be so true. One of the unsung heros of the FIFA World Cup 2010 is technology. This is from the event management system that Mahindra Satyam built from the bottom up, the live streaming of matches on the Internet, the social media activities in twitter, facebook and myspace to the crisp pictures that beamed on television sets across the world and watched by millions of football enthusiasts.

For instance, can you remember those overhead pictures that gave you a birds-eye view of the pitch? That was one of the newest innovations in broadcasting at the world cup. The tension cable-harnessed camera dubbed the "Spidercam" was making its World Cup debut. The Spidercam is normally suspended 20 meters above the pitch and capable of being pulled back and forth to provide live, overhead images. This camera was used at four of the 10 tournament venues in South Africa.

The 2010 World Cup?s television coverage used a standard 30 cameras for each match, four more than during the 2006 tournament in Germany, and included two ultra-motion cameras that can record up to 1,000 frames per second to dramatically slow down the action for replays.

Twin-lens 3D cameras were also used at every game, along with "steadicams," which are fitted to the bodies of film crewmembers, and crane-operated cameras at pitch-level. Important matches got two additional cameras: one mounted on a helicopter and a Spidercam. 

Then, the logistics and successful delivery of the event was totally hinged on technology and this is where Gill and his team were involved in. The event management system that Satyam built had several mission critical systems, relating to accreditation, volunteer, event staffing and transport. All these are critical to a delivery of any such event.

Satyam were also responsible for installing a private network connecting event locations, FIFA delegation, staff, the organizing committee and media personnel, as well as claiming oversight of the deployment of IT related equipment. They managed and tracked over 33,000 assets worth a billion dollars, which were loaned to FIFA for the 2010 bonanza.

So, like Gill, I tend to agree that technology is and maybe should remain the hidden hand in delivery of such high quality events ? business or sporting. How I wish FIFA could actually go a step further and utilize this rich technology to assist in curbing refereeing errors. But that?s a story for another day.

As for now, it is my hope that the local organizing committee of the Senior Africa Athletics Championship, which kicks off later in the month will have picked some lessons from the FIFA 2010 experience and that again, technology will deliver another superb experience. This time, in Nairobi.