Atos, the Worldwide IT Partner for the Olympic Games, announced on Wednesday that it has delivered the cloud IT infrastructure that will be used for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

The system represents a significant step forward in the digitisation of the Olympic Games as it extends the use of cloud to most applications. 

“The delivery of the secure cloud, IT infrastructure to support all Olympic Games from 2018 is a major milestone in our digital transformation,” said Jean-Benoît Gauthier, Technology Director at the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“Cloud is a perfect fit for the Olympic Games and we are delighted to be working with our long-term Worldwide IT Partner on this important project that will benefit all those who participate in the Games – media, athletes and spectators.”

The new secure cloud IT infrastructure, powered by Atos’ strategic partner EMC, will be used to test and run IT applications used to distribute results to the media worldwide.

The solution will also support the core planning systems used to recruit volunteers, support workforce management, manage the competition schedule and process accreditations for athletes, media and the wider Olympic Family.

The converged infrastructure solution, which uses Atos’ Canopy Enterprise Private Cloud and VCE’s Vblock System, can support other businesses on their journey to cloud. 

The system will be first to test the competition schedule and the workforce management systems that will be used by the Pyeongchang 2018 Organising Committee from the end of 2015. 

The capacity of the cloud solution can be increased and decreased according to the demands of the different stages of event delivery. 

In September 2015, cloud capacity will increase to perform technical testing proving the solution can support the expected demand through the project, and then decrease to support the limited production needs at the early stages of the project. 

Around two years before the Games, capacity and bandwidth will be increased again to cover the high level of demand for thousands of volunteer requests as the volunteer portal goes operational.

“The move to the cloud brings many benefits for the Olympic Games. It takes away the need to rebuild an entire infrastructure for each of the Games, which is both timely and costly,” said Patrick Adiba, group chief commercial officer, CEO of major events at Atos.

“It also helps the IT team to react faster and to anticipate new needs and perhaps most importantly, it provides flexibility. As the Olympics does not need to operate at full capacity all the time, a cloud infrastructure will enable computing power to be scaled up and down to meet demand and ensure the best experience for users.”

As IOC’s Coordination Commission for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games concluded on Thursday, the International Ski Federation (FIS) secretary general Sarah Lewis told HOST CITY that progress is impressive, expressing confidence that venues will be ready in time for test events in 2016. 

"The Alpine Skiing downhill course at Jeongsong and Freestyle and Snowboard cross and slopestyle courses are really starting to taking shape now and the progress with their construction over the past three months is impressive,” Sarah Lewis, FIS Secretary General told HOST CITY, speaking from PyeongChang.

“We're confident that the FIS World Cup competitions in February 2016 will prove to be an important milestone in the preparations for the Games and generate true excitement in PyeongChang and Korea when the world's best athletes are competing."

Sarah Lewis, who is also Secretary General of the Association of Winter Olympic International Federations, is to speak at HOST CITY 2015 on “The Changing Face of Sports Organisations”.

The IOC’s Coordination Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg also hailed the good progress.

“The preparations for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 are developing well. Support from all the local partners continues to be strong, with the national and regional governments both present during our meetings. We were also delighted to have with us representatives of the seven International Federations on the 2018 programme, who brought their sport-specific expertise to the discussions. 

“This was helpful for PyeongChang 2018, as it has now entered the delivery phase of preparations and is working on the detailed services for the athletes and technicians. This will be particularly important for the first sports events early next year, which include important dates on the international calendar, namely an FIS Alpine World Cup, an FIS Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard World Cup, and an IBSF/FIL pre-homologation event.”

She also stressed that PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee (POCOG) must maintain its good progress as these test events loom.

“The venues continue to progress rapidly. We visited Jeongseon and the Alpensia Sliding Centre, and got a really good impression of what the athletes will experience come Games time. I am confident that they will be very pleased. 

“The competition sites remain on schedule for the Games, but the organisers need to maintain their focus, as some delivery dates are very close to the start of the test events. It is important that PyeongChang 2018 delivers these events successfully and, in particular, the first events next February, in order to create a solid basis for its planning and preparations for the Games. 

“This will also be a great opportunity for Koreans to experience elite winter sport and get engaged in the Games, as some of the world’s best athletes in those sports will be present in order to get a feeling for the 2018 Olympic venues.”

The next IOC Coordination Commission visit will be in March 2016.

PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee President Yang-ho Cho said, “It has been a very productive three days. I feel that we are moving in the right direction to stage great Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

“With the feedback and support of the Coordination Commission, we have made a number of important and critical decisions. As we move further ahead into the operational phase of the Games, I would like to thank the national and International Federations for their guidance and support. Their expertise and Games experience have been instrumental to guiding POCOG.”

Samsung Group on Monday signed as domestic sponsor of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. 

Samsung will support the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) with a sponsor package valued at KRW 100 bn (USD 92m) to become a domestic partner working in various business areas across the Samsung group.

The domestic sponsorship is in addition to the Worldwide TOP Partnership with the IOC, which Samsung recently renewed until 2020 and which includes the provision of wireless communications equipment, tablet PC, notebook computer and desktop PCs.

"We are happy to have Samsung support in addition to the TOP partner agreement with POCOG,” Cho Yang-ho, president of POCOG said. “We are confident that this sponsorship agreement will encourage other Korean companies to join as sponsors for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.”

POCOG has also signed domestic sponsors agreements with Samsung Group, Korean Air, KT, Youngone Outdoor (The NORTH FACE Brand), Pagoda Education Group and Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, but has so far only achieved 41 per cent of its sponsorship target.

According to AFP, POCOG anticipates reaching 70 per cent of its sponsorship target by the end of 2015.

"Samsung Group is thrilled that Korea has won the right to host the Olympic Winter Games. The Corporation demonstrates its support by extending the domestic marketing rights for PyeongChang 2018 that are already in place through the TOP (The Olympic Partner) contract with the IOC," said Park Sangjin, president of corporate relations at Samsung.

"Indeed, Samsung has made a meaningful decision to provide additional support for the PyeongChang 2018 organizing committee to contribute to the successful Olympic Winter Games. This sponsorship agreement furthers our efforts to commit to social responsibility as a corporate representative of Korea."

Following the unexpected resignation of PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Organising Committee chief Jin-sun, the committee have appointed one of their six vice-presidents, Jung-haeng, to take charge in the interim. Jung-haeng will be briefed on the progress of the Games preparations on Thursday and will head the organisation until a permanent replacement can be found.

Kim Jin-sun left his post on Monday citing the need for new leadership. It was revealed yesterday that this had followed an investigation by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection into the financing and management of the Games, leading to speculation in the South Korean media that Jim-sun’s departure was not voluntary.

Jin-sun resigned in a speech to POCOG, saying: “PyeongChang 2018 is at a turning point for the latter half of its Games preparation, which requires more detailed planning and execution. At this critical juncture, I believe that PyeongChang 2018 needs new leadership and a stronger system that will effectively carry out various Games-related projects. And this is why I decided to resign as President of POCOG.”

Jin-sun was head of PyeongChang's bidding committee on two failed bids for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics and his position as chief of the 2018 Games was not meant to expire until October 2015

This all follows a troubled few months for the PyeongChang Games which have faced a slew of construction and sponsorship problems as well as the resignation of vice president and secretary general of the organising committee, Moon Dong-hoo, due to health concerns.

In May the IOC urged PyeongChang to focus on venue construction, test events, marketing and Games services due to tight timeframes. Gunilla Lindberg, chair of the IOC coordination commission, said: “The 2018 Games are on the right track but it is clear that much work remains.”

Following the resignation of Kim Jin-sun the IOC released a statement saying: "We have full confidence that these activities will be delivered by the POCOG team in a timely manner and using their existing processes. We continue to work closely with them on their preparations for the Games."

Cho Yang-ho, chairman and CEO of South Korean conglomerate Hanjin Group and airline Korean Air, led PyeongChang’s bid for the 2018 Games and will be appointed as chief organiser at a general congress of the organising committee in the coming days.

POCOG appointed their vice-president Kim Jung-haeng as an interim leader following Jin-sun’s unexpected departure but have quickly found a new successor.

Yang-ho is the current president of the Korea Table Tennis Association and vice president of the Asian Table Tennis Union but his appointment has been criticised by some because of his lack of experience in sports administration.

Yang-ho said in a statement: “Now that I've agreed to take on the job as the chief organizer, I will dedicate myself to ensure a successful Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, relying on my experience as the top bid official."

"Many people in and outside Korea recommended that I take this position and I also wanted to keep the promise I'd made with the International Olympic Committee to work for a successful Olympics here."

Yang-ho will come into the job at a troubled point for the Games with results from an investigation by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection into the financing and management of the Games still pending. 

The International Olympic Commission (IOC) Coordination Commission on Thursday completed its third inspection visit of PyeongChang, the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, concluding that progress was good but that work could not be allowed to slip behind schedule.

The Commission highlighted transport management, accommodation contracting and developing the Mountain Olympic Village as areas where timeframes are particularly “tight” for the PyeongChang Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (POCOG).

Venue construction, test events, marketing and Games services have also been identified as “key areas that require POCOG’s focus over the next six months,” the IOC said in a statement. 

“We were able to see that a large amount has been accomplished by POCOG and its partners since our last visit in June 2013,” said Gunilla Lindberg, chair of the IOC coordination commission. “The 2018 Games are on the right track but it is clear that much work remains.”

POCOG President and CEO Jin-sun Kim said: “The eyes of the world are now on PyeongChang.

"This year is a big turning point for us. We must establish a solid framework. As I always stress, we have no time to practise and no time for trial and error. We will streamline our Master Schedule and set our priorities straight so that everything runs smoothly according to the timeline.”

The IOC said in a statement: “With timelines tight for the completion of accommodation contracting, the development of the Mountain Olympic Village and the transport management plan, the Coordination Commission encouraged POCOG to ensure that the appropriate focus and resources were dedicated to these important areas.”

Construction companies are being appointed for venues and some construction is underway. The commission “underlined the need for timelines to be carefully defined and adhered to, so as to avoid any impacts on test events.” 

The IOC will undoubtedly be keen to avoid a situation like Rio 2016’s, where construction is critically behind schedule. 

The commission also highlighted the need to prepare for the non-infrastructural aspects of test events, saying “the hiring and training of staff and volunteers should also begin in the near future”.

In the field of marketing, POCOG is in the process of finalising its first domestic partnership contract to build on progress so far. 

“The awareness of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games has been strengthened by the success of PyeongChang House in Sochi, and the very innovative Closing Ceremony segment, which presented the 2018 Games to a worldwide audience of millions,” the IOC said. “The Commission encouraged the local organisers to continue to engage and promote their Games at this high level over the next four years both at home and abroad.”

The meetings in PyeongChang were attended by all levels of government. “The participation of the International Federations, the Korean Olympic and Paralympic Committees, and the Korean national winter sports federations was also very beneficial and allowed POCOG to engage in in-depth discussions on all topics related to the venues and sport,” said Lindberg.

“We are confident that POCOG and Korea will deliver great Games for the athletes in 2018.” 

In June, PyeongChang will host the official IOC Debriefing of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. The fourth Coordination Commission visit to PyeongChang will take place at the end of November 2014.