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Dimension Data is providing the SA Tennis Open with event communications technology for the third year running.
The company's advancedinfrastructure teamwill provide a temporary and fully self-contained technology centre on-site for Tennis SA, at Montecasino's Casino Precinct.
The tournament will run from 29 January to 6 February, at Montecasino's Outdoor Arena, in Fourways. For the duration of the tournament, the Ballroom and the La Toscana venues will be transformed into “mission control” for the event.
Nicholas Shaw, GM of Dimension Data's Middle East and Africa Advanced Infrastructure unit, says almost a hundred end-points will be available from which event officials and administrators will be able to orchestrate the event.
The technology centre will also serve as the media hub, linking local and international press, as well as player representatives and sponsors with audiences all over the world. Virtually instantaneous connectivity is critical for the live transmissions, match reports, interviews and press conferences that form an integral part of global sporting events, says Shaw.
“This is the third year running that Dimension Data's Advanced Infrastructure has been awarded the contract for the SA Tennis Open, and it is a project that really puts our capabilities to the test, drawing on all our specialists and areas of expertise. From cabling, to the network kit, to WAN connectivity, we'll be providing it all.”
Shaw says the challenge with the tournament is to assemble the technology in a “matter of a few days, completely from scratch”. Once the tournament is over, all infrastructure - cabling, cabinets, switches and routers - will be dismantled, returning the venues to their original state.
The project is a collaborative effort and Internet Solutions will provide connectivity, while Telkom will provide temporary telephone and fax lines.
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