There has been a growing interest in advanced IT systems that have been used throughout the PyeongChang Olympic Games. Once a global company, the official Olympic partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is in charge of the construction and operation of the main system, domestic companies are expected to provide IT services for the stable operation of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee.

According to the PyeongChang Organizing Committee, Samsung Electronics, Intel, Omega, Athos, GE, Panasonic and Alibaba are the official IT partners in the competition.

These companies build and operate various IT systems required for the competition based on their official partner status with IOC. Samsung Electronics, the only official partner in Korea, provides about 4,000 Olympic Editions `Galaxy Note 8 Olympic Edition`, official phone called `Family Phone` to Olympic officials. Athletes and executives will meet with advanced IT technology in Korea through the use of Samsung smartphones. Besides, Samsung Electronics will exhibit an experiential zone and a Windows MR device `Odyssey` to meet mixed reality (MR) content that combines virtual and augmented reality (VR • AR) around the venue. Intel is offering content for 5G technology and VR, as well as drones for the opening ceremony.

Meanwhile, Omega takes on the official record measuring device (time keeper) and related IT systems. Domestic 5G communication and communication network (Gyeonggi, business, and facility network) are established and operated by KT, but cloud service, data center, tournament operating system, and website are handled by official partner, Atos, the Dutch company. In fact, Athos will oversee the entire IT system, including the operation, results and information of the competition. "We are all set to make the PyeongChang Olympic 100% hosted by the cloud service," said Mark Aguila, head of Pusan team at Athos. Alibaba, who was originally supposed to be in charge of the cloud, does not have any support at the moment, and the prevailing opinion for the 2022 Beijing Olympics is dominant.

Besides, GE provides healthcare services such as mobile digital X-rays, ultrasonic devices, and medical image storage and transmission systems (PACS) for health management of athletes, and also provides healthcare for 16 stadium facilities including IBC, And an energy management system (EMS) that efficiently manages heating. Panasonic is responsible for the sound equipment and display of the stadium.

Korean companies have entered into a sponsorship contract with the PyeongChang Organizing Committee and participate in the stable operation of the competition service. Hancom is contributing to the realization of the Olympic Games without language barrier by supplying "Zenit Talk" that can translate the official languages of English, French, German and other Olympic languages into the artificial intelligence based on real time automatically. Ssangyong Information & Communications established and operated the organization website, and Ahn-lab provided security solutions. Enterprise SW company- Duzon Bizon provided the organizers with the highest version of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for budgeting, accounting and personnel management.

A specialist from the PyeongChang Organizing Committee stated, "Korean and foreign IT companies with advanced technology are organically cooperating to make the competition successful."

By Hur Woo Young yenny@


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