Analytics and the Olympics

With the 2016 summer games in Rio coming to a close, millions have enjoyed real-time access to the action as it happens. All that data, images and video uploaded, organized, and redistributed virtually as it happens, available on any device, on demand. Thanks to the power of the analytics stack!

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Summer Olympic Games 2016

When technology can be used to it’s potential, just like an elite Olympic athlete, a personal best performance, peaking at the right time, can deliver a podium performance.  Like the Olympics, there is always a new kid on the block striving to be the new champion.  With technology vendors, that comes through constant innovation and team work.  Who has been behind the Gold medal performances delivering all those statistics, images, video, sports cast articles and more?

Well, for the athletes and spectator experiences, there have been many companies contributing to improving performance and feeling like you are part of the action.  Check out this article mentioning Atos cloud backup and data services, Samsung virtual reality systems, Visa wearable near field communication payment systems, and more … http://www.rio2016.com/en/news/rio-2016-olympics-technological-innovations

But who were the main players for storing and delivering reports on all that data for the 2016 Olympics in Rio?

  1. The network backbone and infrastructure, primarily Cisco.   http://www.zdnet.com/pictures/the-tech-legacy-of-the-rio-olympics/ .   Other key technology partners were Samsung, Panasonic, EMC, Microsoft, Omega, and Symantec.
  2. Data and database vendor, Microsoft SQL Server.   Did you know there is even a real-time SharePoint data feed available?  http://odf.olympictech.org/2016-Rio/rio_2016_OG.htm   After years of dominance by IBM ( DB2 ), here is one example of a new champion moving up on the podium.
  3. Reporting tools, Many ???.   With the variety of dashboards, statistical reports, interactive, web, tablet, mobile devices and so on, the choice appears to have been left to the individual report designers depending on their needs, preference, corporate standards and delivery platform.    The official sponsors and suppliers list indicates the leading reporting tools used by the Olympic committee and official Rio Olympics website at least may have been SSRS and Power BI from Microsoft?  http://www.rio2016.com/en/sponsors
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Rio Olympics technology advances

Whether you are someone who enjoyed the freedom and real-time access to information, instant replays, medal standings, background stories about your favorite athlete or whatever you were looking for, all this technology has delivered a Gold medal performance.  Some peaked at the right time, some will be ready the next time around as up-and-comers, and some may not compete at the next Olympics with their best days now behind them. There is always room for improvement along with new entrants as well as retiring veterans coming and going over the years.  Who will emerge as the next lightning “Bolt” in BI analytics?, only time will tell …

Hope you enjoyed the competition, we @ FinditEZ sure did!   We embrace innovation and  freedom of choice, always.  We are proud to continue to grow our support for the best tools in the business intelligence analytics world.  Can’t wait to see what is to come over the next four years …  Download your free trial today.

About the author

Ken Gnazdowsky holds a Bachelor of (Computing) Science degree from Simon Fraser University. A recipient of the Governor General of Canada bronze medallion, he began his post-secondary education at Brandon University on an academic scholarship, Ken has worked in the software development industry for over 30 years. Ken is co-founder and President of Find it EZ Software Corp., creators of the Microsoft award-winning products, Code Search Pro and Dev Surge 365.

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