Dimension Data, Cisco, Intel, EMC, power Tour de France

Dimension Data and Amaury Sport Organisation announced significant enhancements to the big data cycling analytics platform that will deliver real-time information to viewers, commentators and teams at the 2016 Tour de France. Headlining the innovations is Race Center, a web-based application hosted on Dimension Data’s cloud platform and developed in partnership with ASO that combines live race data, video, photographs, social media feeds, and race commentary which combines with a new live tracking website to give viewers an immersive digital experience that goes beyond the television coverage of the race.

Race Center will become ASO’s digital hub of the Tour de France going forward. And the Live Tracking website is testament to the evolution of Dimension Data’s real-time big data collection, analytics and digital platforms over the past 12 months. Viewers will be able to get far richer and more accurate information from each of the 198 riders in 22 teams, including speed, distance between riders, composition of the race pelotons, wind speed and direction, as well as prevailing weather conditions.

Many of the new technologies that were trialed at last year’s race are now production-ready, and feature significant improvements across the board. This year the telemetry sensors installed under each rider’s seat that are responsible for transmitting live data boast a tenfold increase in transmission range. This means far fewer dropouts or gaps in the data, resulting in more seamless communication and continuity throughout the race.

Dimension Data’s big data truck has also been upgraded and enlarged to accommodate the various television graphics, race coordination, data capture and analytics teams responsible for delivering the complete end-to-end data solution at the 2016 Tour de France. This is one of the biggest changes from last year, where each team worked separately, and continues the theme of collaboration and data integration made possible by the advancements in the technologies on display.

Adam Foster, Dimension Data’s Group Executive, Sports Practice said, “The enhancements to this year’s solutions means we can tell richer and more enhanced stories as they happen, giving viewers, the media, cycling fans and race commentators deeper insights into some aspects of the sport that were not available until now. This year, we are working with a much broader palette, which means access to more meaningful race data, race routes, riders and current weather conditions. What is exciting this year is the ability to deliver all this information to ASO through a unified digital platform. This makes the quality of the data even more valuable for viewer engagement, and speaks directly to a generation of younger viewers who rely on new technologies such as social media and live video to engage with their world.”

Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, ASO said the unprecedented growth in different social channels such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and live video at last year’s race demanded these technologies be embraced and enhanced for modern viewers. “The Tour de France is a flagship event in a modern world, and it is only natural that we give our viewers access to as much quality content, entertainment and analysis as possible through the media they use every day,” said Prudhomme.

“Together with Dimension Data we have been working on new ways to appeal to our billions of viewers, and we are excited to showcase the result of our efforts through Race Center. I believe the appeal of having access to multiple real-time video, social media and live race information from one responsive and intuitive interface will greatly enhance the quality of coverage of the Tour de France, and become an essential companion to the largest live televised event in the world.”

Media application

Amaury Sport Organisation announced an all-new digital application that gives media commentators at the 2016 Tour de France direct access to live race data for enhanced, in-depth event coverage and analysis. Purpose-built by Dimension Data for the Tour de France and delivered through Dimension Data’s big data cycling analytics and cloud platform, the new web-based app will be made available to more than 100 onsite and remote broadcasters, as well as media serving the largest annual global televised viewership of any sporting event in the world.

“With a mandate from ASO to deliver the full digital solution for the 2016 Tour, we engaged directly with professional commentators at major cycling and other sporting events to determine the best way to present the data they need to tell the most compelling stories for their live audience,” explained Adam Foster, Dimension Data’s Group Executive, Sports Practice.

“This year’s race analytics features a marked increase in the types of data we are collecting, which now includes information on race conditions such as route gradient. Combined with other data such as speed and distance, and supplementary information on race information such as rider positions, data insights and a live news feed, the data is pushed to the commentator’s app in a visually accessible format, giving commentators unprecedented, real-time insights for in-depth race analysis and coverage.”

Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, ASO said Dimension Data has successfully delivered on its vision of a fully integrated digital solution that delivers live race data in new and compelling ways to a broad range of users, audiences and consumers.

“The 2016 Tour de France sets a new benchmark in our ability to make the most of the massive influx of live race data at our disposal,” says Prudhomme. “Not only has Dimension Data expanded the bouquet of data we can now make available to our media partners, but they have also enhanced the ways we can present it. The commentator’s app is an example of how we have maximised the value of digital data by making it instantly useable and immediately relevant to our target audience.”

The ASO’s Tour de France commentator’s app is part of a suite of new Dimension Data enhancements to the Tour de France live data tracking solution. These include an integrated online portal called Race Center that combines live race data, video, photographs, social media feeds, and race commentary; an enhanced live data tracking website, linked to Race Center, that allows viewers to track their favourite riders in real-time; new television graphics that give broadcasters more options to display live data on riders, teams, route information; enhanced telemetry sensors that deliver more accurate data over longer distances with fewer disruptions; and an upgraded Dimension Data big data truck that serves as the physical hub for delivering the complete end-to-end digital solution at the 2016 Tour de France.

Multi vendor experience center

Dimension Data unveiled the first custom designed digital Experience Center. Equipped with the latest digital technology, the mobile experience center will tour France from 2 July to 21 July during the Tour de France. Through the example of cycling, Dimension Data will tell the story of how the company helped to digitise the sport of professional cycling. Dimension Data is the Official Technology Partner of Amaury Sport Organisation, which owns the Tour de France.

Last week, Dimension Data and ASO announced significant enhancements to the big data cycling analytics platform that delivers real time information to viewers, commentators, teams and millions of cycling fans around the world.

“We are partnering with Cisco, Deloitte, EMC and Intel to demonstrate the most advanced digital experience in modern sport,” explains Ruth Rowan, Dimension Data’s Group Executive, Marketing. “Today, digital transformation is high on the agenda of CIOs. Together with our partners, we will demonstrate how enterprises in all industries can harness the power of data to accelerate their digital ambitions.”

In keeping with the theme of cycling, one of the highlights in the Experience Center are sensor-enabled bicycles. Guests will be able to participate in a virtual reality cycle race using sensor-enabled bikes. Cyclist’s information will be captured in real-time using a mobile application developed by Dimension Data that will push the information up into the Dimension Data cloud. Heart rate, speed, cadence, and power will be analysed before it is presented in a live race dashboard. Also on show is NTT Group’s wearable technology in the form of a smart shirt with live hitoe monitors which, when worn, captures bio signals from the heart and muscles of the individual, and generates a live ECG reading.

Every day, Dimension Data’s guests will participate in a telepresence videoconferencing session with the technical and data analytics team working from a mobile data center at a remote location. And to demonstrate how to enhance collaboration between people and groups, Cisco has created a Cisco Spark room linked to a dedicated social network for guests and the teams in the experience center. Over 200 guests are expected to visit the Experience Center over the next three weeks.

Amaury Sport Organisation is a company that owns, designs and organises top international sporting events. Specialised in the non-stadia events, it has in-house knowledge of professions linked to organisation, media and sales of sports events. ASO organises 270 days of competition per year, with 70 events in more than 20 countries.

Present in five major sports including cycling with Le Tour de France, motor sports with Le Dakar, golf with the Open de France, sailing with Le Tour de France à la Voile and mass events with the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris. Amaury Sport Organisation is a subsidiary of the Amaury Group, media and sport group that owns the newspapers L’Equipe.