Beijing Olympics diary: Testing times…

Clocks across the Chinese capital are ticking away what's left of the tech team's preparation time. Yet two major tasks remain to be completed, says Jeremy Hore, chief integrator for Olympic worldwide IT partner Atos Origin, in his exclusive silicon.com diary.

We are now on the last leg of our preparations and keenly aware every second counts. In Beijing specially installed clocks constantly remind us to the second the time remaining to the opening ceremony at 8pm on 08.08.08.

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The IT systems are operational and in fact the games management systems, which among other things handle accreditation and staffing schedules, are already working at peak usage.

As of last week more than 150,000 people have been accredited for the games.

But in addition to supporting these systems, we now have our last two big tasks to complete: final results testing at all the venues with our partners, and the installation of the remaining Info 2008 kiosks and CIS terminals for the media at the venues.

The team is expanding every day. We are well over two-thirds of our final strength and represent more than 20 different countries.

Volunteers and full-time staff from Atos Origin and the other IT partners will be joining us every day between now and the start of the games.

We're looking forward to bringing in the extra help and expertise as we prepare to move into full 24/7 operational mode on 25 July.

When new members join the team, the first step for them is an induction course to ensure they are up to speed with the Olympic technology and policies.

It is essential that everybody understands and adheres to the processes we have agreed with the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee, and our partners.

When you have up to four billion people waiting for information from the systems you are running, everyone must know their job well.

I am also eager to ensure that the team doesn't burn out before the Olympics begin. The team has worked at a very high level over the past few months.

They will need to be ready to respond to all possible scenarios, so my advice to them is to rest well in their time off and most importantly, enjoy the experience and atmosphere of the games.

More than three and a half years into this project, I'm getting impatient for the games to begin.