Formulating victory with supporting IT

Formulating victory with supporting IT

Vishnu K. Mahmud, Contributor, Jakarta, vmahmud@yahoo.com

Formula One racing is the premier motor sport in the world, and
also the most exciting, judging from the recent races that took
place in Asia, South America and Europe.

Seeing the world's most expensive racecars go head-to-head
flat out around the track signifies the high levels of confidence
each team has with their cars and drivers. But equally important
for victory or reaching the checkered flag is the information
technology systems behind each team.

Formula One is a highly competitive and challenging
environment that is at the leading edge of technology. Base
materials, car components, engine parts, vehicle frames and
others components are pushed to the extreme, getting the most
speed and maneuverability necessary to win the race while
ensuring the safety of both driver and car.

As a major sponsor, being a part of Formula One (F1) is not
just about brand awareness or selling products, but also for
showcasing and improving knowledge and machinery. The cars of
today were perhaps tested on F1 cars of the past, as the
automotive technology is passed down to consumers. It can be said
that the McLaren (www.mclaren.co.uk) cars of legendary drivers
Aryton Senna and Alain Prost can now be driven by anyone who buys
a Honda.

And as Information Technology (IT) becomes more and more
relevant around the world, engineers and car manufacturers
continuously strive to use the best and latest IT solutions to
fulfill their goals. As such, a F1 team must work together with
its technology partners to ensure their cars continuously outpace
that of their competitors.

Computer Associates (CA) is one such partner for McLaren
Mercedes. Brian Shemilt, divisional senior vice president of
Global Field Marketing for CA, (www.ca.com), says the company
welcomes the intense environment to push their technology to its
limits and contribute to the team.

McLaren uses CA technology to protect its mission-critical IT
systems. Their multi-million dollar cars provides non-stop
telemetry data, vital to ensure the high performance of the
vehicle. Based on this data, race engineers can review
performance-related issues such as lap times, fuel consumption,
brake wear, maximum speeds as well as steering parameters that
can be improved instantaneously.

Using CA's BrightStor High-Availability software, McLaren can
make sure that their critical data continues to flow, stored in
their servers with redundant backups. Most importantly, with the
help of another technology partner in Siemens Mobile, McLaren can
relay the data in real-time to their factory in Woking, England,
from wherever the race is being held.

Also, using Unicenter Enterprise Management, the team can
easily install, configure and monitor their multiple servers,
computers and laptops across different platforms whenever they
move to a new racetrack. Making sure the entire IT and
communications infrastructure works, from driver pit radio
systems to telemetry data analysis, can result in important
points for the World Championship in Formula One.

As a company that provides software to manage eBusiness, CA's
association with F1 has demonstrated that its software can handle
the rigors and abuse of extreme business as well as scientific
environments. "That's the ultimate proof," says Shemilt, "If
you've got a car running around the track at 190 miles an hour,
you cannot afford to lose communications, and that's exactly the
same in business."

Nowadays companies can no longer afford to have their finance,
communications or security systems go down even for a minute as
the world becomes more competitive. With the Internet revolution,
people are used to getting their information, data or service
immediately. A downed server is no longer an excuse because it is
now preventable.

Whatever ills may be on the horizon, it is the pioneers that
always move forward, armed with the knowledge and hardware to
ensure they can navigate the potential pitfalls they face while
innovating new tools to ensure their survival. These tools are
now available, but are we using them?

Considering the various disaster variables of floods, riots,
power failures, viruses, sabotage and others, how many companies
today in Indonesia are truly ready to continue doing business
should any one of these events take place? Like the Formula One
cars driven by Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard, just reaching
the finish line is a major victory. Winning, of course, is always
the goal.