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.