Alibaba Cloud was a star player behind the scenes in this year’s Tokyo Olympics, here’s how
[This is sponsored content with Alibaba.]
Back in 1964, satellite technology was used for the first time in Olympic broadcasting history, to broadcast the games to a global audience. Since then, tech has come a long way and this year marks yet another milestone in Olympic history.
We managed to witness our nation’s athletes such as Lee Zii Jia, Azizulhasni Awang, Aaron Chia, Pandelele Rinong and others, represent Malaysia in real-time thanks to cloud technology. Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, was one of the key players in building the stepping blocks that shifted the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 into the digital era.
1. Bringing forth an innovative change in Olympic broadcasting
The usage of cloud technology in media and broadcasting is not exactly new. Services like Netflix and Spotify with millions of users have relied on cloud technology ever since their inception.
By leveraging cloud technology for broadcasting, OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services) reduced the footprint of their broadcasting centre by 30%, compared to Rio Olympics in 2016. Especially with the pandemic still ongoing, having fewer employees present on-site can cut down the potential of an outbreak.
That said, the move to broadcasting via cloud was not a pandemic knee-jerk reaction by OBS. They’ve partnered with Alibaba Cloud to create OBS Cloud back in 2018, and have tested its capability in previous Youth Olympic Games.
Yiannis Exarchos, the CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services, said this partnership with Alibaba Cloud had transformed how they broadcast the games. He emphasised that “this [cloud-based broadcasting] is perhaps the biggest technological change in the broadcasting industry for more than half a century since the introduction of satellite transmission.”
With OBS Cloud, the broadcasting committee created, stored and managed nearly 9,000 short-form content clips on their platform. The RHBs (Rights-Holding Broadcasters), who have signed on for specific services, could then retrieve the clips instantly from any of their global facilities through the internet.
The subscribed RHBs will then have access to all the clips recorded and stored on Content+, an online platform supported by cloud infrastructure. They could then post them immediately on their own media platform, or mark them for post-production just as the games happen in real-time.
Note: In Malaysia, Astro, RTM and Unifi TV are the official broadcasters for Tokyo Olympics 2020.
2. Sensor-less tracking capability for athletes
Aside from just recording the games, cameras play an important role during the Olympics too. Cameras can be called to capture the precise moment when an athlete crosses the line, in what the industry calls a “photo-finish”.
However, 4 of the cameras pointed at the athletes during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were doing something completely different. They were tasked to track the athletes’ motion and form, all without the athletes wearing sensors or trackers.
3DAT (3D Athlete Tracking) was a technology born from a partnership between Intel and Alibaba Cloud. 3DAT cameras will then gather biomechanical data of the athletes and through Intel computing technology, the data will be analysed and transformed into overlay visualisations shown during replays.
3. Protecting the on-the-ground staff members
While most of us enjoyed the games from the comfort of our homes, the athletes, coaches and staff members had to withstand one of the hottest Olympics in history.
The months of July and August were predicted to be the hottest for the nation, going as high as 35-degrees. It was so hot and humid during the event that one of the archers collapsed while checking their final score.
But the athletes were not the only party subject to the heat, as staff members had to endure the blazing temperatures too. To help prevent the staff members from heatstroke, Alibaba Cloud created and equipped them with an in-ear device that could track their body temperature and heart rate.
The body temperature and heart rate gathered from the device will then be sent to the cloud, and if the staff is at risk, they will then receive an alert along with precautionary measures to reduce the chance of them falling victim to the heat.
4. A safer method of enamel pin trading
On top of the shiny medals, tiny and colourful enamel pins were also worn as badges of honour at the Olympics. Pin trading was seen as a long tradition that dates all the way back to 1896. Sadly, because of the pandemic, pin enthusiasts might have to see their tradition wither away.
With this in mind, Alibaba Cloud believes they can keep the tradition alive for the media professionals who are working hard on-site. Thus, they came up with a solution that allows for pin trading while keeping a safe distance. They introduced the Alibaba Cloud Pin which doubles up as a name tag device and a social device in one.
When two user’s devices are tapped together at arm’s length, the users’ contact details will be exchanged automatically. Both users will then be able to exchange daily updates, compare step counts, among other social features.
Users could also customise their Cloud Pin to feature different artworks and so on, to make it their own unique identification device.
Chris Tung, the CMO of Alibaba Group believes cloud technology will play a major role in the next few Olympic Games to come, to create a level playing field through technology and a better experience for broadcasters, partners, fans and athletes. And they’ll be able to continue supporting the Digital Transformation journey of the Olympic Games, having signed on a 12-year partnership with the International Olympic Committee back in 2017.
- For more info on Alibaba Cloud, click here.
- Read up on what we’ve written about Alibaba Group in the past here.
Also Read: 9 facts about personal loans in M’sia you should know to borrow responsibly in a pandemic
Featured Image Credit: International Olympic Committee (IOC) / Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS)
5 Benefits Local Entrepreneurs Can Get From Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba is one of the world’s biggest e-commerce companies providing solutions and products that are easily accessible to the masses.
Alibaba Cloud is the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, which raked in a revenue of USD3.68 billion in 2019 alone—an 84% increase from 2018.
Due to COVID-19, they’re offering SMEs all around the world a discounted cloud package with the Alibaba Cloud Anti COVID-19 SME Enablement Program for a variety of business needs.
Dictionary Time: An online business hosts sites on a standard physical server, whereas a cloud business uses cloud servers for hosting, meaning there’s less chance of the site going down.
The Anti COVID-19 SME Enablement Program has solutions designed to make it as easy as possible for entrepreneurs to move their businesses to the cloud. The Alibaba Cloud Global SME Enablement Program aims to provide much needed and timely relief to SMEs so they can rapidly respond to the current crisis while speeding up their digital transformation and emerging from the current pandemic stronger and more resilient.
Here are some benefits you can get by utilising Alibaba Cloud’s solution for your business.
1. Save On Hardware Costs
If you’re thinking of reaching out to a wider audience, you can’t settle with a free hosting site. That would result in slow loading times and you could lose potential customers.
So you’ll need a server to host your site and to keep traffic smooth and quick. But that would mean purchasing hardware and finding a space to run and store the hardware.
When everything is up in the cloud, there’s no need for you to spend money purchasing hardware and this is where Alibaba Cloud Elastic Compute Service (ECS) comes in.
Alibaba Cloud’s ECS can be easily scaled-up or scaled-down, depending on your business needs and you are charged for what you use.
2. Protect And Manage Your Database
Security-wise, Alibaba Cloud has safeguards such as the Object Storage Service (OSS) which stores and backs up your data (which is encrypted) in the cloud. The OSS itself will also have multiple backups for data redundancy so your data will be there when you need it.
Dictionary Time: Redundancy in this instance means the data is stored in different places. If the first backup fails, you have the second backup to rely on.
They also provide a database management system via ApsaraDB MySQL. If you have a host of items that you’re selling, you can use the database to manage your inventory. It has also received over 10 security certificates and utilises a transparent data encryption tool.
CloudDBA (included in the package) can also be used to monitor the performance of your site. It can see when your customers are most active and you can upgrade your server performance accordingly so there will be no downtime or loss of sales due to 404 errors.
The database also touts a 99.99% availability using a primary/secondary architecture. In simple terms, if the primary fails, the secondary instance takes over. The data is also stored in different zones along with redundant power supplies and networks to ensure that your site will not go down.
3. Get A Mail Service With A Large Storage And Attachment Size
On the standard Alibaba Mail package, you have access to a 100GB of mailbox storage with 5GB of personal storage.
When sending attachments online, you can also send attachments as large as 1GB through this service.
The mail can also handle all your work schedule and meetings, and you can even share the calendar with your contacts. If you wish, you can also design a custom UI for the service, such as adding your company logo on the top.
4. Help Secure Your Very Own Domain Name
Alibaba Cloud offers two services for domain names, one with .COM domains and one with .XYZ domains.
Alternatively, Alibaba Cloud is also offering 3 services to keep your domain safe from being taken over or having your information disclosed.
As Alibaba Cloud understands that domain names are getting scarce, they can also prevent your domain from being transferred to another account or have your information modified without your authorisation.
5. Reach Out To Your Customers Worldwide
Just like the name suggests, Alibaba Cloud SMS can send messages on your behalf to your customers all around the world. But it is not limited to just messages, as it can send notifications and verification codes as well.
Currently, the service covers over 200 countries and regions. Using this service, you will not have to personally message each client.
Tried And Tested
They’ve hosted 11.11 sales through Alibaba Cloud and the service has been working flawlessly throughout the years. So when it comes to cloud solutions, they want to assure you that their servers can handle extremely large numbers of shoppers even during peak hours.
However, Alibaba Cloud’s solutions are not only for businesses. As detailed in their whitepaper, they have developed technological solutions for multiple sectors such as education, healthcare, and DevOps.
On April 23, Alibaba Cloud hosted an online conference that talked about a variety of new technology and solutions created by Alibaba for AI, Big Data, and Cloud Computing to name a few.
You can also tune in to the online conference by clicking here. You will have to register, but the conference is free for anyone to view.
- Find out more about the Alibaba Cloud Anti COVID-19 SME Enablement Program here.
- Read the Alibaba Cloud Whitepaper here.
- Catch the online conference here.
Also Read: 3 Ways On How HSBC Is Helping SMEs To Get Through These Tough Times
Featured Image Credit: freepik-macrovector
