5 ways Alibaba will help Olympic hosting cities in the future

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5 ways Alibaba will help Olympic hosting cities in the future

Alibaba’s vision for a future Olympic Games is to make it run completely on the cloud.

The partnership between Alibaba Group and the IOC began in January 2017, and Alibaba will serve as the official “Cloud Services” and “E-Commerce Platform Services” partner.

IOC President Thomas Bach and Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group

“Like the Olympic Games, Alibaba believes in creating a level playing field, giving everyone the chance to compete on the global stage,” said Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group.

“Alibaba is offering us a unique platform to expand the appeal of the Olympic Games and to keep our fans close. I am impressed by the company’s forward-looking, efficiently-driven work and look forward to ten more years of partnership and even more success,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.

At the Alibaba technology showcase held at the Gangneung Olympic Park on February 10, Alibaba Group chief marketing officer, Chris Tung, unveiled Alibaba Cloud ET Sports Brain, a suite of cloud-based and AI-powered solutions that will drive the digital transformation of the Olympic Games to benefit fans, spectators, athletes, venues and organizers.

Alibaba technology showcase held at the Gangneung Olympic Park

Built on Alibaba Cloud’s high-performance infrastructure of world-class data centers, CDNs (content delivery networks) and market-leading security services, Alibaba Cloud ET Sports Brain merges data intelligence and machine learning to re-define engagement between fans, organizers, venues and athletes.

Potential applications of Alibaba Cloud ET Sports Brain at the Olympic Games include:

• Enhancing the Games Experience: Cloud-driven big data can transform the way fans engage with the Games, creating a seamless, mobile experience moving between offline and online. Fans and athletes would be able to get around the city, find their way to the best events, be prepared for the weather, and experience the Games in new ways with the latest immersive technology.
• Smart City Planning for Host Cities: When future host cities start planning for Olympic Games venues, Alibaba Cloud can use AI to perform big data geospatial analysis to pick the optimal locations.
• Safety and Security at the Games: Cloud-based biometric identification at sports venues that can improve access control, security and crowd management.
• Improving Training Efficiency for Athletes: Deep machine learning can help model relationships between sleep, nutrition and the intensity of training as well as changes in temperature, wind speed, and other natural conditions to support athlete performance.
• Expanding the Reach and Accessibility of Olympic Games Content: Cloud technology can improve storage, search and customization of content, making it easier for rights-holders to cover the Games and for fans to find and share their favorite moments anytime, anywhere.

“Over the next ten years, Alibaba Cloud services will serve as the foundation of our efforts to drive the digital transformation of the Games, creating a more efficient and enjoyable experience for all audiences,” said Chris Tung, CMO of Alibaba Group.