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IBM and the US Open: IT Serves Up Enhanced Tennis Tournament Coverage
by Darryl K. Taft
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The Cloud at the Open
As the USTA welcomes attendees to the US Open, the cloud in the sky portends IBM's cloud strategy behind the event. A video of Walt Braeger, vice president of cloud computing and Global Technology Services at IBM, talking about the cloud can be found here on YouTube.
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Serena Williams
A photo of former US Open winner Serena Williams hangs on the wall outside IBM's media operations at the US Open facility. Williams did not play in the open this year, but attended to root for her sister, Venus Williams.
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The Nerve Center
Kristina Kloberdanz, Worldwide Sponsorship Marketing manager, and (at left) Rick Singer, vice president of sports marketing at IBM, lead a tour of the operations center for IBM's US Open operations. A video of Kloberdanz and others taking you behind the courts at the US Open can be found on YouTube.
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Scoring Network
A rack of systems serving as the scoring network in the IBM operations center for the US Open.
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Video Boards
This is an image of the systems that drive the outside video boards at the US Open.
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Court Scheduling
Here are the systems powering the US Open court scheduling system.
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Closed-circuit TV
IBM also drives the US Open's closed-circuit TV system from its nerve center.
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Operations Staff
IBM staff manning the operations center at the US Open.
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Back Office
Here's a look at IBM's back-office operation at the US Open.
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Match Analysis
This is the system behind the US Open Match Analysis DVD.
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International Graphics
IBM's international graphics system at the US Open is on display.
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What Does IBM Do at the US Open?
This diagram depicts just what IBM does for the US Open.
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Video Display and Intranet
The operations center houses the hubs for the US Open video display system and the venue's intranet.
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Commentator Stats
IBM also maintains commentator statistics.
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USOpen.org
In the on-site headquarters of the USOpen.org Website, John Kent, technical manager for Worldwide Sponsorship Marketing, discusses IBM's role in powering the USOpen.org site.
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USOpen.org Views
IBM's Kent shows the press corps different views of the USOpen.org site.
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USOpen.org staff
The USOpen.org staff is hard at work.
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US Open 2009 Stats
Here, a wall in the USOpen.org operations center displays stats on the 2009 US Open.
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Servers
A rack of IBM servers, housed behind closed doors, powers the USOpen.org site.
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US Open on the iPad
IBM's John Kent displays the USOpen.org Website on an iPad. Here, tennis fans can see Maria Sharapova playing on one of the stadium's courts. IBM brought the US Open to the iPad for 2010.
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Display Board
Here is the official display board atop Arthur Ashe stadium.
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Maria Sharapova
Here is a view of the court from IBM's suite in the Arthur Ashe stadium. Maria Sharapova awaits a serve from Jarmila Groth.
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IBMs Cloud Man, Walt Braeger
Walt Braeger, vice president of cloud computing and Global Technology Services at IBM, poses inside the IBM suite at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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How Fast Was that Serve?
IBM culls data from the radar guns that drive the display showing how fast each serve is delivered.
