I was in Beijing alongside the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), in order to observe and learn. Beijing was the last opportunity to see a Summer Games in all its glory, and an unmissable chance to see real-life preparations and work taking place.

I spent much of my time alongside the main news agency working with BOCOG, getting an understanding of what needs to be provided for these major media organisations.

It was absolutely invaluable learning more about the challenges they came across, and seeing what went well, and also what didn’t go well. It all helped to capture experiences and knowledge that we can put in place for London 2012.

What did I learn?
One of the things that struck me is that it’s hugely important to set up a solid communications path, so that everyone is absolutely clear on what technology is being put in, and what it will do. Although everything was implemented properly and worked well, there were times when a bit more information about exactly what was being put in might have helped. This is something we need to get right when working with our customers.

The sheer scale of the operation is astonishing, and a huge amount of work takes place in a very short space of time so being ready and organised is imperative. Being alongside Thomson Reuters I was able to fully appreciate all that goes into their work, and how important it is for them to be able to transmit a photo or text almost immediately. They absolutely rely on the technology we put in place, so it was great to be able to get a sense of our customers’ needs so that we can deliver a resilient service.

How are we ensuring a safe handover of information about technology?
A process is underway where the Beijing Organising Committee hands over to the London Organising Committee (LOCOG). The Beijing team will provide us with information about the technology they used; information about circuits and bandwidth and systems which we can then review and use to help our planning. We will also have a number of reviews internally, look at what we’ve learned, review our schedules and identify any significant changes we might want to make.

It’s important that we have a good handover, because when the Beijing Games are over, the focus will turn to us. BT and LOCOG have pushed ahead with planning. As we move further along the line, all the London venues that are being used will have dress rehearsal sports, so we’re already working out how early these venues can be used.

Will BT be involved in the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in 2010?
Yes, this will be a final opportunity to see the technology and systems in place, and identify what opportunities exist for 2012. There were a number of people from Vancouver at these Games as well as ourselves, and for all of us it’s about learning and improving.

There are also some applications which are completely specific to the Olympic Games, so it’s another opportunity to focus in on these and understand exactly how they work.

What was your favourite event?
All the events I saw had something special about them, in particular the Cycling at the Velodrome, but I have to say the men’s 100m was incredible. I was about 30 yards away as Usain Bolt won gold, and he made it look so easy! Even experienced journalists were gasping at how good he was. Best of all, in one of the photos of me taken after the race, he’s in the background - so I’m claiming that I’ve had my picture taken with him!

So what’s next for the 2012 team at BT?
As a sporting event Beijing was incredible, but from a professional point of view it was invaluable. Gaining the experience of the types of issues encountered, and learning what’s important for the customer will be critical to our plans. I’m writing up the end-to-end process at the moment, and without that first-hand experience it would probably be impossible to do. We’ll pass the technical knowledge we’ve acquired into BT, and it’ll help us when delivering major sporting events in future. It’s clear that our customers hold BT in high regard – we have a global reputation for delivering high-class technology – but they also have high expectations of us. We need to keep our eyes on the prize and make sure we keep delivering!