As London welcomed the hosts of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games (BOCOG) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to debrief the 2008 Games, the Technology departments seized the opportunity to transfer knowledge, share ideas and plan for future Games. As the world develops, technology becomes more fundamental to every aspect of planning and operating the greatest show on Earth, and with such huge responsibility we used three whole days of the week long debrief.

In our efforts to be distinctive we took a new approach to the traditional post-Games debrief. Instead of hours of lectures and 'death by powerpoint' we broke into specific sessions thus allowing more detailed discussions of areas of interest to smaller groups. Prior to the Debrief much collaboration had taken place, with LOCOG and the IOC making specific requests for information from BOCOG in order to ensure we received answers to all our most important questions.

As a result, BOCOG and their partners provided a vast amount of detailed information on their efforts as well as candid analysis of areas where they succeeded and areas where they could have made improvements.

What I learnt was that I am fortunate to be working on the most exciting event to take place in Britain in decades, in a department that can really make a huge difference to the whole Olympic and Paralympic experience. With clever innovations and thoughtful planning we have the opportunity to use technology to make our event run smoothly, more efficiently, cost-effectively and be more sustainable; and while we are a fundamental component behind the scenes we can also make a big difference to the Games-time experience of athletes, spectators, media and the viewing public. It's an exciting challenge!

The Debrief provided a great opportunity to develop strong relationships with many people who can help us deliver an inspirational Games. LOCOG’s new Chief Information Officer, Gerry Pennell receives a gift from his BOCOG counterpart Mr Yang Yishun: