Microsoft and Business Communications Services connect Bahrain International Circuit

BCS manages all the IT and communications systems at BIC, including day to day operations and major events like the Grand Prix. The complete infrastructure at the BIC runs on the Microsoft Windows platform and has Microsoft Great Plains as its core Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution. BCS also implemented the Microsoft Retail Management System (RMS) at BIC shops in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, where all ticket and merchandize sales for BIC were centralized on the Microsoft RMS this year.

Fred J. Donnelly, President of BCS said: "BCS is proud to be a part of this prestigious event. Our relationship with Microsoft has allowed us to provide best of breed solutions to the Bahrain International Circuit and Formula 1 management."

At the 2005 Formula 1 event, the Guest network consisted of 2000 data points, including the F1 Media Center which catered to more than a hundred concurrent users on the network with parallel systems running different operating software, including Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French and German. These users comprised of journalists and photographers, requiring phones, data and internet services throughout the event to keep updating news and information to their media all around the world. BCS provided analog lines for phone and fax, ISDN lines for data transmission and audio commentaries, and broadband internet access via satellite with total bandwidth of 25 Mbps. BCS posted 30 engineers at various locations on site to support all of the various systems in place.

Samir Ben Makhlouf, Country Manager for Microsoft in Bahrain emphasized: "The Formula 1 event puts the Kingdom of Bahrain and the region on the international map. Microsoft works closely with its local partners to ensure the same with regards to the ICT industry in Bahrain, and the Formula 1 event is a wonderful opportunity to provide the latest and best technologies to the Kingdom. Along with our partners, BCS we look forward to getting Bahrain the recognition it deserves."

Microsoft's partnership with BCS supports the impressive progress of BIC and boosts the growing ICT industry in the Kingdom of Bahrain, working together to establish the Kingdom as an international player.