HCL Tech powers Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18

By Stuti Roy

Alicante (Spain), Oct 22 (PTI) India's fourth largest tech firm HCL Technologies is powering this year's edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, which is considered one of the toughest races globally.

The race, which has been flagged off today, will see eight teams sailing 45,000 nautical miles (83,000 kilometres on land) across four oceans and culminate in June next year.

VOR -- the world's longest professional sporting event -- will have 12 stops on its course, including Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne and Hong Kong and finally cross the finish line at The Hague.

"Sailing is amongst the most dynamic sports globally. Our association with VOR is another example of our Mode 1-2-3 strategy which meets customer's business objectives using next gen technologies," HCL Technologies Corporate Vice President - ITO and Infrastructure Services Sales (EMEA) Ashish Gupta told reporters here.

As VOR's partner, HCL Technologies has provided end-to- end infrastructure support as well as connectivity between the Race Village and the Command Centre in Alicante.

This command centre further connects 12 pit stops on the race route.

"This edition of the race is more digitally focused than before," Jordi Neves, Chief Digital Officer of VOR, said.

The One Design boat -- used by all teams -- is designed as a mobile production facility, complete with a dedicated media station below decks, fixed HD cameras and microphones, drones and slow-motion, night vision and 360-degree cameras.

These are all operated by the Onboard Reporter and can be controlled from the race headquarters in Alicante.

"All boats are given access to the same amount of data -- weather and sea conditions. Technology and experience both play an important role in winning the race," he said.

Neves said every day, each team will get a set amount of information from the central station.

Any communication they want to have can only be routed through this hub.

The 2017-18 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race comprises of teams, including team AkzoNobel, DongFeng Race Team, MAPFRE and Vestas 11th Hour Racing.

While sailing is not as popular a sport in India as it is in some of the European nations, Kochi was among the chosen pit stops in the 2008-09 edition