Ten per cent of UK CIOs believe Olympics chaos is guaranteed

Organisations will struggle to get staff to and from datacentres in London, says managed services provider

Ten per cent of UK CIOs believe that the Olympics this summer is guaranteed to cause chaos for their organisations.

This is one of the findings of a survey of 100 UK CIOs, COOs and IT heads conducted by managed services provider ControlCircle.

According to the survey, 77 per cent of respondents are concerned that the Games will affect their ability to conduct business as usual.

Carmen Carey, CEO of ControlCircle, pointed to the transport problems that many are predicting will hit London this summer, with up to 900,000 additional commuters expected on the capital's transport networks.

"Organisations are likely to have a major issue getting staff to and from datacentres in Greater London," said Carey.

"Organisations need to ensure they too are in conversation with their service provider to guarantee they have the necessary capacity and logistical arrangements in place, as business won't stop, if anything it will increase."

Datacentre firms are responding to the potential for disruption, with Vtesse now offering short-term deals on its datacentres outside London.

However, firms need to be aware that it is not just those in London that are set to experience disruption during the Games, as there are 34 competition venues throughout the UK, including Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow and Weymouth.

Thirty per cent of Olympics tickets sold are for events based outside London.