NBC Olympics Picks EMC, Presidio To Provide Data Storage in Rio

NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, has selected EMC and Presidio to support media workflows for its production of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Timothy Canary, VP, engineering, NBC Sports Group, has announced.

To deliver digital content to global audiences through multiple outlets in support of its coverage, NBC Olympics will deploy EMC Isilon storage to deliver high-resolution images and uncompressed files to its live television and online broadcasts. Presidio will provide engineering support and services for design, implementation, delivery, and ongoing support for the EMC Isilon digital-content–management solution.

With the addition of two 560-TB EMC Isilon NL 400 clusters located onsite in Rio, NBC Olympics will have the capability to locally store digital content to enable quick access for on-air broadcast or posting online. Presidio and EMC will deploy EMC storage systems to support what is expected to be an unprecedented amount of high-resolution digital video and images generated, as well as social-media content from fans around the world. The additional EMC Isilon NL-Series clusters combine the accessibility of near-line storage with cost-effective, high-capacity storage to deliver the greatest moments from the 2016 Olympic Games to millions of households and destinations across the world.

The NBC Olympics 3-PB data lake will also extend to NBC Sports Group’s headquarters in Stamford, CT, which will serve as the central repository for all graphic elements for the Games. EMC Isilon storage arrays will also serve as a backup target for NBC Olympics’ Microsoft SQL Server databases, which support a suite of custom-developed applications for managing everything from equipment inventories to venues in Rio.

EMC software will continue to provide NBC Olympics with robust protection and recovery capabilities. NBC Olympics has relied on Presidio expertise and EMC storage technology for coverage of previous Olympic Games, including the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The two 560-TB Isilon NL 400 clusters onsite in Rio will also be onsite for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.

“The flexibility and reliability of the EMC Isilon systems have provided NBC Olympics with a robust storage system extensible to meet the needs of today with an eye on tomorrow’s data growth,” says Canary. “We’re pleased with the agility of the product range as well as the architecture which allows seamless use across multiple continents. The vast technical support of the EMC and Presidio teams will be a key aspect of our mutual success for the Rio Olympics and beyond.”

Says Jeremy Burton, president, products and marketing, EMC, says, “We are proud to serve as official IT-storage provider to provide critical scale and performance, as we have done for NBC Olympics’ coverage of previous Olympic Games.”

George Santa, VP, sales, Presidio, says, “This platform will enable a compelling digital environment for the NBC Olympics team. We are honored to be collaborating with NBC and EMC to help architect, implement, and deliver a scalable, agile enterprise content-management solution for the Rio Olympics and beyond. It is exciting to see the digital transformation of NBC’s sports coverage, enabled by best-in-class data storage from EMC, combined with deep technical architecture and services skills from Presidio.”