TSG to support British Cycling

North East technology specialist TSG has won a major contract to provide IT support to British Cycling, one of the UK’s leading sporting bodies.

The Gosforth-based business will deploy its SystemCare support service to help British Cycling manage over 50,000 members and underpin the structures to build on its success in competition and in inspiring more people to get on their bikes.

The contract announcement comes in a week that cycling has once again grabbed the headlines with the confirmation that Yorkshire will host the start of the 2014 Tour de France.

At the weekend, Tour winner and Olympic time trial champion Bradley Wiggins was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year and Dave Brailsford was honoured as Coach of the Year for his work with British cycling teams. 

British Cycling relies on sophisticated IT systems. TSG SystemCare will provide a proactive solution to the health and wellbeing of its IT environment, combining 24/7 network monitoring, automated fixing, live-fix technology and access to TSG’s team of highly skilled technicians.

TSG’s Chief Executive David Stonehouse said he was delighted to be taking on such a responsibility.

“British Cycling are renowned for making the tough selection decisions that yield exceptional results. We’re proud to be part of the team and are confident that while we take care of their IT systems, they can focus on delivering the programme that will build on the hugely impressive achievements this year,” he said.

British Cycling’s IT Manager Alan Mann stressed the importance of having a robust IT system that performed at its best.

“Data is critical to British Cycling for many reasons. Our coaches and athletes harvest huge amounts of performance data both in training and competition to inform their strategies and schedules often on a minute-by-minute basis.

“Many members of the team are constantly on the move so connectivity and availability is essential.  And with 50,000 members to look after, we need to ensure the highest levels of security,” he explained.

Built on proven technology, TSG SystemCare is one of the most advanced technology support services available and is the result of an on-going programme of significant investment.

It is part of a comprehensive suite of solutions designed to keep every element of an IT system running smoothly, from line-of-business applications to telephony, customer relationship management (CRM) to enterprise resource planning (ERP), ensuring that users always have the tools they need available to operate effectively and efficiently.

Cycling in Britain has never been in better health, with more than 1.9 million people getting on their bikes at least once a week, an increase of 161,000 in the last six months, according to Sport England’s latest results from its Active People survey.

David Stonehouse added: “Everyone has heard about the ‘marginal gains’ approach that sits at the heart of British Cycling’s performance strategy and we hope to play our part. I’m afraid we can’t boast the incredible number of gold medals won over the last decade, but we’re justifiably proud of our own five Microsoft Gold Competency accreditations.”

TSG’s selection by British Cycling follows another sporting partnership after rugby union club Northampton Saints appointed the company as its official technology partner in a four year agreement that will see the club and TSG working together until at least 2016.