Cisco announced that the Meydan Group, which oversees the development of the UAE’s new iconic horseracing development in Dubai, deployed Cisco networking, security and unified communications technology solutions to deliver HD video, audio, voice, data and wireless communication over a single network. Meydan City features a grandstand, a 60,000 capacity landmark stadium incorporating a luxurious hotel, breeding and training facilities and six luxury restaurants. The horseracing development, the Meydan Grandstand, is also the home of The Meydan Museum, Imax Theatre and Dubai Racing Club. The Meydan Grandstand can comfortably accommodate 10,000 vehicles in covered car parks. All operations will be centrally managed from the main control center using IP technology.
Cisco announced that the Meydan Group, which oversees the development of the UAE's new iconic horseracing development in Dubai, deployed Cisco networking, security and unified communications technology solutions to deliver HD video, audio, voice, data and wireless communication over a single network. Meydan City features a grandstand, a 60,000 capacity landmark stadium incorporating a luxurious hotel, breeding and training facilities and six luxury restaurants. The horseracing development, the Meydan Grandstand, is also the home of The Meydan Museum, Imax Theatre and Dubai Racing Club. The Meydan Grandstand can comfortably accommodate 10,000 vehicles in covered car parks. All operations will be centrally managed from the main control center using IP technology.
The Cisco technologies that have been deployed at Meydan include a fully converged IP infrastructure running data, voice, video, security, wireless, building management and physical security for the grandstand and The Meydan Hotel. The services also include unified communications for guest use in the hotel rooms, IPTV head end solution for interactive TV used at both the hotel and the grandstand.
Cisco unified communications connects people, information, and teams, helping to enable comprehensive and effective collaborative experiences. Through the use of cloud computing-based technologies Cisco and the Meydan Group are demonstrating the benefits of adopting unified communications in the UAE.
Cisco's next-generation "connected stadium" vision unifies all the disparate, proprietary networks and converges them into a single integrated technology platform capable of delivering next-generation sports and entertainment services. A stadium network can now share voice, data, and video capabilities across all business functions. It can now learn and adapt to a fan's personal preferences by displaying favorite menu choices, controlling the luxury suite climate, reserving parking locations, offering tickets to upcoming events of interest or displaying statistics about a favorite player.
Seeking to establish the Meydan Racecourse as one of the sports and entertainment venues, the Meydan Group deployed Cisco's converged infrastructure for its grandstand, campus and The Meydan Hotel in time for the 15th Dubai World Cup, in March 2010, which also marked the launch of the racecourse. Cisco worked closely with Cisco Gold partner Gulf Business Machines (GBM), a IT solutions provider in the Middle East fulfilling the IT requirements of local, regional and international organizations in the GCC, and Honeywell to deliver the technology.
"The Cisco converged network implemented by Meydan enabled us to transport HD video, voice and data over a single network as well as support the necessary infrastructure for remote management of a wide range of services including access control, public address systems, lighting, escalator operation control, video surveillance and interactive visitor information. Through the IP network all information required to record and react to any given situation will be available to Meydan's management team from a well-defined integrated points in real-time," said Wassim Hamwi, Chief Information Officer, Meydan.
"Working with the developers of one of the world's largest integrated racing facilities to deploy Cisco's "connected stadium" technology is a key milestone for Cisco in the UAE as it plays an important role in transforming the fan experience, and enabling team owners and facility operators to change their business processes and realize a competitive advantage. This is true example of how Cisco is changing the way people live, work, learn and play," said Wayne Hull, Director and GM for UAE, Cisco.