Top 10 tech lessons learnt from the Olympics

Following V3's series of articles taking an in-depth look at different technology aspects of the Olympic Games, from cloud computing to green IT, we round off with a summary of key takeaways for businesses.

The biggest event of the year in the capital meant many areas of technology were put to the test, from videoconferencing to support home working, network management policies to ensure the internet withstood increased user demand and big data analytics technology to keep tabs on Olympics attendees, control crowds and analyse competition results.

But which technology aspects of the Olympic Games should be relived in the Rio Olympics 2016, and which areas are in need of extra attention?

There are many technology aspects of the Games that should be celebrated, such as the positive use of social media, but these aspects often carry a double edge.

For example, the London Olympics highlighted the need for Twitter users to show more awareness of the laws surrounding social media, and also gave telecoms providers an important lesson to plan in extra network capacity for Rio.

Here's our top 10 reflections on the technology legacy left by the Olympic Games.

10. The benefits of social media

This summer's Games were the first real social media Olympics, a factor that boosted morale and excitement of businesses, consumers and the athletes themselves.

Scores, comments on match results and photos were tweeted and shared throughout the event, making the Games a more personal and connected experience.

Athletes posted pictures of their medals and comments about the excitement of winning competitions, giving their social media followers a first-hand account of the joys they experience through participating in sport, and inspiring a generation to follow in their footsteps.

Meanwhile unofficial commentators were springing out of the social media ranks, and as eyes turned to them, a new form of Olympics news broadcasting began to take place.

The Olympics demonstrated just quite how omnipresent social media is and the benefits it can bring to firms seeking a closer relationship with their customers.