Like any high-tech centre these days, IBM's centre of control at Wimbledon is not designed to appeal to the eye. Screens are crammed everywhere and there is a temporary look about it all. This is not surprising, since IBM has the contract to cover many tennis events, so its tennis team is nomadic. They arrive on-site with just one week to set up their equipment, spend two weeks working and then have a week to tear everything down and move on.
Our picture shows the main office for data entry, which is just one of three IBM offices on the site. The others handle output for television and other outlets, the supply of statistical information, and the maintenance of the IBM Wimbledon Web site.
They are housed in a building situated to one side of Centre Court at Wimbledon. The building also acts as the press office and supports some parts of the systems not handled by IBM, including the "let" system and Cyclops, the system that decided if a serve landed in or out.
