The following is a guest post by Julian Tomison, SVP, Service Lines at Avanade.
Julian Tomison, SVP, Service Lines at Avanade
The lead up to the British Grand Prix in Silverstone last month was pretty hectic for us as this race gave us the perfect opportunity to showcase the Avanade partnership with the Lotus F1 Team from the factory at Enstone to trackside operations. It kicked off with The Racer’s Edge, a live show hosted by Peter Windsor, former Sporting Director of the US F1 Team and a Formula One journalist. The clip was filmed at Lotus F1 Team headquarters and I was joined by Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director who added the excitement of the run-up to the British Grand Prix and commented on how our 20 Avanade consultants are supporting the trackside team on-site with their technology expertise. The filming was somewhat nerve-wracking for me as I don’t often get interviewed for a media outlet viewed by 100k people, never mind motor racing fans. However, I was extremely happy to receive so many questions about the partner side of the story and share my perspectives. I’ve inserted the clip below this post so you can watch the entire interview.
We also hosted a number of journalists at the factory and also at Silverstone, giving them a great ‘behind the scenes’ look into how a Formula One team functions and how Avanade is supporting the team by improving operational efficiencies and speed. Rod Nelson, Senior Performance Engineer, Lotus F1 Team took some time out of race preparation to sit with us and talk about how important data management is for the trackside team, a real insight into the teams operations.
I was lucky to be at the race on Sunday in the Paddock club with Lotus F1 Team. I was there with some guests and we enjoyed watching the race and feeling like an extension of the team. Spending time with guests in this atmosphere and sharing the experience can really help deepen your relationship with them. Being a part of the action on Sunday and seeing how lessons learnt from previous races are implemented by the Lotus F1 Team is, in my opinion, pure gold.