TCS made Amsterdam Marathon's official technology partner for five years

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will be the official technology partner of the Amsterdam Marathon for a five-year period from 2011 to 2015, a company release said today.

In addition to the title sponsorship, TCS, India's top information technology supplier, would support the marathon by setting up a special purpose team to look at enhancing the performance and experience of the sport, the company said.

The mayor of the city of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan said the sponsorship would further strengthen the relationship between the city and TCS. "We looked forward to the new TCS Amsterdam Marathon," he said.
 
The event, which started in 1975, is one of Europe's leading marathons and is expected to attract 33,000 participants across 80 countries. This year, the marathon would be held on 16 October.

According to Simone Richardson, director of Stichting Sportevenementen Le Champion (the entity that organises the event), TCS Amsterdam (as it would be known) had grown from being an intimate event in earlier years to a global one. "We are pleased to have Tata Consultancy Services as our strategic partner as we look to expand the event and also deepen our use of technology," she added.

TCS boasts of a significant portfolio of sports partnerships, including tie-ups with Formula-1 racing team Ferrari, pro-cycling team Garmin-Cervelo and several marathons in major cities worldwide, including Bangalore, Boston, Chicago, Mumbai and New York.

TCS president, North America, UK and Europe, Surya Kant said, given the company's significant and growing presence in major markets such as the US, the UK and Europe, it was always looking at ways to engage with and give back to the communities it worked in.

TCS has been operating in the Netherlands since 1992 with a head office in Amsterdam, a global delivery center in Eindhoven. It has more than 2,000 experts catering to leading companies such as KLM, ABN AMRO, Rabobank and the ING Group.