Cirque Du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil: Juggling Act
Baseline, June 10, 2005,, http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,1826548,00.asp By Larry Barrett Danielle Savoie can't fold herself into a pretzel or spin around on her head. But she walks a tightrope every day managing the information systems that make it possible for the Cirque du Soleil to entertain more people each year than the Yankees and Red Sox combined. The circus, which features astonishing acrobatics and Broadway-caliber music and dance productions, started out as a novelty in 1984 with one show and little fanfare. But this year, 11 different shows on four continents will entertain more than 7 million spectators paying up to $125 each to see a circus without animals. Savoie, the company's vice president of information technology, is struggling to keep pace. Why? Over the past five years, the number of software applications used by Cirque du Soleil employees has ballooned from roughly 40 to more than 200. Although these tools run a wide range of operations—from handling human resources and finance to making costumes and scheduling performing artists—these applications could not share data. This shortcoming threatened productivity or even the prospects for a show to go on without major headaches if, for example, a spotlight wasn't delivered to the right place or a performer couldn't be quickly found to replace someone who had bec0me sick. Savoie realized the organization needed to install software that would give employees access to these applications and databases without completely redesigning the system's setup, which she had pieced together on the fly. Consider the logistics that Savoie and the Cirque's 3,300 employees must track: Six of the 11 shows are constantly in motion, touring North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. More than 250 tractor-trailers haul 700 tons of equipment around the world each day. More than 20,000 performers must be scheduled, transported and
Baseline, June 10, 2005,, http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,1826548,00.asp By Larry Barrett Danielle Savoie can't fold herself into a pretzel or spin around on her head. But she walks a tightrope every day managing the information systems that make it possible for the Cirque du Soleil to entertain more people each year than the Yankees and Red Sox combined. The circus, which features astonishing acrobatics and Broadway-caliber music and dance productions, started out as a novelty in 1984 with one show and little fanfare. But this year, 11 different shows on four continents will entertain more than 7 million spectators paying up to $125 each to see a circus without animals. Savoie, the company's vice president of information technology, is struggling to keep pace. Why? Over the past five years, the number of software applications used by Cirque du Soleil employees has ballooned from roughly 40 to more than 200. Although these tools run a wide range of operations—from handling human resources and finance to making costumes and scheduling performing artists—these applications could not share data. This shortcoming threatened productivity or even the prospects for a show to go on without major headaches if, for example, a spotlight wasn't delivered to the right place or a performer couldn't be quickly found to replace someone who had bec0me sick. Savoie realized the organization needed to install software that would give employees access to these applications and databases without completely redesigning the system's setup, which she had pieced together on the fly. Consider the logistics that Savoie and the Cirque's 3,300 employees must track: Six of the 11 shows are constantly in motion, touring North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. More than 250 tractor-trailers haul 700 tons of equipment around the world each day. More than 20,000 performers must be scheduled, transported and