Cirque du Soleil, also known as the “Circus of the Sun,” is a Canadian entertainment company that combines circus arts and street entertainment. It was founded in 1984 by Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix in Baie-Saint-Paul, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The concept for Cirque du Soleil originated during the early 1980s in Baie-Saint-Paul, a picturesque village on the north shore of the St-Lawrence River, east of Quebec City.
Gilles Ste-Croix formed The Stiltwalkers of Baie-Saint-Paul, who astonished residents with their impressive skills in stilt-walking, juggling, dancing, fire-breathing, and music. Among the talented performers was Guy Laliberte, who later founded Cirque du Soleil. In 1984, Quebec organized a celebratory event for Jacques Cartier’s 450th anniversary of discovering Canada. The goal was to create an inclusive gathering that would bring together all Quebecers and elevate the joyful ambiance.
Cirque du Soleil was established in 1984 with a small team of 73 employees. Since then, it has grown into a global sensation with over 5,000 employees worldwide, including 1,300 artists. The company’s headquarters in Montreal alone has nearly 2,000 employees.
One aspect that sets Cirque du Soleil apart is its diverse workforce of more than 50 nationalities and proficiency in 25 different languages. Throughout the years, they have mesmerized over 100 million spectators and are projected to reach an audience of almost 15 million in just one year -2012-.
The remarkable bond between performers and the audience is what makes Cirque du Soleil special. This connection thrives due to the unwavering support of the spectators who continue to fuel the sacred fire of Cirque du Soleil.
Incredibly, since 1992, the organization has not relied on financial assistance from public or private sectors. Given this incredible success story, it raises the question of whether there is room for IT in an artistic organization like Cirque du Soleil.
At Cirque du Soleil, a touring show is akin to a sophisticated village with about 150 individuals. This community relies on advanced technology to fulfill various needs such as essential bandwidth requirements, ticket sales, payroll, and phone systems. Additionally, because this village relocates every six or seven weeks, it must be disassembled and reestablished multiple times. The procedure necessitates accuracy and a systematic approach. Each tour entails dismantling a 2,500-seat big top and moving 55 trailer-loads of equipment from one place to another.
Everything must be in working order within 30 hours at Cirque du Soleil. Casting is a crucial process where talent scouts travel extensively to find the best performers. The casting director is responsible for maintaining a pool of artists for the eight shows and recruiting for new shows. After being hired, performers undergo a series of steps before appearing in a show, including make-up lessons to ensure they can apply their own make-up for their different roles.
At first, the make-up for each show was recorded with 35-mm photos and forms listing the products used and the procedure to follow. These records were stored in large binders, which the make-up artists had to carry with them on their frequent trips to various Cirque sites. Carrying the binders was not only burdensome but also posed a risk of losing or forgetting important documents. After the make-up lessons, the performers had to visit the costume workshop for measurements. A total of 50 measurements were taken at various points on the performers’ bodies.
Cirque du Soleil had been facing difficulties in managing its costume patterns and information about measurements, which were stored in Excel files and various separate applications. Keeping track of the plaster heads and models was also a challenging task. In 2000, after a decision by Cirque’s top management to adopt SAP for supporting essential business processes such as human resources, logistics, and finance, Danielle Savoie was nominated to lead the Information Technology department. The implementation of this complex technology called for a reevaluation of the management and operation of IT at Cirque. The company realized the need for a more organized and professional approach to IT management. Starting from 2000, Cirque embarked on streamlining its IT applications, which involved standardizing servers and workstations, using fiber optic cables, and implementing VoIP, among other measures. The main challenge was to develop a strategic IT vision that would gain acceptance from the top management at Cirque. Additionally, the company aimed to establish a highly professional IT group with adequate resources and improve the credibility of this group among the firm’s leaders.
Solution: Danielle Savoie was nominated after Cirque’s top management decided to acquire SAP in order to support the company’s basic business processes, including human resources, logistics, and finance. Implementing such an advanced technology required a reassessment of IT management and operations. Each touring show had its own independent IT infrastructure, which Danielle Savoie referred to as distinct little islands. The installation of IT infrastructure was a crucial step in this process.
The technician responsible for setting up the IT hardware for the touring show had to be on site in advance to ensure the IT infrastructure was prepared before the arrival of the rest of the tour members. The installation process was time-consuming as it involved unpacking and reinstalling the servers for each setup, as well as connecting workstations and phone equipment for various administrative tasks. This included ticket windows at the box office trailer and cash registers. Copper cables were used in the installation along with other components. In 2000, Cirque’s IT environment had several main features: Servers running on Windows NT 4.0, Novell Netware, and most of them being on-site assembled clones. Network equipment utilizing Ethernet 10, Ethernet 100, and Ethernet Giga, either shared or wireless. Desktops comprised equipment from 10 different suppliers. Operating systems included various versions of Windows such as 95, 98, 98SE, NT 3.51, NT 4.0, 2000 along with different versions of corrective measures and service packs. Multiple versions of MS Office Suite (95, 97, 98, 2000) were installed. There were a total of 800 applications and software packages installed to support various functions.
The applications at Cirque du Soleil are diverse and unconventional, catering to the unique activities of the organization. One particular application focused on monitoring the medical records of performers. This application was considered highly significant due to the performers’ crucial role at Cirque du Soleil. Data Sharing: As the different shows operated as separate entities rather than a unified organization, most applications were developed independently. Consequently, it was challenging for employees from different business units to collaborate.
