Abstract

The case describes the information technology initiatives of Canada based circus entertainment company Cirque du Soleil (Cirque). Cirque organized shows that were a combination of circus, theater and opera. Its shows were both touring and permanent. Cirque started in a small way in the early 1980s and at that time it did not need much support in the terms of IT, as its operations grew, several units like casting, costume designing, logistics, merchandizing, HR, finance, ticketing came into existence. These units were operating on different operating systems with 200 applications. Beginning 2000, Cirque began streamlining its IT applications, beginning from standardizing the servers and work stations, using fiber optic cables, use of VoIP etc. Cirque went on to add SAP for some of the modules. To further centralize the operations, Cirque implemented IBM’s WebSphere Business Integration Server express Plus software in four phases. The case discusses in detail the IT systems in Ciruqe, new systems that were implemented and the subsequent benefits Cirque derived from the new IT systems

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the use and requirement of IT in entertainment industry. Evaluate the importance of IT for a company like Cirque Examine some of the unique and complex practices in Cirque.

Keywords

Cirque du Soleil, IT initiatives, Disparate Systems, Databases, SAP, IBM WebSphere, Web Interface