OREANDA-NEWS. August 26, 2011. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: 523540, NSE: TCS), a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions firm, was, today, appointed as official technology partner to the Amsterdam Marathon and has taken up the title sponsorship of the event for the five-year period 2011-2015.

Conceived in 1975, this event is one of Europe's leading marathons and is expected to have 33,000 participants from 80 countries at the 36th edition, which takes place on October 16, 2011. It is renowned for being one of the flattest and fastest marathon courses worldwide.

"The city of Amsterdam is proud that a prestigious international company like Tata Consultancy Services has chosen to sponsor this marathon. This sponsorship will further strengthen the relationship between the city and TCS, therefore we look forward to the new TCS Amsterdam Marathon," said Eberhard van der Laan, mayor, Amsterdam.

“The TCS Amsterdam Marathon (as it will now be known) has grown from being an intimate event in earlier years, to a global one which is now a must on the itinerary of most serious runners. 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," said Simone Richardson, director, Stichting Sportevenementen Le Champion, the entity that organises the event.

This announcement marks another step in TCS's strategy to engage with global sports sponsorships in order to promote wellness and community development through sports. TCS's significant portfolio of sports partnerships includes tie-ups with Formula 1 racing team Ferrari, pro-cycling team Garmin-Cervelo and several marathons in major cities worldwide including Bengaluru, Boston, Chicago, Mumbai and New York. In addition to the title sponsorship, TCS will support the marathon by providing technology services and has set up a special purpose team to look at enhancing the performance and experience of the sport.

“Given our significant and growing presence in major markets such as the US, the UK and Europe, we are always looking at ways to engage with and give back to the communities we work in. An inclusive sport such as running, which has no entry barriers and can be taken up by anyone, provides a tremendous opportunity to widely engage the local community and promote wellness. The Netherlands has always been a key centre of operations for us and we are pleased to support the Amsterdam Marathon as part of our larger commitment to the community," said Surya Kant, president, TCS North America, UK & Europe.

TCS has been operating in the Netherlands since 1992 and the unit is currently one of its largest country operations worldwide. The company operates a head office in Amsterdam, a global delivery centre in Eindhoven and has over 2,000 experts catering to leading companies such as KLM, ABN AMRO, Rabobank and the ING Group. It was recognised in 2010 as a 'Top employer in the Netherlands' by The CRF Institute and collaborates significantly with several chambers of commerce, academic institutes and charity organisations on a variety of community initiatives in the country.