OREANDA-NEWS. September 13, 2012. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation, has signed an agreement with Sport-Club Charlottenburg e.V. (SCC) to become the official main sponsor of the BMW Berlin Marathon over a three-year period, 2012-2014. TCS will also serve as the marathon's information technology partner, providing technologies such as mobile applications, to improve the experience of the sport.

This announcement comes during a period when TCS has been focusing on significantly expanding and localising its German operations, which have tripled in size over the past five years. TCS has over 3,000 consultants working for over 80 German and Austrian clients, including 14 of the DAX 30 companies. TCS's central Europe head office is located in Frankfurt am Main, with offices in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Walldorf, Wolfsburg and Vienna.

The appointment takes TCS' tally of partnerships with the world' leading marathons to four. The company has tie-ups with four of the five marathons, considered the most prestigious major races - Boston, Chicago, New York City and now Berlin. It is also a title sponsor of the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, the TCS World 10K in Bangalore and associate sponsor of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.

Noting the increasing health problems that arise from a sedentary lifestyle and stress, TCS has developed a global emphasis on fitness, backing running programmes and marathons to promote wellness and community development through sports.

"Running is an inclusive sport that anyone can take up all they need is a pair of shoes and determination. We are constantly looking at ways to promote wellness and a sense of belonging in the communities we operate in. Given the core position that Germany holds in our global operations, we are pleased to support the marathon in Berlin as part of our larger commitment to the community,"said N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, TCS, an avid runner who has completed marathons across the world in cities such as Boston, Chicago, Mumbai, New York, Prague and Stockholm. He also ran at the BMW Berlin Marathon in 2011.

As the BMW Berlin Marathon's technology partner, TCS is developing a mobile application to aid the runners, as well as their family and friends. An in-built tracking system will serve as a training guide to the participants, provide general information on the marathon and help the audience to locate runners on the race route by name and number. It will also guide spectators to local attractions and the best spots along the route to watch their favorite athletes.

"In over 38 years of its history, the BMW Berlin Marathon has emerged as one of the world' top-most tier events and is considered a must on the itinerary of any elite runner. We are pleased to have Tata Consultancy Services as our main sponsor and information technology partner. We look forward to leveraging their world-renowned prowess in technology in taking the race to the next level,"said Christian Jost, CEO, SCC Events GmbH, the entity that organises the event.