In both business and sports, IBM is changing the game.
On the court. In the stands. At the pro shop. Everywhere you look in sports, there's data. Data that can provide insight into the performance of tennis players. Predict and prevent injury on the rugby pitch. And help a football stadium create a better fan experience.
Explore this site to learn about IBM's solutions and success stories, and how you can use data to make your business work smarter.
IBM Perspective
-
Ian Wong
Partner, GBS Retail and Consumer Products Industry Lead
Global Business Services
IBM Australia
The needs of Australian and global tennis fans have shifted, and the challenge for tennis authorities is how to interpret the growing volume of data tennis fans now offer to provide the best customer experience and keep fans engaged on- and offline.
2013 marks the 20th anniversary of IBM's partnership with the Australian Open. Since IBM became the official Technology Partner in 1993, Tennis Australia has embraced advanced technology and analytics to enhance the tournament experience for fans, officials, players and media.
IBM and the four Grand Slams™
IBM's involvement with Grand Slam tennis doesn't end with the Australian Open. The same dedicated team of IBM experts partner with all four tennis Grand Slams. The same sophisticated solutions that enhance the fan experience also provide a vital resource to the media, coaches and players.
GOOD + IBM Present: Figures of Progress
Optical tracking data dishes a big-time strategic assist to coaches and players.
Analytics
Miami Dolphins
Sun Life Stadium is using insights found in data to help predict crowd behavior and create a better fan experience.
Cloud computing
2013 Masters Golf Tournament
Augusta National strives to continually present the Masters Tournament in the most compelling way possible through innovative use of digital technology. Whether you prefer iPads, iPhones or Androids, apps or mobile websites, there’s a way for fans of the Masters to watch live video on eight channels, follow current scores, read the latest news and see highlights.
Predictive Analytics
Data and predictive analytics transform the experience.
IBM SlamTracker™is a real-time stats and visualisation platform that leverages IBM's predictive analytics technology. IBM SlamTracker™ analyses over eight years of Grand Slam data (over 41 million data points), to identify patterns in player styles. Before each match, IBM analyses historical matches between the players (for first-time matches, players with similar styles are analysed). This analysis identifies key performance indicators—what players need to do to succeed in a match—known as 'Keys to the Match'. During the match, each player's performance is measured against their keys and updated in real time on australianopen.com, providing fans with a deeper level of insight as the match unfolds.
Australian Open history
20 years at the Australian Open
Cloud
2012 U.S. Open
With real-time scoring and live streaming video, IBM cloud computing technology made golf fans the big winner at usopen.com
Predictive Analytics
Leicester Tigers
Predictive analytics helps a popular English rugby union club sidestep injury.
The Science of Sports
Long before most athletes considered the science behind sport, Bobby Jones saw the value in studying the mechanics of his swing.
Data Management
Vancouver Canucks
Fresh off a Stanley Cup run, the Canucks needed to stay ahead of demand for their digital content. High-performance storage and streaming HD proved to be the right game plan.
Storage
Impire AG
Real-time 3-D graphics and stats enhance the thrill of live soccer.
Cloud
Wimbledon in the cloud
For 50 weeks a year, Wimbledon is a private tennis club with just 500 members. Come June, IBM cloud technology helps it scale up to meet the demands of a global audience.
Tennis and Technology Hit the Courts at the US Open
by Rick Singer
The end of summer brings one of the most popular global sports events of the year - the U.S. Open.
More than 700,000 fans are expected to attend the matches at the USTA's Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, making the U.S. Open the most-attended, single sports event in the world. Even more viewers are expected to watch this year's tournament on TV, topping the 53 million viewers who tuned in last year on CBS and ESPN.
And a record number of fans are expected to follow the U.S. Open matches on their mobile devices, or seek out the latest match results, news or live streaming of tennis matches at www.USOpen.org on their computers at work or at home. We're expecting to easily top the 15.5 million visitors who caught the action last year via the tournament's website. These are big numbers all around.
You might not realize, however, that major sporting events like the US Open are not only exciting to watch and follow, but are also a living lab for how "big data" can translate into big business. This year, the USTA is using business analytics to improve the experience for everyone: fans, tennis players, event organizers and broadcasters.
We're all asking the same questions about the 2012 Open. What does Sam Stouser have to do to repeat last year's women's victory, or how can past winners Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova reign again? What can we expect from the men's side? With Rafa Nadal sidelined by injury, will past U.S. Open winners Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer win the men's title? Or will Andy Murray break through, fresh from winning his gold medal at the Olympic Games in London. How can each of them outplay the others to bring home the trophy?
Answering those questions while connecting tennis fans to the action on the court requires a unique digital experience powered by analytics and cloud computing technologies. By offering deeper analysis and a better understanding of how players are performing and ensuring that USOpen.org can handle peak traffic when website demand picks up, my company is helping the USTA serve up an engaging and interactive experience.
For example, SlamTracker is an online dashboard that serves up statistics and information for every match being played. Not only can fans follow live scores, point by point, but they can click on a point on the match's timeline for additional details.
But most importantly, a SlamTracker feature, "Keys to the Match", provides insight into what each player needs to do in order to have a higher likelihood of winning. We analyzed 39 million data points covering Grand Slam matches over the past seven years to provide analytic assessments of players and what they need to do to succeed.
Based on head-to-head games in the past, the system filters and ranks the top three keys to the match for each player. Examples might be the need for an individual player to return a certain percentage of second serves in order to win or whether longer points favor one opponent over the other. Take a look at the keys before the match, then follow a player's performance against them as the sets progress. You'll see in real time that they keys are a great predictor of success.
Use of this technology is not limited to sports. The same analytic software is being used by hospitals to monitor babies in prenatal wards, police forces to prevent crime and financial services companies to improve customer service and cut costs.
Dating back to 1992, when my company became the official information technology provider, the U.S. Open has embraced this type of cutting-edge technology in order to improve tennis fans' enjoyment of the sport. And 2012 is bringing even more ways for fans to follow the action.
This year a new free iPad app has been added to the iTunes Store. It joins the existing US Open iPhone app, US Open Android app, and mobile version of www.USOpen.org at m.usopen.org to provide the latest news and scores. Last year, fans viewed a record number of 84 million pages from their mobile devices.
And while sports writers like to predict who they feel are the most likely to win the U.S. Open, we'll use the IBM Social Sentiment Index to measure what fans are saying and expressing about the tournament on Twitter. Later in the tournament, we'll reveal unique insights based on our analysis of fan sentiment.
Enjoy the tennis no matter how you choose to follow it, since the experience will be immediate and insightful, thanks to technology.
For more information about IBM's work with the US Open, click here: www.usopen.org/ibm
