Wimbledon — An E-business
Wimbledon, Engl (June 05, 1998) – Whether you’re running the world’s premier tennis tournament or responsible for managing a multinational company, information technology is a powerful and necessary tool. But IT is not just about computers and sophisticated software programmes. Ever since the Internet captured the imagination of the world, companies have been developing genuine business uses for this global communications network.
Working in tandem with IBM, Wimbledon has been developing solutions that harness the power, immediacy and scale of e-business.
The Wimbledon Web site
The most public part of Wimbledon’s many e-business solutions is its critically acclaimed Web site ( http://www.wimbledon.org). Last year it received more than 60 million ‘hits’ – an increase of around 450 per cent on 1996.
This year, the number of people expected to visit the site is set to soar again because no other on-line service is able to match the performance of this site. That’s because the scores are being fed directly from Wimbledon’s central results system (the Championships Information System) – the same results system that feeds television commentators, TV graphics, radio broadcasters and journalists.
Of course, it’s not just text-based information that’s available. Live match commentary courtesy of Radio Wimbledon broadcasts the sounds of The Championships around the world. And NetCam provides a digital window through which you can see what’s happening in the grounds – day and night.
But the Web site is more than just a source of information and entertainment. Last year for the first time, anyone with access to the Web could have bought items from a selection of Wimbledon’s official merchandise without having to visit the Club’s shop at Wimbledon. Thanks to an electronic store fitted with IBM’s Net.Commerce technology for secure shopping, thousands of small items such as Official Wimbledon towels, polo shirts and posters were purchased by tennis fans all over the world. This year, there’s an even wider selection of merchandise on offer including:
Silk ties
Shoulder bags
Racket back pack
Official posters
Wimbledon Annual
Final programme
Official Videos
The Championships Information System (CIS)
At the heart of IBM’s involvement at Wimbledon is a system that is responsible for every piece of information. The Championships Information System (CIS) has evolved over the last five years to meet the ever-changing demands of broadcasters, media, players, public and the Club.
In effect, it is a private network that serves each of these different groups, providing information on request in real time. It acts much like an intranet protected from the outside world by a sophisticated firewall.
Information stored in CIS is collected from a variety of systems and applications. One of the most important is the courtside data entry team, which records the statistical details of each point scored during the tournament. In addition, CIS houses historical information on previous Championships together with biographies of players and other background information. And the Wimbledon Championships Database provides a comprehensive guide to players and matches played since the Open era began in 1968.
What happens to all that information depends on who needs what. The BBC and other broadcasters use information such as percentage points won and lost, aces and speed of serve to create screen graphics for its audience.
TV and radio commentators use the system to keep track of scores and relay vital match statistics. And thanks to the digital TV service DeskTop Wimbledon, journalists can also review key points and historical footage from past matches at Wimbledon.
Players and coaches also use the service to compare their performance against future opponents, or any other competitor, analysing key indicators such as the number of forehand winners, double faults, volleys, aces and much more.
And of course tennis fans can track the fortunes of a favourite player, find out the order of play or print out an up-to-date player profile by accessing the public face of CIS on Wimbledon’s Web site.
e-business
IBM believes e-business is about doing business on the Internet – and changing the way people conduct business. By combining the reach of the Web with the vast resources of traditional information technology, companies around the world are shifting their business activities to the Net – attracting new customers and generating new revenue in the process.
In effect, the technologies employed at Wimbledon showcase IBM’s e-business solutions, the type of solutions that are seen in thousands of companies and organisations around the world. Private networks and intranets provide information on demand to different users. The Web site is used to display information about that organisation and is also used to sell goods and services.
Source: IBM