FLUSHING, N.Y., Aug.
27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled a
dynamic combination of mobile, analytics, cloud and social
technologies designed to serve an interactive and insightful
experience to fans of the 2014 US Open tennis tournament.
At this year's US Open, IBM and the United States Tennis
Association (USTA) are teaming to keep fans connected, engaged and
close to the competition on the courts. From the first serve to the
final point, IBM and the USTA will bring the tournament to life for
fans -- whether they're sitting in the stands at the USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center in New
York, watching it on TV in their living rooms or following
the action with a mobile device.
To help fans keep track of the US Open competition, IBM, in
collaboration with the USTA, designed and developed immersive
mobile apps for Apple iPhone and iPad as well as Android devices
that provide instant access to scores, live video, in-depth match
analysis and statistics. The US Open apps, created by IBM
Interactive Experience, also present an interactive and informative
second-screen experience for fans watching the tournament on
TV.
IBM also designed and developed the US Open tournament website,
USOpen.org, with new data sets and enhanced data visualizations –
powered by IBM SlamTracker analytics and cloud technologies – to
more effectively communicate real time and historical statistical
insights. SlamTracker analyzes more than 41 million data points
from eight years of Grand Slam tennis match data to identify three
performance indicators – dubbed "Keys to the Match" – that can
affect a player's ability to succeed. During a match, SlamTracker
visualizes the real-time data, including serve statistics and
winning shots, allowing fans to interact with the data to gain
deeper insight into match dynamics.
IBM SlamTracker offers new ways for fans to interact with data
via a simple interface that delivers an immediate, insightful view
of a match in progress, including analysis of ball and player
movement during US Open matches. Analyzing where a ball lands,
along with how far a player runs in a given match, offers a new
dimension to match analysis, uncovering patterns and insights into
player performance and dynamics that ultimately impact the outcome
of a match.
"Each year, we work closely with IBM to ensure we're ready
to use the most advanced data and analytics technologies available
to create a mobile experience that brings our fans the latest and
greatest information and insights from the US Open tournament,"
said Nicole Jeter West, senior
director of Ticketing and Digital Strategy, USTA. "We value being
able to introduce new ideas knowing that IBM is going to be there
to provide the innovation and infrastructure needed to bring
our world-class event to life for tennis fans everywhere."
Businesses can learn from sports analytics
The same IBM mobile, analytics, cloud and social technologies
that enable the USTA to connect with millions of global tennis fans
are also helping IBM's clients in every industry – from banks,
governments to hospitals and retailers – more effectively engage
with and serve their customers. Many businesses can learn from how
sports organizations are using analytics, cloud computing and other
technologies to better understand and improve their daily
operations.
For instance, during most of the year, the USTA runs like a
small business, but during the two-week US Open tournament it
becomes a data and performance hungry organization that could rival
a large bank, hospital or retailer. With the need to ensure
uninterrupted access to data and insights to meet the unpredictable
demands of millions of tennis fans around the world, the USTA can
serve as a model for how businesses of all sizes can take advantage
of sophisticated mobile, analytics, cloud and social computing
technologies.
Infrastructure supports spikes in demand
As traffic to the USTA's digital platforms increases
exponentially during the championship compared to the rest of the
year, the USTA benefits from predictive cloud technology designed
for continuous availability and with enormous scaling potential to
manage unpredictable spikes in traffic throughout the tournament.
IBM Watson Foundations (Big Data and analytics) technologies are
used to forecast Internet traffic to the US Open digital platforms,
with IBM Cloud Orchestrator software automatically increasing or
decreasing capacity accordingly.
IBM Software Defined Storage manages terabytes of data and
scales dynamically so that fans can always have information –
scores, updates, schedules, videos and social media streams – at
their fingertips.
The new US Open mobile apps designed and developed by IBM, in
collaboration with the USTA, are available for download today for
Apple iPhone, Apple iPad and Android devices.
For more information about how IBM is helping the US Open and
other global sports events deliver insights to fans, visit
www.ibm.com/sports.
CONTACTS:
Chris
Andrews
914-499-4045
candrews@us.ibm.com
Photo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140827/140497
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO
SOURCE IBM