FLUSHING, N.Y., Sept.
2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
unveiled an array of new and enhanced technologies designed to
capture, analyze and deliver real-time scores and insights to fans
of the 2015 US Open tennis tournament.
IBM is teaming with the United States Tennis
Association (USTA) to bring a combination of
predictive analytics, cloud, mobile
and social technologies that will enable tennis
enthusiasts to follow every US Open serve, volley and match point
in real-time. Whether they are courtside at the Billie Jean King
National Tennis Center in New
York, watching from home or keeping up on the action and
scores on their mobile device, tennis fans will have cutting-edge
technology to stay connected with the tournament.
The immersive and engaging digital experience IBM and USTA are
serving during the 2015 US Open tournament features a variety of
new and improved innovations, including:
- For the first time, IBM's streaming analytics technology will
automatically identify and alert the USTA to record-breaking player
achievements and milestones in real-time, enabling significant
championship stats and personal career highlights to be shared with
fans via social media, Web and news sources.
- An enhanced IBM SlamTracker application featuring deeper
analysis of player and ball position data to provide a better
understanding of emerging player and match dynamics. This feature
augments match analysis by uncovering hidden performance patterns
that impact player performance and dynamics that influence the
outcome of a match.
- A Social Share feature has been added to SlamTracker to allow
fans to instantly share emerging match insights with friends and
followers via Facebook.
- Redesigned and refreshed mobile apps – for Apple iPad and
iPhone, and Android devices – loaded with enriched analytics will
better inform and keep fans connected to US Open matches and
insights.
"Year after year, IBM's technological expertise creates an
incomparable mobile and digital experience for US Open tennis
fans," said Nicole Jeter West,
senior director of Ticketing and Digital Strategy, USTA. "We're
excited to partner with IBM again to push the boundaries of fan
engagement and entertainment to bring the US Open to life and
promote the game of tennis to fans across the globe."
Throughout the tournament, fans can instantly access a vast
range of tennis stats and information, including scores, in-depth
analysis and live video. Mobile apps for Apple iPhone and iPad, and
Android devices designed and developed by IBM Interactive
Experience in collaboration with the USTA place match stats and
tennis court action at fans' fingertips to enhance their overall US
Open experience. The US Open mobile apps also offer 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 advanced data visualizations
that are powered by IBM SlamTracker analytics and cloud computing
technologies. SlamTracker provides US Open fans and media an
unprecedented level of analysis, insight and engagement as the
match unfolds, including ball and player movement via a simple,
user-friendly dashboard. Analyzing where a ball lands and how far a
player runs in a given match offers a dynamic dimension to match
analysis that uncover patterns and insights into player performance
and dynamics that impact the outcome of a match.
In addition to analyzing real-time data, SlamTracker also
delivers historical player, match, tournament data, and provides a
new social sharing feature that allow fans to share insights
via Facebook. IBM also has embedded social sentiment data into
SlamTracker, providing an analysis of Twitter conversations about
players while they are on court, including measurements of volume
and tone of the sentiment over the course of the match.
SlamTracker analyzes more than 41 million data points from eight
years of Grand Slam tennis match data to identify three
performance indicators called the "Keys to the Match" that can
affect a player's ability to succeed. During a match, SlamTracker
synthesizes the real-time data, including serve statistics and
winning shots that allow fans to interact with the data to gain
deeper insight into match dynamics.
Sports analytics for other businesses and industries
The same IBM mobile, analytics, cloud
and social technologies that enable the USTA to connect
with millions of global tennis fans throughout the two-week
tournament also help IBM's clients in every industry. Companies in
banking, government, healthcare and retail are more effectively
engaging with and serving their customers with help from IBM
technologies. 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 demanding data and performance hungry
organization that rivals 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.
Secure, cloud technology supports spikes of traffic on US
Open's digital platforms
The US Open is the most highly attended annual sporting event in
the world. To support and accommodate the overwhelming spike in
traffic to the USTA's digital platforms as the tournament
progresses, IBM Cloud offers continuous availability and enormous
scaling potential to manage unpredictable spikes in traffic
throughout the tournament.
IBM provides an end-to-end technology infrastructure to power
the US Open experience that captures, analyzes, publishes, stores,
monitors and secures the historical and real-time data that is at
the heart of the enhanced US Open fan experience. The experience is
underpinned by a combination of hardware, software and services,
including IBM Power and System x systems, IBM Cloud Orchestrator
and the SoftLayer infrastructure from IBM. These technologies
enable IBM to help the USTA to rapidly meet changing fan demands by
dynamically adding capacity to the hybrid environment that powers
the tournament's digital platforms.
CONTACTS
Chris Andrews
IBM Media Relations
914-499-4045
candrews@us.ibm.com
Melinda Zurich
IBM
Media Relations
201-320-9398
melinda.zurich@us.ibm.com
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SOURCE IBM