Europe’s biggest software producer SAP, which had last month unveiled its vital next generation united database cloud platform HANA for the cricket world cup, is now betting big on vast business opportunities around the fast-growing global sports and entertainment industry.
Fuelled by the advent of new sensor and video collection technologies coupled with huge database on various sports, the software maker is offering real-time data-driven services to various stakeholders — players, teams and league, and venue owners.
These real-time data-driven services will help all stakeholders in the sports and entertainment industry to not only maximize their performance but also improve revenues, says Chris Burton, SAP’s vice-president for global sponsorships. Accessing the data instantly to any level of granularity and running predictive models quickly will help stakeholders take real-time action to improve performance.
“The global sports and entertainment industry is currently estimated at around 5 billion (approximately Rs 34,000 crore) and it is now at a very incubating stage with massive-growth potential,” Burton told a team of visiting Indian journalists in Melbourne last week.
The business software vendor, which recently teamed up with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to enhance the experience around the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, has so far forged alliances with over 50 sports properties, including football, tennis, sailing and Formula One.
SAP is providing over 40 years of ICC Cricket Cup historical statistics to fans for the first time in ICC Cricket World Cup history.
Scott Russel [SAP’s chief operating officer (Asia Pacific Japan)] says that “As cricket is one of the world’s most popular sports, we saw a great opportunity to work with the ICC to help them simplify the way they analyze and share data with their passionate fan base”.
Though there are a number of small-point solutions providers in the sports and entertainment space at present, there are no big players so far.
“We are the largest integrated platform solutions provider in this segment,” said Burton.
