Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Wimbledon Championships. Needless to say, much prepara-
tion is required as the club accommodates world tennis stars,
their fans, and the press and television crews. Many informa-
tion systems of all types are required to support the global
sporting event. Information systems specialists at the club
work to support the event; maintain the Club's culture, brand,
and values; and support the Club's primary mission: “to blend
tradition with innovation to substantially improve the quality
of the Wimbledon experience for all the key stakeholders.”
A primary goal for the annual two-week event is the secu-
rity and safety of all in attendance. To accomplish this goal,
the Club has invested in a new electronic security and surveil-
lance system. With so many people to watch on a vast prop-
erty, Club management knew that they would need state-of-
the-art automated surveillance software. The Club
management wanted a system that could integrate images
from video cameras, intruder alarms, and trip wires with
identifying information such as license plates to provide real-
time reports of suspicious activities. With these specifications
in mind, the Club found a solution in a Digital and Video Secu-
rity (DVS) solution designed by IBM. The system provides
“real-time intelligence to automatically monitor trends and
analyze events captured by security devices.”
The system was tested at the 2007 Wimbledon Champi-
onships with success. At the 2008 event, the system was
extended to hundreds of cameras. Because the system is
scalable, it can grow each year as attendance grows at the
event without any degradation in performance.
In addition to the half-million attendees, millions of fans
can now view the event and related information online thanks
to another new information system development project.
Knowing that interest in the event was continuously growing,
Wimbledon event coordinators looked for ways to provide
remote coverage to more tennis fans. A system was developed
called SlamTracker that provides live online scoring for
matches in progress. Additional SlamTracker tools allow fans
to track player progression and other important player and
match statistics.
Those watching the event in person and on TV have noticed
other high-tech improvements. Large LED screens have been
installed on the main courts, providing the audience with
statistics such as the speed of the serve. Other systems are
provided to the athletes to display important statistics and
trends captured during the last match so that the players can
see what improvements are required and create strategies
for the next match.
Systems analysts work year round to improve information
systems for the next Wimbledon Championships. Security
systems, media systems, Web systems, and a host of other
types of systems are examined for strengths and weaknesses,
searching for ways to improve the experience. In 1990,
Wimbledon decided to hire one company to manage all of its
systems: IBM. While outsourcing its systems to IBM may be
costly, other savings make it well worth the investment. With
all of its systems managed by one company, the All England
Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club can integrate its systems more
easily, saving money by removing redundancy that often exists
with multivendor systems. Furthermore, All England Lawn
Tennis and Croquet Club is not in the business of information
systems. For 351 days a year, the club would rather focus on
its membership than on the two-week event next summer.
Discussion Questions
1.
How do information systems being implemented at the All
England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club support its pri-
mary goals?
2.
How do information systems add to the enjoyment of view-
ing the Wimbledon Championships through multiple
channels—in person, on TV, and online?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
What other sporting events might benefit from the tech-
nologies used at Wimbledon?
2.
How might systems failure cause catastrophe for
Wimbledon Championships organizers?
SOURCES: IBM Staff, “For two weeks a year, Wimbledon stops being a private
members' club and starts welcoming the world,” IBM Case Studies, June 19,
OpenDocument&Site=gicss67mdia&cty=en_us;
Wimbledon Web site,
http://
aeltc.wimbledon.org/en_GB/about/guide/club.html,
accessed July 13, 2008.
Questions for Web Case
See the Web site for this topic to read about the Whitmann
Price Consulting case for this chapter. Following are ques-
tions concerning this Web case.
Whitmann Price Consulting: Systems Investigation
and Analysis Considerations
Discussion Questions
1.
How will the proposed AMCI system help to meet corpo-
rate goals and provide Whitmann Price with a competitive
advantage?
2.
Who are the stakeholders in this systems development
project? Who are the primary systems analysts?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Why did the systems investigation for the proposed AMCI
system proceed so quickly and smoothly? What type of
proposal might require a more time-consuming, formal
investigation?
2.
What reasons do you think Josh and Sandra might have
for interviewing division managers and not each individual
consultant in their system review? What are the pros and
cons of both approaches?
