A Business Case
The popularity of many sports events is increasing, along
with the world’s population and the proportion of that population that wants
tickets to the events. But the number of seats at many events around the world remains
limited by the physical capacity of the stadium or arena that hosts the event.
Since a great deal of money is made through sales of event- and team-related
merchandise, promoters are searching for ways to increase these sales in ways
that overcome the natural limitations on attendance. A good example of such an
event is the Australian Tennis Open, whose managers have discovered a way to
use Information Technology (IT) to
provide greater access to the event and to boost merchandise sales.
The IT Solution
Tennis fans around the world can get a head start on the
Australian Tennis Open tennis tournament by visiting the official Web site (ausopen.org) –designed, developed and
hosted by IBM. The site provides fans with a “virtual box seat” by allowing
them access to real-time scores and images from Melbourne Park, the site of the
tournament, plus other information and photos. Tennis fans also can buy
Australian Open merchandise from the online store. “The web site adds depth to
the overall experience of the Australian Open and significantly expands the
tournament’s reach for a global audience,” said Paul McNamee, Australian Open
chief executive. “Technology has helped increase international interest in the
Australian Open as one of the world’s great sporting events, thanks to
increased access for fans in different time zones across Asia, North America
and Europe.”
The Results
During
the 2001 tournament, 543,843 tennis fans attended and another 975,000 visited
the Web site and generated 48 million page views, an increase of 152 percent
over the previous year. IBM is the official information technology and Internet
supplier to Tennis Australia for the Australian Open. The company provides
equipment and services for results and statistics collection; supplies
information and graphics to television broadcasters and media; and distributes
tournament data through information terminals around Melbourne Park.
What We Learned from
Thid Case
Information
technonlogies are now in some sense overcoming the laws of physics,
particularly as they relate to marketing products and services and transacting
business. A customer’s physical presence is now optional for conducting myriad
business activities ranging from perusing a catalogue, purchasing, arranging
shipping, to contributing feedback to a provider, interacting with other
consumers, searching the world for the desired commodity and many other related
activities. No segment of the world’s economy remains untouched by the
revolutionary power of electronic commerce. For all the powerful advantages to
the product or service provider in using the Internet, there is a
counterbalancing force that gives consumers much greater ability to enjoy a
much broader range of available products and services and to comparison shop
for that product or service. In short, the floodgates of information have
opened and many traditional business relationships and principles have been
uploaded.
Source:
Intro to IT, Turban ; Rainer ; Potter
Comprehension Questions
Please
state your opinion about what IT is and its role in the above case!
