The 10 most promising sports solution providers 2018

www.insightssuccess.com April 2018

The

10 Most

Promising

Sports Solution Providers

Sports Insider No More Staying Home: 3 Ways We Get Our Customers to Come Out & Play

Future of GamiďŹ cation

Atul Srivastava

Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and eSports: The Buzzwords of Gaming Industry where the Future lies

Founder & CEO

Speculur Technology

Speculur Technology:

Leveraging Technology to Make the Game Better than ever Before

Editor’s Note

Sports: An Industry Evolving with the integration of Technology

E

merging ahead from the period of stagnancy back in the early 60s, the sporting industry has evolved leaps and bounds to become what it is known as today. It has in itself carved out a genre with stems as deep as it can go. Such has been it rise that one cannot fathom the sports industry to show any signs of deterioration in the near future or beyond.

The reason behind this surge in popularity can be owed to a seemingly subtle difference; where industries have customers, the sporting world has its set of fans. This was ably implied and explained by the leader of the ownership group of the NBA team Sacramento Kings, Vivek Ranadive, “Fans will paint their face purple, fans will evangelize…Every other CEO in every business is dying to be in our position — they’re dying to have fans.”

Although this burgeoning fan passion and following could most certainly keep the industry going on a positive march, major leagues and sporting boards have differed to rest on their laurels. Over the last few years, there has been a steady yet ameliorating integration of technology into the sports landscape and the trend seems to all but continue in the future as well. This shifting inclination of sporting technology has further amplified the appreciation for the game, enhanced athlete performance and introduced new forms of training methodologies and approaches.

The sporting services and solution portfolio range from sports software and analytical data, tracking

equipment, broadcasting technologies, wearable gadgets for fitness and performance enhancement and others. However, amidst this rising competition in the industry there lies a major requirement for consistency in these tech integrations, making decision makers find and identify the requisite sports solution provider more difficult than ever.

To ease up this burden, Insights Success has shortlisted “The 10 Most Promising Sports Solution Providers, 2018” that are leveraging the power of technology to bring-forward sporting solutions that echoes efficiency and meets organizational goals.

Featuring as the Cover Story of this issue, we have Speculur Technology, which strives to fulfil its mission of delivering a suite of products and technology solutions that inspires athletes and engages fans closer to the game.

Also featuring in the magazine, CIALFO Sports Technology, whose platform connects stakeholders and enables Information Access, facilitates Management & Interactions and helps in Tracking & Measuring Performance; Daktronics, an industry leader in designing and manufacturing electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems and large screen video displays; Force Impact Technologies, which integrates technology into sporting equipment to increase detection of potential injuries; RideOn, a company which has developed the world’s first AI/AR driven helmet and goggles for skiing and snowboarding; SmartHalo, a startup which has made biking smarter than ever before; Sports Performance Tracking, whose wearable technology platform gives athletes, teams and coaches the ability to track and analyse their performance on a versatile cutting-edge platform; Sportsmate, an Independent Sports Media company which creates and distributes native iOS and Android applications; and TopSportsLab, whose performance management system enables the world’s top teams to achieve the most from their athletes.

Also, make sure to flip through our articles, written by our in-house editorial team; as well as CXO Standpoints of notable industry personalities.

Let’s start shall we?

Sourav Mukherjee

SPECULUR TECHNOLOGY: Leveraging Technology to Make the Game Better than ever Before

10 cover story

18

EduTalks Leveraging the Potential of Gaming into Education

32

Sports Insider Fighting Against the Fight of Staying at Home

CONTENTS 22

20

30

28 Daktronics:

RideOn:

A Giant of the Display Systems Industry Leader

CIALFO Solutions: Striving to Change the Sporting Industry

An AI/AR Driven Sports Company

FITGuard: Improving Sports

by Integrating Technology

ARTICLES

24

Future of Gamification Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and eSports: The Buzzwords of Gaming Industry where the Future lies

40

Cloud Gaming Gaming over the Cloud – The New Realm of this Era

38

46

Sportsmate Technologies:

TopSportsLab: Empowering Sports Organizations to Achieve the Best from their Players

Providing an Engaging View of the Sporting World

36

SmartHalo: Illuminating the Future of Biking

44

Sports Performance Tracking: The Affordable Performance Tracker

Pooja M. Bansal Anish Miller Sourav Mukherjee Jenny Fernandes Kaustav roy Assistant Editors Brian Smith Kedar Kulkarni Visualiser David King Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Associate Designer Vijaykumar Dudhbhate Co-designer Shweta Ambilwade Art & Picture Editor Paul Belin Jayant Khanna Senior Sales Manager Passi D. Business Development Manager Peter Collins Marketing Manager John Matthew Business Development Executives Steve, Joe, Alan, Abhishek Sales Executives David, Kevin, Mark, Niwrutti Technical Head Jacob Smile Technical Specialist Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza Online Marketing Strategist Alina Sege, Shubham Mahadik, Vaibhav K SME-SMO Executives Prashant Chevale, Uma Dhenge, Gemson, Irfan Research Analyst Chidiebere Moses Circulation Manager Robert, Tanaji Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes Editor-in-Chief Senior Editor Managing Editor Executive Editors

sales@insightssuccess.com

April, 2018 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com

Follow us on :

Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Off. No. 513 & 510, 5th Flr., Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk, Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017 Phone - India: +91 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 Email: info@insightssuccess.in For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.in

www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/

www.twitter.com/insightssuccess

We are also available on : Copyright © 2018 Insights Success, All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success.

Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.

Cover Story

Atul Srivastava

Founder & CEO

Speculur Technology

SPECULUR TECHNOLOGY: Leveraging Technology to Make the Game Better than ever Before

“

Play what you know, Know what you play

”

I

nstead of using stairs, now we use elevator to reach our office premises. Sheets and documents of paper have now been replaced with e-documents and excel sheets. Binded books are now read on Kindles and Tablets. We use automated payment options like credit cards to pay for the most mundane items. To sum up, technology has gone on to become an integral part of our daily lives, simplifying things on the go, and professional sport is no exception.

Technology helps accumulate data from every single second of the game, thereby radically ameliorating individual athlete performance and the overall gaming experience. Data gathered from the game helps leverage valuable insights, which subsequently helps create new and innovative strategies to further boost players’ performance and fan engagement.

From soccer to tennis, baseball to Cricket, advancing technologies has

Seeing “TheI Envision Product, As A Necessity To Every Player To Step Up Their Game One Notch Higher.

“

left a striking footprint upon the game. Speaking of cricket, one company which aims at transfiguring the way cricket is played by incorporating technology is Speculur Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The subsidiary company of Gammes Unlimited, Speculur Technology strives to fulfil its mission of delivering a suite of products and technology solutions that inspires athletes and engages fans closer to the

The Start of a New Beginning Incepting as a talent management firm, Gammes Unlimited has had an intimate relationship with the International Cricket Council. The parent company has worked hand-inhand with many ICC related events, including the 2015 World Cup and the 2017 Champions Trophy, eventually striking a licensing deal with International cricket body in 2015. During this time, as the CEO of the company, Atul decided to leverage the potential of technology into Cricket. After spending three years of rigorous and tiring efforts in the R&D process, Speculur Technology was born.

“We put the sensor through various layers of testing. We got players from the streets all the way up to the international level to try this product.

We have tested for Strength, Convenience, Usability & real-time match scenarios.” It was an ambiguous dream at first, leading towards hectic and draining times but it was all worth the grind eventually.

Headquartered at the heart of India’s Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Speculur’s distribution network spreads across global boundaries. The company strives to introduce a disruptive change within the Sporting landscape by developing products that redefines the consumption experience of spectators, athletes, coaches, etc.

Not just a Product As a product, Speculur boasts the ability to minutely analyze each and every single move, from bat path to bat speed with its Batsense product.

This ability is all confined to one beautifully constructed sensor, which sits comfortably atop of a cricketer’s bat. “It’s now time to make your bat a smart bat. A bat that tells you your flaws in real time & makes sure that you are getting better every time you step out to play.”

Other than Batsense, Gaames Speculur also offers a wide-range of other products within the sporting vertical. Slated to release in the near future are the helmetSense, ShoeSense and the BallSense. The resolute team of professionals backed with Atul’s immaculate experience have extensively tested and sharpened its corners to bringforward these innovative and effective products to the cricketing industry.

Both amateurs and professional athletes have backed the product for its insightful value addition to their gaming style and technique. Karun Nair, an Indian International Cricketer, exclaims “Every Cricketer goes through a rough patch of form & also a good run of form. I think it’ll be interesting to see how we can effectively use this product to record data on either occasions & also to compare this data. This will help us improve & also work on those areas which need improvement.” Another recognized Indian Cricketer, Parthiv Patel, too mentioned “I am very impressed with the ‘Max Bat Speed’ feature in Speculur. The bat speed comes in really handy in T20’s &

“

Speculur Technology aims to revolutionize sports training and performance, with data and analytics.

“

game. “…get Closer to the game; get Better at the game; get Smarter at the game; and get Deeper in the game,” is how the Founder and CEO of Speculur, Atul Srivastava, sums it up.

tournaments like IPL. We can set targets to improve our bat speed & this could be a great exercise before the start of a T20 tournament.”

The company aims at providing every cricketer, amateur, and professional a closer watch into their game. The product allows recording of player’s flaws in real-time and help them be better at their game.

At an amateur level, the Coach Mode feature is one that has grabbed the attention of many grassroot cricketing academics and institutions.

It allows every coach to be in constant connection with their student via a common application.

Thus, whenever the student goes out to play, the coach would be able to track him live. Coaches can even set goals or targets to assess the progress of a player and draft a real-time report card.

Cover Story Speaking about this feature, Atul asserts “We have introduced the coach mode as an integral part of this product. The Coach mode enables the coaches to track his pupil’s game in real time. He can send back notes to the player about his innings/or practice sessions. He can also set targets for players for different sessions to improve on a certain skill. Features like this is what makes it stand out from the rest.”

In addition to all these, the products have also been tested in real-match situations, to grab a fair understanding of its efficiency.

Get Closer to what you Know!

Speculur’s caption, “Play what you know, Know what you play,” is an apt representation of what the company strives to deliver. “It’s a simple thought,” mentions Atul.

He adds “…you have played this game so long, it’s time to know & get closer to knowing how you have played.

There is a motivation involved here, a scope to improve yourself every passing day, the push to compete with yourself before you face the world.”

Speculur is not just an incredibly advanced sensor which records every pulse of the shot, rather it is a product of negligible size, making it easy to use. It fits perfectly on top of a cricket bat, without disturbing the weight of the bat or the batsmen having it on.

Translating a Vision into a Reality With an undying passion for the game of cricket, alluring him into the world of sports, Atul Srivastava formed Gammes Unlimited, a talent management company, back in 2006.

At that time, he signed the whole of India’s World Cup winning U-19 team, which included the likes of Virat Kohli and others.

Gaames Unlimited still manages some of India’s finest talents like Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel, and others. The company later expanded its business network and team of expertise, which gave Atul and Co. the needed confidence to join hands with the ICC.

In 2015, the company signed up with the ICC as its Licensing Partner in India, Middle-east, and the USA. The company continues to work with ICC and plans on extending its relation with the cricket governing body till 2023.

The evolution of Speculur Technology was Atul’s dream — to include technology into cricket, a need of the hour for a game that relies so heavily on technique. Building the need for precision in everything, even including a single shot, led the company to inception.

Atul concludes by saying, “Keen interest in sports as well as large networks and associates is the key to entering into this organization.”

“

Count every Shot. Make every shot Count.

”

SUBSCRIBE

READ IT FIRST

TODAY Never Miss an

Issue

Yes, I would like to subscribe to Insights Success Magazine.

Global Subscription 1 Year.......... (12 Issues) .... $250.00

6 Months ..... (06 Issues) ..... $130.00

3 Months ... (03 Issues) ....

1 Month ...... (01 Issue) .....

$70.00

$25.00

Date :

Name : Address :

Telephone : Email :

City :

State :

Zip :

Country :

Check should be drawn in favor of : INSIGHTS SUCCESS MEDIA TECH LLC

CORPORATE OFFICE Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754,(302)-319-9947 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription : www.insightssuccess.com

The

Promising

10 Solution Providers Most

Company Name

Management

Brief

CIALFO Solutions cialfosolutions.com

Venkata Rachur Founder & CEO

The CIALFO Sports Technology Platform connects stakeholders and enables Information Access, facilitates Management & Interactions and helps in Tracking & Measuring Performance.

Daktronics daktronics.com

Reece Kurtenbach President & CEO

Daktronics is the industry leader in designing and manufacturing electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems and large screen video displays.

FITGuard fitguard.me

Anthony Gonzales CEO

Force Impact Technologies integrates technology into sporting equipment to increase detection of potential injuries. The FIT full-motion systems solution, will help promote concussion awareness to youth athletes around the world.

RideOn rideonvision.com

Alon Getz Founder & CEO

RideOn is a company which has developed world’s first AI/AR driven helmet and goggles for skiing and snowboarding

SmartHalo smarthalo.bike

Xavier Peich Co-founder

SmartHalo lives on your handlebar and pairs with your smartphone to turn your bike into a smart bike.

Speculur Technology Solutions Private Limited gaamesunlimited.com

Atul Srivastava Founder & CEO

Speculur Technology strives to fulfil its mission of delivering a suite of products and technology solutions that inspires athletes and engages fans closer to the game.

Sportsmate Technologies sportsmatemobile.com

Steve Murray CEO

Sportsmate is an Independent Sports Media company which creates and distributes native iOS and Android applications.

SportsPerformance Tracking

William Strange CEO

Sports Performance Tracking (SPT) is a wearable technology platform that gives athletes, teams and coaches the ability to track and analyse their performance on a versatile cutting-edge platform.

TopSportsLab NV topsportslab.com

Alexander Janssen CEO

TopSportsLab Performance Management System enables the world's top teams to achieve the most from their athletes.

ZogSports zogsports.com

Robert Herzog Founder & CEO

ZogSports is America’s most popular social sports community, with over 120,000 players forming millions of new friendships every year.

sportsperfromancetracking.com

EduTalks

Leveraging the Potential of Gaming into Education “

G

o outside!” “Read a book!” “Go to bed!” These were some of the common phrases from my childhood, because I had discovered video games, a portal into an amazing dimension where I could explore and use magical powers! As an adult game designer, I thought to myself -- how can I leverage this natural tendency for play to actually teach something useful?

We started with mathematics, because it felt easy to turn elementary math concepts like addition and fractions into game mechanics. Many kids will tell you that they HATE math, but, when looked at from the right angle, mathematics is downright beautiful and fun to learn.

Edward Frenkel, a famous mathematician from UC Berkeley, is known for saying that if art was taught like math, we’d be told to paint a fence red 1000 times until we got it right. Would it be any surprise if people thought they hated art because it was taught this way?

But, this is exactly how math is taught! It doesn’t have to be this way. Leveraging my many years of gaming--ahem, market research--as a child, I worked with my co-founders

18

to build a game that measured up to the experiences I was used to. You don’t play Starcraft, Half-Life, and Diablo without learning a thing or two about fun engagement. And so, Mathbreakers.com, and later SuperMathWorld.com was born. The idea behind these games is simple: Starting from solid, fun mechanics, build a game on top of a solid foundation of math, so that the emergent gameplay is naturally mathematical in nature, while retaining a playfulness that allows you to jump right in without feeling like you’re being tested.

In this, we were extremely successful. We actually have many of our customers (parents and teachers) telling us their kids play the game for fun; one parent even commented that their kids would rush through morning chores in order to get more time on the game. Now that’s product success! If you have a kid aged 8 - 12, I encourage you to check out Mathbreakers.com and SuperMathWorld.com -- there are free trials and you may see their attitude change from “math sucks/is boring” to “this is amazing and fun” in a matter of minutes (it’s happened many times before).

April 2018

However, that’s not the end of the story. It turns out that making a successful business is more than just making an awesome product that your end users love. The remainder of this article will focus on the extreme challenges facing the ed-tech market today.

1. Schools are slow. You won’t see hockeystick style growth with a product in schools, because the sales cycle can be up to a year.

Furthermore, they’re slow to adopt -- in the curve of user adoption, schools tend to lump towards the “late adopters” side. Not good for startup sales.

2. Schools are SLOW. Even after multiple playtests on site that had kids literally screaming about how awesome the experience was, and even after clearly learning fractions from our game, it wasn’t enough. At one playtest an 8-year old boy was using a sword to chop numbers. Half, Fourth -easy! Just chop the numbers up until you get the right amount. Until he got to 7/8ths -- that was a tricky one. He thinks aloud to himself -- what’s 7/8? It’s.....3 and a half 4ths! Yes, Billy, it is, and congratulations, you’ve achieved a solid understanding of fraction composition. Jo Boaler would be proud.

It didn’t matter. Communicating these kinds of results to schools is like trying to talk to a whale about global warming. It’s critical information, but whales are huge and don’t speak your language.

3. Parents are difficult to reach. Every other math app out there -- and there are *thousands* -- claims to be as fun and engaging as ours. I’ve seen enough side-by-side playtests to tell you they’re flat out wrong, and can’t hold a candle to our game. I don’t mind saying it, because it’s really true.

But it doesn’t matter. To a parent looking at marketing material, it all seems the same. Standing out is an expensive proposition, one that requires investor backing (or possibly some luck and skill that we missed). But even if you get that part right, there’s even more bad news.

Charlie Van Norman Co-founder Mathbreakers

know anything about market sizes, I’ll give you two comparisons. Painting residential interiors is upwards of $50 billion. A single metal-scrapping company can be worth $1.2 billion alone -- the industry is worth $500 billion globally. In other words, a $1.2 billion market size simply isn’t big enough for most investors to care.

So what’s the future of games in education?

There will continue to be innovative and powerful solutions in ed-tech, but they will be small and you’ll have to hunt for them. The market will continue to be saturated by giants fueled by government grants and philanthropy, which makes the gems that startups create harder to find. So the future of games in education is fuzzy, but if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to find the pearls that will make a world of difference to the young learners that find them.

4. The market is tiny. Math apps in the US are valued at about $1.2 billion for parents and teachers. If you don’t April 2018

19

CIALFO Solutions: C

IALFO Solutions was conceived in 2015 with a mission to bring sports and technology together at the grassroots level. The company is on a constant quest to change the sports landscape by digitizing every aspect of playing, training and competitions.

CIALFO’s Sports Technology platform connects stakeholders and enables Information Access, facilitates Management & Interactions, and helps in Tracking & Measuring Performance.

These tools help training centers manage their athletes in an efficient and transparent manner.

Through the platform, coaches can collaborate with their teams, individual players or other experts and track the training and progress of each athlete.

The athletes can keep track of their performance, get information about various aspects of their sport and interact with other athletes, coaches and experts.

Rising Above the Competition CIALFO has been at the forefront of

20

developing solutions for the sporting industry. With its SwimIndia product, the company began providing value to the small but rapidly-growing swimming community in India. Thus far, is the only platform of its kind for swimmers in the country.

CIALFO has partnered with state swimming associations and the Swimming Federation of India to help them digitize state-level and nationallevel aquatic championships. It has also managed to establish direct relationships with various stake holders, leading to an interconnected network unlike any other at this level.

Striving to Change the Sporting Industry

As a leading sports solution provider, CIALFO continues to provide innovative solutions of great value for both athletes and management staff.

Then and Now “The journey has so far been exciting.

The team and I have personally seen the value we have been able to provide to the sports community. Initially, it was a hard-fought struggle to convince the various stakeholders of the value of the technology in sports at the grassroots level. We had to travel the length and breadth of the country attending various schools, and district, state-, zone- and national-level competitions. Whether it was Nyveli or New Delhi, Pune or Shikaripura, we have been there and have changed the mindset of people. Those who initially said, “Technology is a waste in sports,” or, “Technology is trouble,” are now giving positive responses like, “Its great what SwimIndia has been doing,” or, “We appreciate the value SwimIndia brings to the competitions,” recalls Venkata Rachur, The Founder and CEO of CIALFO.

April 2018

“Interact, Inspire and Achieve.”

Venkata Rachur Founder & CEO

The SwimIndia technology platform is the first of its kind developed exclusively for the swimming community in India. It connects swimmers, coaches, parents, swimming centers, associations, federations, brands and stakeholders.

SwimIndia has cemented itself at the leadership position of digital sports management in India in a very short span of time. This has established CIALFO as a pioneering sports solution provider. The numbers so far have been staggering: 15,000 registered users and counting Ÿ Over 6,000 mobile application downloads Ÿ 2million+ online page views Ÿ A massive follower base of over 65,000 on Facebook Ÿ

The Spark and the Fire After working for over two decades with Oracle in India and the US, Venkata Rachur, a highly-motivated engineer and sports addict, was often faced with the questions ‘Where am I?’ April 2018

and ‘What do I do next?’ This question led him to impulsively quit his job at Oracle in pursuit of a more meaningful life and career.

The turning point came in the form of a gap which he identified in sports, specifically in swimming. While at his 12-year-old son’s swimming classes, Venkata came to see the various issues and problems prevalent in the management of the sport.

From the lack of real-time results, workout logs, updates on upcoming competitions, and performance comparison, to information on nutrition and dietary requirements, Venkata realized the need for a complete overhaul.

to change people’s mindsets. It now partners with leading companies to provide timing systems (touchpads) and has been able to completely digitize the competition from registration to results.

Moving ahead, CIALFO plans to expand its offerings into multiple sporting fields. The company will build integration with devices including wearable and timing systems to capture vital data.

CIALFO plans to use Big Data, AI and Analytics to help users in performance tracking and analytics through its solutions.

His solution to all these problems was a single platform, SwimIndia.

Diving into the Future CIALFO’s value lies in bringing technology to the grassroots level of sports. Within the short span of its operations, the company has been able

21

Daktronics:

T

he proliferation of affordable home TV sets in the 1960s dealt a huge blow to sports stadium attendance numbers. In 1968, two professors from South Dakota State University were in the right position with strengths in innovation and engineering to help reverse the trend and founded Daktronics.

Today, Daktronics is one of the world’s most well-recognized names in the design, manufacture and installation of digital LED signage, and connected scoring, timing and audio systems. The company has long led the field in the integration of multiple complex displays showing real-time information, graphics, animation and video.

Celebrating its semi-centenary this year, Daktronics has installed more than 20,000 individual video-capable displays in more than 80 countries across the planet. These displays inform and entertain people in a variety of settings, including sports venues, transportation hubs and business areas.

There is a good chance that you yourself come across Daktronics

22

displays every day - from the local high school scoreboard to video systems in major league stadiums, and roadside LED signs to iconic digital signage around the world like Times Square and Piccadilly Circus no competitor comes close to the Daktronics breadth of digital display experience.

Fostering Fan Engagement In the sporting arena, Daktronics builds an immersive game-day experience by focusing on fan engagement through game information, social media, fantasy leagues and statistical content.

Daktronics works in close consultation with its clients, which are usually teams and venues, to ensure that every display is installed at the optimal location for maximum visibility so no fan misses even a moment of the live action.

This is not simply a technological consideration; greater fan engagement and interaction is crucial for creating a home field advantage for the players through noise and that support can energize the home team and even throw off the opposing team.

A Giant of the Display Systems Industry Leader

Standing out from the Competition Daktronics is not your standard display manufacturer. It has embraced several trailblazing business and development strategies that make it stand out from the crowd. Among these is a completely in-house design and manufacture process for all its LED displays from component level to final assembly.

This gives Daktronics higher quality control than any other company in the market and ensures its products are superior and will stand the test of time. The company works closely with its customers to develop its products around their needs. Its latest innovation is to adopt a design-build approach to displays where every unit is customized to fit within the stadium’s architecture. Daktronics project management teams ensure smooth on-site installation by coordinating processes with other companies that might be on site at the same time.

Daktronics knows that you cannot simply plug in a display and walk away. With a streamlined service and support infrastructure around the world, the organization is able to

April 2018

“Itʼs our passion to continuously provide the highest quality products and integrated systems backed by the best service and support in the industry.”

Reece Kurtenbach President & CEO

ensure that its displays are always operating at their optimal performance levels. In this way, every Daktronics client knows that their investment and their overall system goals are aligned for success.

From Professors to Leaders Daktronics was created in 1968 by two professors of electrical engineering at South Dakota State University in Brookings. Dr. Aelred Kurtenbach and Dr. Duane Sander co- founded the company with the goal of creating jobs for recent graduates to stay within the state.

A local wrestling coach mentioned the need for a new scoreboard and Daktronics engineers worked closely with him to deliver a revolutionary scoring system, the Matside®.

Since then, the organization has continued to do this every year with its sports customers, taking their dreams and making them a reality, a vision most recently highlighted by the Halo display at the MercedesBenz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Helping Venues to Create an Unmatchable Atmosphere The industry is constantly adding April 2018

video display technology to stadiums and arenas to improve the fan experience and to bring people to stadiums, a never-ending battle with the at-home experience. Venues are trying to create an atmosphere that home systems cannot duplicate to entice fans to venture to the venue and experience a complete entertainment destination.

Daktronics also produces video products and control systems that integrate to form a coherent whole.

This allows venues to give their fans that one-of-a-kind experience.

As part of those entertainment goals, Daktronics custom designs leave a massive impact on fans at facilities around the world. Fans are today much more interested in data and real-time statistics, and Daktronics works with venues to bring that information to them in interesting and engaging ways.

company received its big break when it was awarded the contract for the 1980 Olympic Games.

Last year, Daktronics invested 4% of its total income, approximately $23 million, into research and development. The organization works incessantly to innovate and evolve with the industry to bring the latest and greatest technology to its customers.

In the near future, Daktronics is planning to build never-seen-before LED display systems to create cutting-edge of audiovisual experiences for the live event entertainment industry.

When the Going Gets Tough…

Daktronics started its journey with the design and manufacture of electronic voting systems for state legislature before breaking into the sports market in 1971 with the Matside® wrestling scoreboard. The

23

Future of Gami cation

T

he gaming industry has evolved to a great extent over a period of time. It has pushed the envelope and adopted cutting edge technologies that later became mainstream technologies like streaming online content, 1080p and 4K graphics. In today’s dynamic world as one trend ends, another is always just around the corner, ready to take the world by surprise and right now there are plenty of things to be excited about. Let’s dig a little deeper into the latest buzz of the gaming industry, and how things might change going forward.

VR (Virtual Reality) is one such hot topic in the gaming industry. VR is something that was talked about for many years before its actual arrival. But when it hit the street, it did not boom as expected. However, there have been dramatic improvements to both the hardware and software in VR since its early days. VR is poised to have a huge impact on the gaming sector in many different

24

forms. Online gaming sites are also reaping huge benefits of VR. With VR technology at the core, it is possible to create impressive virtual gaming experiences for customers to enjoy.

Augmented Reality is the New Fascination for Gaming Industry Augmented Reality (AR) is another form of technology that is set to change the landscape of gaming. Where virtual realities provide gamers a complete virtual world experience, AR overlays virtual digital world on the top of the real world and gives gamer a thrilling experience.

The latest flagship smartphones of Apple and developer frameworks like Apple’s ARKit are bringing AR technology into the mainstream very rapidly. Many technology leaders are already presuming that AR could be much bigger than virtual reality, especially as AR is April 2018

already proving to be a big hit in smartphones as more and more people are using mobile phones and tablets for gaming than Pcs. Over the last couple of years the gaming industry has witnessed an increased momentum around augmented reality (AR). The primary reason seems to be the overnight success of PokĂŠmon Go, a location-based AR game which was downloaded more than 100 million times in its ďŹ rst month of launch. It reportedly earned $10m per day at the height of its popularity, and has attracted widespread attention and investment. Its ability to bring people together and promote a powerful sense of community is the prime reason behind the burgeoning growth. Most of the break-through technologies have done much the same, whether it is a social media innovation like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or mobile activities involving texting, dating or gaming. VR on the other hand, has far limited access in the social arena. In 2017, Game Developers Conference was ruled by virtual reality. But due to immense popularity of PokĂŠmon Go, augmented reality has become the new industry darling. It will be premature to say that VR has been out of the race completely but at GDC 2017, industry has seen the emergence of AR as a compelling technology for gaming and beyond.

AR based games work their magic simply by dropping video game characters into a familiar and real environment which gives gamers a thrilling experience while playing. AR enables gaming character to run along real-world tabletops and bounce on sofas. With the new advancements in AR, players can scan a room with their devices and create a 3D map of the walls and furniture.

Gamers can place their virtual characters and objects on April 2018

real tables and shelves, while other players can view the scene and join via their own devices. Due to these facets, gaming industry is embracing AR technology since it allows game players to experience a digital game played in a real world environment. e-Sports- an Idea becoming a Gaming Trend The other idea that is shaping the future of gaming industry is of competitive gaming commonly known as eSports. The acceptance of competitive online gaming is growing at an intense rate for both competitor and viewers. Many believe that the concept of eSports could bleed over to skill-based casino gaming in the coming times.

Market Forecast According to renowned research giant Goldman Sachs, the virtual and augmented reality industry will become $85 billion market by 2025. Much of its share will belong to gaming industry.

Most of these technologies require a lot of bandwidth to function in a hassle free manner. With 5G arrival is just around the corner, it will only give boost to these technologies and will play a pivotal role in changing the face of gaming to the next level. It is estimated that 5G connection can comfortably reach at a speed of around 10Gbps, which will make mobile gaming experience much better than earlier.

With the advent of AR, VR and eSports, one can rightly presumes these technologies will only make gamers experience much more captivating one with lots of thrill and joy.

25

Omnichannel Agent and Customer Engagement Solutions Simplify and personalize the customer experience, empower agents and achieve business success with one workspace for all channel interactions, application integrations, and CX reporting.

FITGuard: I

t was back in 2011, when a young Rugby player named Anthony was involved in a multiplayer collision that left him unable to recall where he was or what position he had been playing thusfar. Undeterred by the collision, Anthony attempted to resume play just minutes later. Thankfully, a teammate, who was a trained EMT and pre-med student, recognized the signs that Anthony may have suffered a concussion. His teammate recommended that he remain out of the game until further examination.

Had this observation and recommendation been overlooked, Anthony could have continued playing, leaving him vulnerable to long-term brain injury.

The inception of Force Impact Technologies Inc. in 2013 was aimed at addressing this problem, which could very possibly become life threatening. The company integrates technology into sporting equipment to increase detection of potential injuries. The FIT Risk Mitigation Platform, helps promote concussion awareness to youth athletes around the world. The organization focuses on amateur

28

athletes between the age group of 1225, who might potentially risk a head injury.

Monitoring Severe Impacts is Easier than Ever FITGuard is a mouthguard with sensors that detects the force athletes’ encounter upon being hit, allowing it to monitor severe impacts that may cause brain injury. Additionally, long-term monitoring is conducted to understand the effect of cumulative impacts over time and for detecting symptoms of concussions using the innovative app-based platform.

The FIT platform contains three core features. The FITGuard mouthguard which measures linear and rotational acceleration. Combined with a mobile app that prompts the user with questions and allows for remote long-term monitoring of potential symptoms of concussions, through cognitive performance exam. Lastly, this system is reconciled on an FDA and HiPPA compliment backend, cloud-based Quality Management System (QMS), for ease of access and aggregation of data.

Improving Sports

by Integrating Technology

FITGuard is the most advanced and accurate device for measuring forces athletes encounter and in combination with the innovative app, it provides the highest chance of helping detect and potentially avoid life altering downstream effects of playing the sport they enjoy.

The Start-Up Veteran Anthony Gonzales is the CEO of FIT. He is also a veteran in the startup community. Anthony’s unique skill set has been battle hardened through the trenches of entrepreneurship. He holds a Bachelor Science in Management Entrepreneurship from Arizona State University. Additionally, he obtained his M.B.A in Supply Chain and logistics from ASU as well.

Currently, he is enrolled at John Hopkins University as he looks set to obtain a Master of Science in Biotechnology. Previously, Anthony founded a 501(c) 3, was a collegiate rugby participant, completed an internship with Morgan Stanley, coached High School Wrestling, and even has traveled throughout eighteen countries worldwide.

April 2018

“Everything we do, we do because we believe in improving sports. We believe in making sports safer for everyone. Therefore, we strive to improve the quality of athletes lives by integrating technology and sports.”

Anthony Gonzales CEO

When Technology Helps to Minimize Injury The idea behind the FIT Platform is to monitor athletes on and off the field in order to maximize the possibility of detecting traumatic brain injury and its impacts.

FITGuard captures all instances where an athlete has been hit and alerts the user and others that the hit was hard enough to potentially cause a concussion. Additionally, the FIT Platform allows for long term monitoring of these impacts and cumulative hits via the innovative app and tracks the effect of these impacts on brain. This is a vital research tool that will begin to help answer few of the fundamental questions related to traumatic brain injury research but can also be used now to protect athletes of all ages, and monitor the health of their brain as they continue to play the sports they enjoy.

The leaders of the organization expect FIT Platform to soon be the gold-standard system used to collect cranial acceleration data for research and validation. Technology is vital in minimizing harm while maximizing

April 2018

the enjoyment of sports at all levels.

The FIT Platform is a fusion of old and new technologies both designed to increase athlete safety and is a natural fit with the integration of technology in sports.

Standing Out in the Crowded Space and Future Roadmap Unlike its competitors, FITGuard is designed to ensure maximum accuracy based on fundamental principles of anatomy and physics, (unlike its competitors including sticker-based motion detection and other mouth guard/sensor combinations). The company has gone through the most development cycles ensuring a high-end product, has an innovative app to increase chances of detecting signs/symptoms of traumatic brain injury and has generated interest around the world from athletes in a variety of contact sports including football, rugby and judo among others.

organization has found the optimal way to safely design, develop, and manufacture its device. Through rigorous protocol and years in the laboratory, FITGuard is now confident enough that the solution provided by the organization is the most cutting-edge innovation on the market.

A variety of clinical studies to answer fundamental questions in traumatic brain injury research, which will include a demonstration of the accuracy of the FIT Platform, followed by eventual FDA approval and widespread adoption of the FIT Platform.

As a company created for athletes, by athletes, FITGuard is the expert at overcoming struggle and challenges.

When it started, there were many technical risks, however, the

29

RideOn: S

kiing is not just any other sport; it’s a breath-taking adventure! Boasting a history going back almost five millennia.

Modern skiing has evolved with time, from its beginnings back in Scandinavia. Until the mid-19th century skiing was primarily used for transportation, and since then it has become a recreational sport.

service to direct the individual back, until the emergence of a company named RideOn. RideOn is an AI/AR driven Sports Company which has developed the world’s first smart Augmented Reality helmet and goggles for ski and snowboard.

With equipment’s evolving and ski lifts being developed, skiing turned into a widely acknowledged game over time. Cross-country, Ski jumping, Nordic combined, alpine skiing, speed skiing, freestyle skiing, ski boarding and snowboard are some of them, which have their own world cup tournament. All this requires some high level of skills and a set of sturdy equipment that includes skis, boots and binding, poles, skiing gloves, ski suits, ski helmets and ski goggles. Many of world’s leading accessory brands have bestowed the game with various products that ensure optimal safety of the players. However, tracking the player’s activity has been a key issue.

If a player gets stuck somewhere, somehow, or loses path of the riding track, there were no product or

RideOn develops Augmented Reality (AR) technologies and infrastructure for outdoor sports and activities Using the latest techniques in vision, machine learning and sensor fusion.

30

Interact, Navigate, Engage and Play

Its premier products, smart goggles and helmets for skiing / snowboarding, are specially designed to augment activities in real-time.

These astonishing products enable quick and simple interactions, handsfree music, video, navigation, photos, SOS capabilities and engaging play and social activities!

An AI/AR Driven Sports Company

that enables riders to record their experience with their goggles, using the built-in HD camera. They can even share their activities on Facebook LIVE. RideOn goggles also displays virtual maps and highlighted points of interest that help navigate the mountain slopes.

Social features also allow you to see your friends location as well allows call or text fellow riders hands-free..

Additionally, the product adds extra layer of interaction with fun games like a virtual slalom track, or chasing your favorite athlete down the slopes.

The goggles have a 24° (diagonal) display with brightness of ~3000 nits. It also has Micro USB for charging and data transfer along with BLE (Bluetooth 4.O) wireless connectivity. It also packs a great battery with up to 6 hours of continuous use and 24 standby hours.

The Next Generation of Skiing Helmets - introducing The MOHAWK (Launching season 1819)

Ski Goggles RideOn brings AR to the slopes with the world’s first augmented reality ski goggles. It is a futuristic product

The world’s first and only smart Augmented Reality helmet for ski and snowboard, The MOHAWK is a RideOn’s upcoming flagship product.

April 2018

“Weʼre good at weaving digital information into the real world, and creating new experiences in a variety of activities with our tech. Our ski goggles are just the beginning.”

Alon Getz Founder & CEO

Building on the innovation of the first generation of smart goggles, the company has added more advanced features for a complete and fun solution.. Enabling better location and 3D mapping of tracks, new social interactions through text, voice call and even live video chat with fellow riders. The helmet monitors and displays essential stats like speed, heart rate, distance traveled, temperature, altitude and locations. It has a fully transparent SI-OLED HD display that makes skiing even safer and interesting. RideOn has always emphasized on user’s safety since its inception. Hence, one of the major features is a Virtual SOS button allowing manual and/or an automatic activation in case of an emergency, GPS location based and connected with resorts and rescue services for quick assistance and recovery and communications.

Formed through a Vision RideOn was founded in 2014 After its Founder and CEO Alon Getz, Lt Col (res) decided to use augmented reality to get the same hands-free, quick and valuable interactions as those he has when flying fighter April 2018

planes: location, guidance, interacting with your companions easily and enabling safety features, making the same x10 improvement in fun and taking it to the slopes.

Alon is a reserved IAF F-16 lieutenant colonel. He has a resourceful experience of more than 10 years developing AR and fighter plane helmets. An expert in inertial sensors, navigation, hybrid/sensor fusion, and computer-vision. Few months later, RideOn developed the first prototypes using its unique design, and launched the first ever AR ski goggles.

In 2015, the company took to an Indiegogo campaign to launch its product. The campaign brought it a great publicity, and enormous amount of HYPE, with product videos seen by more than eight million people. More than 450 goggles were sold and delivered to early adopters and enthusiasts.

Following the valuable feedbacks from professional skiers and snowboarders around the world, using their innovative goggles on the slopes has helped RideOn further advance the product and refine it to create the next generation of ski

helmets. The interactive features of the goggles and helmets evolved closely with the precious feedback and support of the community.

The next step in fun, seamless interaction RideOn has developed two revolutionary skiing products. It now aims to sell it in the most dominating skiing market, i.e., China. China has declared that there will be almost 300 million skiers by the time we reach the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Hence, the company is willing to cash-in on this opportunity by collaborating with market leaders in China. RideOn aims to create more products for outdoor sports and activities such as motorcycling, bicycle riding among others, utilizing the same patented infrastructure and technology stack for outdoor AR.

31

Sports Insider

No More Staying Home: 3 Ways We Get Our Customers to Come Out & Play

L

et’s assume you have the right ball and a pair of sneakers. At that point, it takes two to play catch. Two to pass a soccer ball. And sure, you can go shoot hoops by yourself, but that’s just practice. If you want to get a game of one-on-one going, it’s a pretty simple math.

Most people think about sports as a way to stay fit, active, and healthy. We love those things. They are universally positive, fun, and help us get a sense of competition. But there’s something even bigger. Sports bring people together in real life—on the field, court, or for a post-game drink—in a

32

way that very few things do anymore.

And that’s what we’re fighting for.

Haven’t you heard? Young adults are increasingly staying at home to Netflix & Chill. They’re not getting their drivers licenses. They’re overstaying their welcome, living with their parents, way longer than in previous decades. And in the most boring, depressing news ever, staying in is the new going out.

It’s an actual crisis. Not just for our company, or for sports, but for the society at-large. Retail sales are in a massive decline, and brick-and-mortar

stores and malls can hardly keep their doors open. In 2017, movie attendance hit a 25-year low. And restaurants are in their worst slump since the 2009 recession.

So are we just going to sit back and watch as our communities turn increasingly sedentary, secluded, and lonely? Heck no.

As the largest social sport community in the nation, we are fired up about this.

Here are the 3 things we remind ourselves every single day in the fight against Stay Homerism.

1. Give customers what they truly need, even if they don’t know they need it Plenty of our players come to us thinking that what they really want is to play soccer, plain and simple.

They’ve played the beautiful game their whole lives, and just need a weekly fix.

But if you look at the statistics, many of them join our leagues when they first move to one of our markets.

They’re looking for a chance to play the game they love. They’re looking for an opportunity meet new teammates.

After all these years in the business, what we know is that our players are not just looking for a game. On a deeper emotional level, what they want is a sense of community. They want real personal connections, friendships, and real-life interactions.

So that’s what we offer. It’s not just about the product or the service your company provides, it’s how it serves some deeper, emotional need for your customers. We constantly remind ourselves of the bigger picture—and how we play a crucial role in delivering something our players don’t even know they need. It’s deeply validating, it gives us purpose, and it’s the reason our business keeps growing, despite the momentum against us.

MM 2018

2. Meet your customers where they are You know what should make us nervous? The fact that our prospective customers are spending more and more time snapping, scrolling, and sharing through social media and less time out of the house.

But instead, we see it as an opportunity and a challenge. Now that the player and the game have changed, we can’t keep doing the same thing we did in 2002 and expect it to work now; we’ve got to keep up.

If we want to reach our target market, we have to meet them where they are.

We have to embrace Instagram and Facebook and Snapchat as dynamic tools, platforms to help us amplify our message, purpose, and worldview. We can’t run away from social media—we have to make ourselves relevant in the new media landscape. There’s really no alternative solution. We have to lean into it.

To be honest, we haven’t quite nailed our strategy or execution yet. It’s a work in progress, and things are constantly changing. But we’re excited about where we’re heading.

We’re beginning to share content that lets our players and prospective players truly feel what a ZogSports experience is all about. We need to convey our opinion on the world—that life is better with real personal connections, caring communities and a sense of play.

And if people don’t buy that? Well, no sense wasting time trying to convince them. Life’s too short to spend it with boring people who don’t like fun.

3. Take it personally So often, we hear people say “It’s not personal; it’s just business.” Well, let’s agree to disagree. If we’re going to spend a third of our lives working, we

MM 2018

Robert Herzog Founder & CEO ZogSports

better be personally invested. If not, what’s even the point of showing up every day?

That’s not to say we don’t analyze our data, pay attention to the numbers, or care about delivering hard truths when necessary. It’s just that there’s something much bigger than just making cold, calculated decisions.

There’s a purpose. A sense of WHY we do what we do.

We believe that life is better with real personal connections, caring communities, and a sense of play.

At ZogSports, we have a very clear understanding of our WHY. We talk about it at every all-hands meeting, in every interaction between our staff and their managers, and in every management meeting.

We can use that WHY to pressure test some of our ideas or priorities. If we want to test out a new league or customer experience enhancement, for example, we just need to ask ourselves, does this idea fit into our WHY? If it

does, it’s worth trying. But if it doesn’t, then we move on.

When we set that WHY as our true north, it became a lot easier to navigate all the complex business challenges we might face. Our WHY gives us a framework and a purpose, so we can be flexible in our approach to any problem.

We can tack around obstacles or change our products, marketing strategy, or organizational structure if we have to. So long as we keep our vessel pointed oriented toward our WHY, we know we’ll get to the promised land.

The truth is that it’s not easy to succeed in our business. But it’s not easy to succeed in any business. You really need to be committed. You need to remind yourself of these things every single day. But if you live your WHY and stay the course, think of all the great things your business can do.

33

SmartHalo: C

ycling is synonymous to a healthy lifestyle, greener environments and smarter cities. It is part of a progressive movement which we all want to be a part of. Adopting the bicycle is easy: most trips in cities proves to be faster by bike than by a car, and owning a bike costs a whole less than any other vehicle. It also costs less to governments to build pathways for cyclists, since it has less of an impact on city infrastructures. It’s really a win-win situation.

SmartHalo was born out of the interlacement of sophisticated technologies and elegant simplicity.

It’s a device that provides advanced features without overwhelming the cyclists who need to focus on the many stimuli of urban environments.

With an ambition of turning this idea into reality, the journey of this startup began from its office in Montreal, the biking capital of North America.

However, SmartHalo is more than that; it’s a long-term vision on how bikes can improve the society and our lifestyle.

36

SmartHalo is a smart biking device designed mainly for urban cyclists. It has a military-grade locking system that ensures it to stay permanently on the handlebar to assist the rider whenever needed. The intuitive navigation system helps take the quickest and safest routes to the desired destination of the cyclist.

Automatic tracking capabilities save the biking metrics seamlessly. The powerful front light illumes the path in dark. Another smart feature of SmartHalo is its loud bicycle alarm that keeps the bike safe from thieves when the rider is not around.

The Enthusiastic Founder of SmartHalo: Xavier Peich, the Co-founder of SmartHalo completed a Master’s degree in International Studies before joining politics. It was after that when he started to work more passionately in project management and eventually went on to Co-found the company.

Xavier is a cycling enthusiast who loves seeing his projects through, which definitely helped him to stay

Illuminating the Future of Biking

motivated concerning the launch of SmartHalo. His passion led him to develop the accessories to make bicycles smart. This contribution helped shape the leisure and commuter markets within the cycling industry, giving a surge in momentum to the overall sports.

Surpassing the Initial Challenge The initial challenge originated with the realization that after the wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, it was time for the company to deliver and this was more than just an idea.

The production delay was longer than expected and it took almost years of rigorous testing and product development. This process was much longer and costlier than expected. It delayed delivery to the clients and the official launch of the product numerous times. “We were so elated when we finally shipped all the units and started shipping units live,” said Peich.

Another big challenge for the inventors was to make sure SmartHalo fit in any bike, right in the center of the handlebar. A er April 2018

“Biking is more than a transportation method or a hobby. Itʼs a way of life. And we help you achieve that.”

Xavier Peich Co-founder

months of sketching and modeling, an elegant, durable and minimalist solu on was found.

The Magical Journey SmartHalo is beau fully designed inside and out. There is no on/off bu on – its sophis cated sensor detects the presence of the rider.

When the ride gets finished with the trip, it automa cally shuts down.

This leads to amazing ba ery life under standard usage; SmartHalo lasts for around three weeks in a single charge.

SmartHalo is designed especially for urban cyclists and aims to track fitness metrics and display speed in an intui ve manner, and introduces new ways with its goal se ng fitness hub. It works like a Fitness tracker with a speedometer on it. It helps mo vate the owner to take the bike out more o en.

The company and its applica on help the rider to ride smartly with a minimalist interface that provides naviga on, automa c ligh ng, and an alarm and fitness tracker.

April 2018

SmartHalo offers an en rely enhanced biking experience by turning the bike into a smart bike.

The company also aims to work with ci es to improve infrastructure and safety for cyclists through concrete data.

SmartHalo can also be considered as a huge design success story as it merges the best of both func onality and simplicity into a strong device that “works like magic.”

Moving Ahead of the Race Reflecting on the company’s future perspective, Xavier Peich mentions, “We expect SmartHalo to keep improving on the current product hardware and software components, to release more features for its users and to push the industry forward as we demand more of our bikes.”

back the popularity of the two wheelers as a solution to many of the problems faced by cities and urban centers.

To conclude, SmartHalo plays a tremendous role in developing the sports industry and makes biking a lot more safer, accessible, fun, and appealing. From a cultural standpoint, the goal of the startup is to change the way people are moving around in cities. The prime advantages of taking a bike-ride are healthier populations, greener cities, and less congestion, among many others. The rising technology is simply making the activity much more sought-after.

SmartHalo also has future prospects for contributing to the development of smart cities and getting involved in improving mobility, data collection, and green initiatives. The company is expected to advocate for the cycling movements and bring

37

Sportsmate Technologies:

E

stablished by two friends back in 2008, Sportsmate Technologies was incepted with a view of keeping track of AFL (Australian Football League) scores in real-time. A decade later, the company has expanded to have a suite of eight different applications covering sporting codes from around the world, including NBA, NFL and EPL across both Android and iOS platforms. With a user base covering over 1.3 million monthly active users, predominantly in Australia, Sportsmate has ambitious growth targets in relevant overseas markets.

Up until the end of 2016, the company was deemed as a startup with no external investors at sight, wherein the day to day operations were being run by its co-founders.

The completion of the first investment round saw Sportsmate prioritize their product to be much more user-centric rather than just for scores and statistics. Hence, opening the gates of world-class content into its solution suite.

Delivering an Unmatched Sporting Experience Sportsmate has a total of 8

38

applications across both iOS and Android platform, covering the AFL, NRL, EPL, A-League, Super XV Rugby, NBA, NFL and its most recent addition, Cricket.

Its apps are predominantly a second screen companion for serious fans to stay up to date with everything doing the rounds in their sporting code.

This includes real-time scores and statistics, news, video highlights and other exclusive content. “The core reason sports fans choose Sportsmate over other sporting apps is because of our reliability, speed and accuracy of real-time scores and statistics and our simple and clean user experience,” mentions Steve Murray, the CEO of Sportsmate.

Sportsmate empowers fans to be even more engaged in the sporting match by providing real-time statistics, scores and insights, helping them gain an even better understanding of the match than purely watching it alone.

Standing out from the Crowd It should come as no surprise that Sportsmate continues to lead the app publishing space by creating a unique

Providing an Engaging View of the Sporting World

stable platform, so as to ensure the most engaging sporting experience for fans across the world. Speaking about the fantastic user experience its customized applications offer, Steve asserts “By heavily investing in UX (User Experience) we have been able to create one of the most loyal user bases in the Australian market, a claim which we are increasingly proud of.”

Much of the company’s success should be owed to its CEO, Steve Murray, whose 20 years of experience in the digital space has helped him shoulder the responsibly of Sportsmate with absolute efficiency.

The company has instilled a greater focus on integrated partnerships to provide viewers with even more value than what it is currently offering. It aims to do so by providing relevant information and engaging tools to keep them entertained between match days as well as with live updates during matches.

Rising Above the Challenges Sportsmate incepted following the April 2018

“We let you follow the game from every angle.”

Steve Murray CEO

release of the first generation of iPhones. “We were very fortunate to ride the wave created by Apple.” An entirely new industry originated overnight and Sportsmate was smart enough to jump straight on it, irrespective of the uncertainty ahead.

At that point, no one could predict the explosive growth that the iOS app store would undergo and Sportsmate were lucky enough to be on the front end of that curve.

in the form of salary, Sportsmate offered people the chance to build and own something meaningful.

Speaking about the employees of the company, Steve points out “We’ve been fortunate to have great employees who’ve made an incredible contribution in the past 10 years.”

Sportsmate was self-funded during its initial seven years of operation, which meant that the balance of investment in growth and covering costs was always difficult for the company. In 2010, Sportsmate was one of the first app developers in Australia to adopt a pure advertising model, 12 months removed from the App store arrival. “We believed in the model but for many years we were waiting for the mobile advertising industry to mature.”

The Sleeping Giant in the Sports Digital Space The products of Sportsmate Technologies have had purely organic growth over the past 10 years and as such have an extremely loyal audience of avid sports fans, one which would be very difficult to match. The key to Sportsmate’s success lays in its ability to pivot the product towards new technology to provide users with even more engaging experiences; and with a cumulative total of 1.3 million users to its name, it is most certainly the sleeping giant in the sports digital space.

The search for talented engineers in such an entirely new industry was also a vivid challenge for the company. When large companies were offering huge chunk of money

“We like to think we are the #1 companion app with sports fans across our codes and we will continue to innovate and contribute to the robust conversation online

April 2018

around stats in and around the sporting arena.”

The company understands that being independent in the multi-billion dollar sports tech industry presents with itself various challenges. But sport needs an independent commentator and Sportsmate will look for new opportunities to build new apps and expand its presence in the global digital sports media environment along the way.

39

Cloud Gaming

over the Cloud

G

ames have been known to push consumer computing platforms to maximum capacity. In traditional systems such as desktop computers, expected and accepted that Gaming software will push a system to its However, mobile environments are in a strikingly different scenario as they power reserves. A fully utilized mobile device may have a greatly reduced thus it is important to reduce the complexity of these gaming softwares for Luckily, cloud gaming systems provide a potential way by ofoading processing tasks such as 3D rendering and physics calculations to powerful cloud

their it is often limits. have limited running time, mobile devices. complicated servers.

Cloud Gaming enables new business models for games as well as cloud service providers. Users no longer need to purchase powerful hardware to run new games and can play virtually on any device, which is capable to displaying videos in HD format. On the other hand developers no longer have to fear software piracy as the software never leaves the cloud and also can reduce development costs by focusing on one speciďŹ c platform. This allows developers to spend more time on improving the quality of the product instead of worrying about compatibility. Even small non-HD devices can be supported, e.g. by reducing the resolution. A smaller resolution requires lesser bandwidth and the video can be decoded at the end device with less energy consumption enabling the use of hand-held mobile devices as clients.

After performing extensive cloud gaming experiments using both mobile and desktop clients several interesting insights have

40

April 2018

been revealed. For example, gamers’ satisfaction on mobile clients is more related to graphics quality, while the case on desktop clients is more correlated to control quality. Furthermore, graphics and smoothness quality are significantly affected by the bitrate, frame rate, and network latency, while the control quality is determined only by the client types. The amount of resources allocated to high performance multimedia applications such as cloud gaming continues to grow in both public and private data centers. The high demand and utilization patterns of these platforms make the smart allocation of these resources paramount to the efficiency of both public and private clouds. The impact on multiplayer games might be lessened as the synchronization between players is no longer impacted by the distance between the game server and client. In the cloud scenario, the client is virtually located within the data center and thus has an (in theory) optimal connection to the game server at all times.

Advancement in Cloud Gaming From Virtual Machine placement to shared GPUs, researchers from many areas have been exploring to efficiently use the cloud to host cloud gaming platforms. Although many cloud computing workloads do not require a dedicated GPU, cloud gaming servers require access to a rendering device to provide 3D graphics. As such VM and workload placements have been researched to ensure cloud gaming servers have access to adequate GPU resources. The efficiency and robustness of the communication channels between cloud gaming servers and clients are crucial and have been divided as the data April 2018

41

Cloud Gaming

compression algorithms to reduce the network traffic congestion and the transmission adaptation algorithms to cope with network dynamics. Graphics compression is proposed for better scalability, because 3D rendering is done at individual client computers. Compressing graphics data, however, is quite challenging and may consume excessive network bandwidth to design a cloud gaming platform based on graphics compression. These platforms require graphics compression tools which are applied to graphics commands, 3D structures, and 2D textures.

Cloud Storage and its Usage To estimate the kind of effect cloud computing has on the video game industry, one has to observe the way in which video games are currently using the cloud. Perhaps the most common use of cloud computing at the moment is cloud storage.

Gamers have the opportunity to save games onto cloud servers provided by gaming bigwigs like Sony and Microsoft. Some publishers and developers provide saved game storage space as well. The arrival of the current generation consoles (PlayStation 4, WiiU, Xbox One) has also ushered in a wealth of new capabilities with the cloud. The advances in technologies turn playable cloud gaming services into reality; more optimization techniques gradually make cloud gaming services profitable.

Cloud gaming services such as OnLive, GaiKai and Core Online have recently triggered interest in the gaming community by allowing low-end devices (i.e. a low cost set top boxes or mobile devices) to stream games that were typically reserved for high-end consoles. Besides cost-efficiency and power consumption, platform independence is a major advantage of these solutions. Cloud gaming is all about flexibility, with networking being the huge advantage. Consoles and PC’s were always limited by the hardware inside. All the games being stuck on one piece of kit where one needs to upgrade everything for the next best thing. Now, it is only limited by the power of the internet connection. With 5G rolling out globally in the next few years and the cost of internet dropping worldwide, it will be hard-pressed to find a spot left on the globe where one can’t connect in a fast-approaching future.

42

April 2018

Sports Performance Tracking:

S

port is an ocean of opportunities and the billion-dollar sports industry boats one of the highest employment and revenue generation rates of any field. It includes a variety of career profiles such as athletes, coaches, trainers, event managers, public relation officers, Coordinator of sport organizations, Marketing Consultant, Program and Facility Manager, among others.

The industry is growing in terms of advertising and trading businesses as well, making it necessary for sports organizations to have a control over such advancing expansions. It is imperative for them to track activity to maintain better control, and to formulate effective training and development plans. However, it is nearly impossible to track every activity of every player and support staff without the help of adaptable technology.

Technological advancements of the twenty-first century have the ability to transform the sports industry. The technology used by Sports Performance Tracking (SPT) is the perfect example.

SPT offers a high-performance wearable technology platform that

44

gives individual players, teams and coaches the ability to track and analyse their performance. Today, individuals in over 90 countries are taking advantage of SPT data to play, train and rest smarter.

The metrics provided by the technology is being utilized by schools, health professionals, local sports associations, and even the Spanish Football League.

Systemized Cloud-Based Analytics SPT has created a cloud-based analytics platform called GameTraka®, a solution designed by athletes, for athletes. It facilitates the collection, storage and analysis of complex data generated by individuals, be it sports players, managers, organizers or members of supporting staff.

The company recently launched SPT2, a fully-customized, comprehensivelydesigned product. SPT2 contains the smallest GPS unit in the market, a device designed especially for contact sports. It houses a 10Hz GPS system and 100Hz accelerometer, a gyroscope and many other cutting-edge features.

Few times in the history of sport has a single product so significantly empowered athletes and associated

The Affordable Performance Tracker

professionals with such extensive abilities and insight overnight.

SPT enhances player performance by giving supporting staff and athletes at all levels the ability to understand how formatively and hardly they are working and it even bids a team environment, the ability to compare players.

Affordable and Reliable The sports industry has attracted many cloud solution providers over the years, and this makes for a competitive market in which it tough for new platforms to make their mark.

However, SPT has successfully overcome that hurdle by combining the latest technology with simplicity and affordability.

The company’s embraces three major characteristics to create its comprehensive platform: Powerful, Simple and Affordable.

Creating this simple solution at a costeffective price has allowed the company to thrive where others have failed.

Focusing on Everyday Customers Up till recently, it was very difficult for amateur athletes to measure their April 2018

“We believe that in order to create a path to where you want to go, you need to first understand where you are now.”

William Strange Founder & CEO

performance on the field. Cloud-based technology was available at the elite level but had not yet filtered down, due particularly to the high costs involved.

industry that William touches on is the difference between companies that want to own it all and those that want to partner.

In 2014, SPT founder and CEO, William Strange, developed a webbased device that could be worn in every league. It gave players access to an affordable platform that could monitor, track and manage physical output. Today, SPT has specially designed its products with GPS features to tackle outdoor contact sports.

He explains that a startup has two risk factors - of being ‘too-early’ or ‘toorisky’ - to stop the big globular from getting involved but that doesn’t stop inter-industry partnerships. Thus, SPT is currently working on developing such partnerships but the task is little hard-hitting as everyone is working on their own product in a fast moving cycle.

Integrated tools have been simplified so that coaches and individuals can easily understand speed, endurance, injury prevention, and training load.

William believes integration is a key but that it takes time.

When William is asked of the major challenges he faced in establishing SPT, he immediately responds that it was the major obstacle of finding the right talent. He explains, “As a startup, you can attract different types of talent.

Sometimes, the issue can be that people just want to work in a fastpaced, relaxed environment but the business may not have the funds to get the ‘best’ people.”

Another interesting challenge of the April 2018

believes that his daily interactions with customers have helped him to understand them and their needs.

Groundbreaking Future Hardware SPT recently released SPT2, which incorporates groundbreaking hardware.

The company aims to constantly update and evolve to offer its customers such futuristic products.

SPT is also planning to introduce more cost-effective options in the coming months, all of which will feature adaptable in-depth analysis options. It has ameliorated the sports industry since its inception and aims to march in towards some other exciting verticals.

Sales-Oriented Business, CustomerOriented Strategies William reveals, “I am a sales-oriented business leader.” His every decision is correlated to the primary questions ‘Will that make it easier for us to sell?’ and ‘Will it make for a better customer experience?’

He believes that by keeping your focus on the customer, you can understand why your competitors have adopted a particular approach, and that you can disrupt it by providing a better or simpler solution. He also firmly

45

TopSportsLab:

I

n recent years, professional sports teams have embraced various advanced metrics. These metrics are new ways of eyeing player statistics regarding his performance, injuries, and commitments. Such platforms also facilitates essential game analysis that further accelerates team management and selection processes. TopSportsLab is an online software application founded by two foremost sport industry experts, Jan van Winckel and Prof Dr Werner Helsen. The company optimizes player’s performance and even improves internal communication between team management pillars i.e. the technical, medical, sports science, and administrative staff. It allows secure and efficient entry, storage, sharing, processing and analysis of players’ data. Moreover, it delivers an adept software solutions, physical screenings, and consultancy, focusing on elite sport, and supporting the rollout of sports science strategies. The application enhances multi-disciplinary teamwork. It countenances medical, technical, strength and conditioning, fitness, physiotherapist and sports science staff to work together within one system.

An In-Depth Feature Tour TopSportsLab is an online application,

46

Empowering Sports Organizations to Achieve the Best from their Players

which you can log in anytime anywhere. The features offered by it are seamlessly integrated and bids a complete tailored solution for its users.

TopSportsLab sets a bar of agility very high as the services can be operated by the support staff within a day. The application offers 5 modules; these can be utilized stand-alone and as separate apps also. However, the solution accounts for maximum benefits when utilized as a package.

Coach admin Module: This module includes players’ information (address, telephone, school, school results, parents, passports, etc.), communications/email, appointments, calendar and bulletin boards, attendance etc.

Medical Module: It centralizes the medical information of team players including medical history and diagnoses. The features like rehabilitation programs and corresponding evaluations can improve interdisciplinary communication between the members of the medical staff. This module includes an algorithm providing an injury risk profile for each individual player. You now know where your player might get injured.

Training and Game Module: This module allows users to organize his/her periodization throughout the season, measure players’ attendance, collect training and game related statistics (goals, assists, minutes played, etc.).

One can even map selections, register substitutes, playing time, positions, cards, etc.

Testing and Screening Module: The module includes some 300 test protocols, keeps historical records of test results and allows to benchmark on a like-for-like basis i.e. per age group, position and competitive level. Screen your team on different physical, technical, and injury prevention parameters. The results are linked to the injury and performance prediction algorithms. It evaluates players and regulates necessary exercises on time.

Performance Management Module: This module continuously monitors players’ workload using eg. GPS trackers and HR systems while keeping a constant eye on enhanced performance, fatigue management, and injury prediction algorithm. You now know when a player might get injured.

Performance enhancement and Individualization: It continuously displays workload on individual April 2018

“We envision preventing injuries and optimizing playerʼs performance.”

Alexander Janssen CEO players and control physical periodization and training sessions accordingly.

Fatigue Management: The performance prediction algorithm gives an indication of the fitness and fatigue level of every player at any time. The fitness indicator notifies when a player is well recovered for a new overload training stimulus or warns you when a player is at risk to develop an overuse injury.

Injury Prediction Algorithm: This algorithm is an injury prediction and assessment tool that provides visual representation of injuries, allowing medical staffs to form more effective and personalized injury prevention strategies.

The Initial Struggle while Impelling the Conservative Industry TopSportsLab was an early bird in the sports industry. Initially, the company struggled to deliver a solution to relatively conservative sports like football. The buy-in from top teams has taken a couple of years as impelling the giants with software solution was a tough ask. The lifetime of an application is about 4-5 years.

The investments to develop an application are substantial. Hence, the April 2018

company gets limited economic payback time which was also an initial challenge in the industry with critical customer feedback. Today, the company has cradled past all the initial challenges and has been leading towards a double digit growth.

The Surplus Welfares Offered by the Platform Injuries not only cost you wins, they cost money. The injury prevention and prediction algorithms result in physically superior players.

TopSportsLab contributes sport clubs with unparalleled sustainability. It provides systems that last and underpin associate’s long-term strategies. The platform offers screening, training, and prevention regimes for youth teams which enhance performance and empowers academy to produce future elite players

environments. In parallel, they continuously support students with cutting-edge projects, for which TopSportsLab has been awarded several prestigious research grants.

The Prominent Economist Leading from the Front CEO of TopSportsLab, Alexander Janssen is an economist holding an MBA from ESCP Europe. For seventeen years, he was the CEO of Juran Institute, world’s leading consultant in the field of Quality Management. Alexander led Juran’s Oil and Gas Practice, who later became the global leader in the field of asset management, benchmarking with customers across 32 countries. In 2013, Alexander took a stake in TopSportsLab and has been leading the company with a great prominence ever since and hopes to do the same in the future. www.topsportslab.com

The founders of the company are distinguished academics who work with elite sports tournaments on a daily basis i.e. UEFA, Champions League football, National field hockey teams, etc. They will also play their role during the upcoming World Championship in Russia. They use, test and improve the application in their own competitive daily work

47

Light your Own way