Empower the Venue of the Future With IoT
Determine how venue processes can improve with IoT.
- The business needs to move quickly to adopt new ways to collect and analyze data or automate processes. IoT may be the right answer, but it can be complex and create new challenges for IT teams.
- As venues become older, they start to fall behind in terms of digital experiences and infrastructure. This can cause negative fan journeys and siloed working groups rather than a holistic operational ecosystem.
- The digital experience economy has shifted fan needs and expectations where in-venue attendance has declined due to the lack of comfort and excitement a live event provides.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
IoT will close the gap between digital and physical worlds, increasing real business value and overall fan engagement through insightful data.
Impact and Result
- Familiarize the business with the various IoT applications available and the operating model needed after implementing IoT.
- Determine how the business can create value through the sports entertainment business capability map and how IoT can enhance, improve, or create value.
- Use a value chain analysis to determine opportunities for business through IoT.
Empower the Venue of the Future With IoT
Determine how venue processes can improve with IoT.
Analyst Perspective
Create high-value venue processes with IoT.
Internet of Things (IoT) has transformed many industries and the sports industry is no exception to this. The ability to improve scouting and recruitment, player development and safety, team and venue operations, and fan engagement through connected technology has allowed coaches, players, venue operators, and fans to consume sports and data at a high level of degree and depth making the operations and experience ten times more immersive.
As IoT drives growth in the sports and entertainment industry, it’s important to note that in order to remain competitive, the business must offer connected devices for enhanced experiences and engagement as fans and operators not only demand but expect it.
Understanding how IoT provides value to the business, learning what IoT applications currently exist, and analyzing the specific applications through a value chain analysis allows the business to create a holistic and high-value business case for IoT.
Elizabeth Silva
Research Analyst, Sports & Entertainment
Info-Tech Research Group
Executive Summary
| Your Challenge | Common Obstacles | Info-Tech’s Approach |
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The business needs to move quickly to adopt new ways to collect and analyze data or to automate processes. IoT is the right answer, but it can be complex and create new challenges for IT teams. As venues become older, they start to fall behind in terms of digital experiences and infrastructure. This can cause negative fan journeys and siloed working groups rather than a holistic operational ecosystem. The digital experience economy has shifted the needs and expectations of fans. In-venue attendance has declined due to the lack of comfort and excitement a live event provides. |
IT is typically not a strategic partner from the beginning and is often brought in by the business when the solution is ready to go live. IT and the business should be engaging from the beginning to better understand how IoT can benefit the business. When IT isn’t involved early there are often challenges around scope, timelines, and benefits. IT needs integrations, communications, and access to data to avoid a siloed approach with ineffective data. Older venues may not have the ability to support certain IoT applications due to infrastructure limitations which may end up in costly maintenance or failure. |
Familiarize the business with the various IoT applications available to improve the game and business. Become well versed in the operating model and organizational structure needed before and after implementing an IoT application. Determine how the business can create value through the sports entertainment business capability map and how IoT can enhance, improve, or create value. Use a value chain analysis to determine opportunities for the business through IoT. |
Info-Tech Insight
Through insightful data, IoT will close the gap between digital and physical worlds, increasing real business value and overall fan engagement.
Industry 4.0 is only the beginning of a complete digital ecosystem
We are amid the fourth Industrial Revolution, where the emergence of technologies like IoT, artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), and 5G are increasingly blurring the boundaries between physical and digital worlds, transforming the way in which we operate business and attract, entertain, and engage fans.
| Technological evolution | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mass media interests millions of people in attending, consuming, and participating in sports for the first time. | Live Sporting Events | Radio/TV Broadcasting | VR, AR, MR | AI/ML | 5G | Smart venues (IoT) | Connected ecosystems creating a complete digital ecosystem. |
| The First Age 3,000 years ago |
The Second Age 1,500 years ago |
The Third Age The Present |
The Fourth Age The Future |
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| Sports were only used for recreational and community involvement purposes. | Culture develops a passion for sports globally. | Companies start to charge money for access to sports-related products. | Popularity of amateur and professional sports grows. | Digital disruption restructures how sports are enjoyed. | Sports are consumed, discovered, and monetized through different technologies. | Sports are packaged, distributed, and consumed differently, creating new business models. | Sports will embrace virtualized processes, creating integrated value chains of physical and digital. |
Socio-economic changes
Short-range internet of things (IoT) devices reached 12.5 billion worldwide in 2021. That number is forecasted to increase to 22.4 billion by 2027.
Wide-area IoT devices reached 2.1 billion in 2021 and are predicted to reach 5.2 billion by 2027.
(Number of wide-area and short-range IoT devices worldwide from 2014 to 2027, Statista, 2022).
Source: Huddle Up, 2020; Statista, Dec. 2022.
IoT effects all processes of the sports and entertainment business
Global IoT connected devices are forecasted to surpass $31 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% between 2022 to 2025.
Source: Statista, Dec. 2022.
Various components are necessary to develop a holistic IoT architecture
Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects embedded with sensors or actuators, software, and other technologies to connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the internet (DevOps School, 2020).
Security and Management
Integration Layer
Device Layer
A sensor collects data and routes to a control center. Examples of a sensor can be temperature or light sensors and product specific data.
Actuator
An actuator is controlled by instructions from the control center in response to the sensed input. Examples of an actuator can be lights, valves, and motors.
Sensors and actuators make up the device layer of IoT.
To ensure there is enough security and management to protect the valuable data collected, the security and management layer connects across all layers.
Network Layer
Wireless Communication Protocols
- Wi-Fi
- 5G
- Satellite
- RF (radio frequency)
- RFID
- Bluetooth or BLE (low energy)
- NFC (near-field communication)
- AMQP (advanced message queuing protocol)
- CoAP (constrained application protocol)
- DSS (data distribution service)
- LoRa, LoRaWAN & Sigfox (long range non cellular wireless tech)
- LWM2M (lightweight M2M)
- MQTT (message queuing telemetry transport)
- XMPP (extensible messaging and presence protocol)
- Zigbee (mesh, short range, and low power protocol)
- Z-Wave (wireless mesh, low power RF)
Consists of network devices and communication types, and protocols such as Wi-Fi, 5G, and Bluetooth.
Data Layer
Database Management System
This is where data is analyzed and pre-processed before sending it to the analytics and visualization layer through the database management system.
Analytics and Visualization Layer
The analysis, visualization, and perception of the data captured through the device layer.
All IoT applications integrate to deliver actionable insights the business can deliver on.
Source: DevOps School, 2020; 6 IoT Architecture Layers…, TechTarget, 2022; Top 12 Most Commonly Used IoT…,TechTarget, 2022.
IoT will enable venues of the future and drive business growth
In the sports and entertainment industry, IoT impacts the entire value stream. IoT allows players, coaches, business stakeholders, and fans to analyze and experience the game and business through multiple devices at a high level of degree and depth due to the data being collected and shared.
Sports and entertainment value stream:
| Scouting & Recruitment |
Player Development & Safety | Team/Venue Operations |
Fan Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-game strategy can improve by object detection and tracking to determine personalized coaching programs, player selection, and positioning based on skills, tracking game analytics, and stats. | Smart apparel and equipment track athlete development, health, and safety by measuring heart rate, fatigue level, and metabolic rate to detect injuries, predict fitness recovery, and assess which skills to improve on. | Increase venue efficiency through facility management IoT to monitor energy usage, building performance, surveillance, etc. improve sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) of the venue. | Smart stadiums create improved fan experiences and engagement by developing hyper-personalized offerings through premium services such as wayfinding, immersive digital signage, game replays, vision recognition, social media interactions, and loyalty program integrations. |
Download the Sports & Entertainment Reference Architecture to Learn More
The opportunities IoT will bring the industry are limitless and becoming standard
IoT opportunities connect and impact each process of the value stream, whether it is the entire value stream or select processes.
57% of organizations have currently implemented or planned to use IoT within North America and Europe in 2023.
(Adoption of information technology (IT) trends, current and planned, in organizations in North America and Europe for 2023, Statista, 2022).
IoT smart waste management tools make waste management more efficient and sustainable and are projected to reach a value of US$927.82 million in 2027.
(Smart waste management market size in the United States in 2021, with a forecast until 2027, Statista, 2022).
In 2021, the connected gym equipment market in the Asia-Pacific region was valued at around US$121.78 million. Estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.2%, the region's market was projected to reach around US$814.69 million in 2028.
(Connected gym equipment market size in the Asia-Pacific region in 2021 with a forecast for 2028, Statista, 2022).
Compelling IoT applications to innovate the game
Implementing IoT technology for athlete development and safety will allow the team to accurately analyze player statistics and use data-driven feedback to improve athlete recruitment and performance, enhancing the overall game.
| Sport Categories | IoT Applications | Data Measured | Advantages | Impacted Value Streams | Vendors |
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Varies per device |
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Smart equipment:
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Note: Some vendors may offer products in multiple categories.
Source: Intuz, 2022; Volansys, 2020; ImpacX, n.d.; Eastern Peak, 2022.
Cutting-edge IoT applications for the sports and entertainment business
The sports and entertainment industry must offer IoT technologies to remain competitive, meet business needs, and fan expectations, resulting in premium experiences and higher engagement.
| Business processes | IoT Applications | Data Measured | Advantages | Impacted Value Streams | Vendors |
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| Facility management |
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| Fan engagement |
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Note: some vendors may offer products in multiple categories.
Source: Intuz, 2022; Volansys, 2020.
IoT requires the right infrastructure and operational readiness to be effective
| Infrastructure Requirements | Operational Readiness | Privacy & Risk | Data Governance & Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
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A modernized architecture will provide needed flexibility for onboarding new IoT solutions as well as provide the structure to collect, transport, and house data; however, not everything will be on the network. Knowing requirements for integrations, communications, and support will eliminate surprises during implementation. Items to investigate are:
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Availability and capacity planning, business continuity planning, and management of all operational and support requirements will need to be put in place. Execution of controls, maintenance plans, and operational support will be required to mitigate risks and reduce solution value. One of the biggest challenges organizations have already faced is management of the IoT systems. Without an accurate inventory, it’s impossible to know how secure the IoT systems are. Abandoned sensors, stolen cameras, and old and unpatched firmware all contribute to security risks. | The increased data collectors and actuators creates a large attack surface that could easily provide an entry point for hackers to connect into an organization’s network. Assess existing protocols and risk registry to ensure all IoT systems are reviewed for security threats. Data aggregation creates new privacy concerns as data may be used outside of the original project parameters. The change of scope will need to be evaluated to determine personally identifiable information and what new issues it can create for the program, organization, and your audience. | IoT provides the ability to quickly collect large amounts of data and act. When determining the use case for IoT and best fit solutions, it’s important to think about what data needs to be collected and what actions will need to be coordinated. As the need surfaces for more than just a few IoT solutions, the complexity and potential usefulness of data increases. This can lead to significant changes to the scope of data collection, storage, and analysis and unintended consequences of unique anonymous identifiers combing to identify employees or fans. The potential for privacy breeches will need to be evaluated as all new systems come on-line. |
Download the IoT Strategy to Learn More
Info-Tech Insight
Determine the best time and methods for consolidation and normalization of data; consider using data consolidation vendors if the expertise is not available in-house.
The operating model for IoT requires cross-collaboration
An operating model is a visual depiction of how you will execute on a given strategy, project, or initiative. This showcases the departments, capabilities, and processes required in implementing and operating an IoT application.
| Departments Involved (A) Accountable (R) Responsible |
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| IoT Integration | |||||||
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| Value Stream | Demand opportunity | Engage | Design | Obtain/build/update | Transition | Deliver & support | Service/value to fan |
| Processes Required |
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| Change & release management | |||||||
| Manage risk | |||||||
| Stakeholder: Fan | |||||||
Note: this is a high-level and generic operating model. This will vary per organization.
To effectively implement IoT, transformation of the organizational structure is necessary
With smart technology such as IoT, the traditional organizational structure within IT begins to break down as collaboration between different departments is necessary. IT, operations, sales, and service end up overlapping when IoT is introduced to a business.
Additionally, the need to govern new data and manage new relationships between departments may require new departments or roles such as a data and analytics department and business relationship manager (BRM).
To the right of this slide describes a transformed organizational structure for an IoT application.
Source: Bosch IoT Lab, n.d; MIT Sloan Management Review, 2016; Harvard Business Review, 2015.
1.1 Business capability assessment
- In business architecture, the primary view of an organization is known as a business capability map, which is made up of business capabilities and value chains.
- A business capability defines what a business does to enable value creation, rather than how.
- A value chain is a high-level analysis of how the industry creates value for the consumer as an overall end-to-end process.
- A business capability map provides details that help the business architecture practitioner direct attention to a specific area of the business for further assessment.
- On the next slide, highlight the capabilities and processes that will be impacted by the IoT applications and products the business is considering to implement. This will allow the organization to better understand how IoT will influence the organization.
| Input | Output |
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| Materials | Participants |
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Download the Sports Entertainment Industry Business Reference Architecture to Learn More
Business capability assessment
Templated worksheet
Note: depending on the organization, the business capability map may need to be adjusted to reflect the business properly.
Value chain analysis for frictionless checkout
Illustrative Example
Frictionless checkout technology impacts many business capabilities and value chains within sports entertainment, but the most critical value chains impacted by this technology are service strategy and planning and marketing management. Frictionless checkout technology can improve most of the capabilities within these value chains, highly impacting promotions and incentives as well as the fan experience. These processes are challenging to successfully create but can have a high financial impact on the business.
| Greatest Risks | Complexity | Key Benefits | Digital Opportunity | Financial Revenue Highly Impacted |
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1.2 Value chain analysis
- The first step of delivering value is defining how it will happen through analyzing the considered application. Use the organization’s industry context to start a discussion on how value is created for stakeholders (internal or external - such as fans). Working back from the moment value is realized by the stakeholder, consider the sequential steps required to deliver value in the business and industry.
- Identify value streams, chains, and stakeholders that are associated with analyzing the IoT application. Typically, the stakeholders are those who benefit from the value chain.
- Once the key value chains have been identified within each value stream element, evaluate the individual business capabilities within the value chain and identify areas for transformation.
- Evaluate the capabilities based on:
- The level of pain or risk experienced by a stakeholder to accomplish that process or capability.
- The financial impact the process or capability has on the organization.
- Capabilities that pose both a high level of pain or risk and financial impact should be prioritized for transformation.
- Further analyze the prioritized capabilities for transformation by determining the greatest risks, complexity, key benefits, dependencies, and financial revenue impacted by the IoT application. This should address how the IoT application will improve the value chain and its transformation.
Tip: duplicate slide 16 to create more templates for value chain analyses.
| Input | Output |
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Info-Tech Insight
To produce maximum gains, focus on IoT applications that impact value streams, which provide two-thirds of your enterprise value.
Value chain analysis
Templated worksheet
Strategize analyzed use cases with Info-Tech tools
| 1 | Define Your Digital Business Strategy Having a digital business strategy in place before an IoT strategy is critical to confidently achieving success. |
Go to this Blueprint |
| 2 | Create and Implement an IoT Strategy Create a steering committee and a playbook to quickly assess IoT ideas to determine the best way to support these ideas. Test them in proof of concepts, when appropriate, and give the business the confidence they need to get the right solution for the job. |
Go to this Blueprint |
| 3 | Reduce Time to Consensus With an Accelerated Business Case Creating a business case to receive consensus and buy-in from business executives is a challenge the IT department must overcome in order to begin the IoT transformation process. |
Go to this Blueprint |
| 4 | Build a Business-Aligned IT Strategy Align with the business by creating an IT strategy that documents the business context, key initiatives, and a strategic roadmap to drive technology innovation. |
Go to this Blueprint |
| 5 | Discover High-Value Fan Experiences Trend Report With the insights provided in this Sports Entertainment Strategic Foresight Trend Report, making sound decisions about which technologies can provide a competitive edge and generate revenue for those in the sports entertainment industry is possible. |
Go to this Blueprint |
| 6 | Accelerate Through Digital Fan Engagement Reduce the amount of time and effort it may take for your organization to create a digital fan engagement strategy from scratch. |
Go to this Blueprint |
| 7 | Enable Dynamic Visual Experiences With Digital Signage and IPTV Determine how the business can create value through the sports entertainment business capability map and how digital signage and internet protocol television (IPTV) can enhance, improve, or create value as a potential IoT project. |
Go to this Blueprint |
| 8 | Drive Fan Experiences and Journeys With Frictionless Checkout Determine how your business can create value through the sports entertainment business capability map and how a frictionless checkout platform can enhance, improve, or create value as a potential IoT project. |
Go to this Blueprint |
Research contributors and experts
Jonathan Tan
Managing Director
UnaBiz Network & Solutions, Singapore
Brittany Lutes
Research Director – Organizational Transformation
Info-Tech Research Group
Rajesh Parab
Director, Research & Advisory – Data & Analytics Practice
Info-Tech Research Group
Bibliography
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- Jonathan Tan, Managing Director, UnaBiz Network & Solutions, Singapore
- Brittany Lutes, Research Director, Organizational Transformation, Info-Tech Research Group