special feature
AI and the Future of Business [1]
Machine learning, task automation and robotics are already widely used in business. These and other AI technologies are about to multiply, and we look at how organizations can best take advantage of them.
While spectators eat strawberries and players hit shots, a dedicated team of IT professionals work behind the scenes at Wimbledon to ensure the technology that underlies the world-famous tennis tournament is a cross-court winner.
Simon Boyden, chief architect for IBM at Wimbledon, took ZDNet on a behind-the-scenes 'bunker tour' of the technology in play during The Championships. Housed in Wimbledon's media centre, the bunker is home for two weeks to a group of IBM data and infrastructure specialists who deliver IT operations and digital platforms.
In the operations room professionals monitor banks of screens to confirm systems are running effectively. "Generally, the work that takes place in here is all about data," says Boyden. "The core of our operation is statistics."
The operations centre receives a constant drip feed of data from 48 up-and-coming tennis players who sit court-side and record details from matches, such as serves, returns and points in a rally. IBM uses club-standard players to record data as they understand subtle nuances in the game, such as the difference between a forced and unforced error.
SEE: Sensor'd enterprise: IoT, ML, and big data (ZDNet special report) | Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic)[3][4]
This electronic system helps IBM capture about four and a half million data