Episode 14 - The Cloud in Sports

Cloud in Sports

Episode 14: Show Notes

We often hear about various ways the Cloud is applied, but what about sport? In this episode, we focus on sports and the public Cloud, a subject that Logan has investigated in detail. More specifically, we chat about how the various sports leagues leverage the Cloud for their data analytics platforms. We dive deep into the topic and learn how the Cloud is used to interact with the audience, the size and type of data being collected by leagues, a rundown of the various cloud-based tools being used in the space, and how the various data are being collected. We also discuss some of the challenges and controversies of sports leagues using data analytics, such as enhanced sports betting! Don't miss out on this episode to discover the fascinating and innovative applications of data analytics in sports!

Key Points From This Episode:

• A rundown of the sports leagues which are using cloud-based analytics.
• The trait that makes sports special: it is broadcast live.
• How the Cloud is being used by sports leagues to interact with the audience.
• Jon shares a practical example of data analytics in sports.
• An outline of the insight that data analytics provides to both athletes and audiences.
• We discuss the details of user-facing data and team-facing data.
• An example of team-facing data that can be beneficial to a league.
• We find out how much data is collected and used by sports leagues.
• The amount and arrangement of cameras operating during a typical baseball game.
• An interesting Google tool being used is explained: Anthos, a unified and controlled platform.
• Ways to enrich the data being collected by collecting supplementary data. 
• Highlights of the differences between the various sports and how data is collected.
• Some examples of how different sports leagues are using data analytics.
• How the ‘internet of things’ is being pushed into the space.
• The challenges in collecting performance data for contact sports.
• Logan tells us about a league that is using sensors and the internet in an interesting way.
• We talk about the potential that data analytics has to improve sports for audiences. 
• The controversial application of data analytics to sports betting is discussed.

Tweetables:

“This is a huge volume of data that they are collecting from every single game and every single team, across their leagues.” — Logan Gallagher [0:04:50]

“Aggregating all these data points into this one score is really fascinating and potentially can inform decision-making on the field.” — Logan Gallagher [0:15:29]

“All these analytics, all these data points could also lead to advanced forms of gambling.” — Logan Gallagher [0:23:27]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Wheelhouse

Anthos

Next Gen Stats NFL

Jon Gallagher on LinkedIn

Logan Gallagher on LinkedIn