Unified Communications in Basketball
(SPORTS TECHNOLOGY)
If you’ve been following basketball as much as I have, you probably recognize the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. If you follow basketball more than I do (which isn’t hard), you probably know the first thing about either of them, since my knowledge doesn’t go past their existence.
But I can still share a little, since both teams’ IT execs have decided to pick up Unified Communications (News - Alert).
When the two teams were due to go head to head on November 28, their senior technology managers had UC decisions to make. The Celtics’ VP of technology prefers a hybrid approach, using both hosted UC services and physical devices, while the senior director of IT for the Nets opted for an all-hosted solution.
This nicely reflects the technology moves being made by CIOs and technology executives across a range of businesses, showing just how applicable UC can be.
Hosted services have been seeing a boost, thanks to Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) vendors offering more services for less money. Still, many prefer hybrid solutions in order to maintain more control, and so that there’s a secondary source in case one should fail.
Lakers vs. Celtics in an NBA Final. Image via Shutterstock
For the Nets, at least, the hosted solution was desirable thanks to its fast installation, mobile capabilities and remote management. When the new Nets facility opened in Brooklyn, they needed a system that could be deployed quickly, and they got just that.
I’m not going to make the obvious joke of describing this as a “slam dunk” for Unified Communications. I won’t…and you can’t make me. Regardless, this was still a good decision for both the Celtics and Nets.
It may not help the players on the court, but it’ll help them when getting there, and to make sure the locations are securely connected and working.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida. Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.
Edited by Braden Becker
