The Wimbledon Web site — A Great Service
Draws to be held Live On-Line
N/A (March 13, 2011) – Created and operated by IBM on behalf of the Club, this is the fourth year the Club has published its Championships Web site. This year, for the first time, the draw for the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ singles events will take place live on the Wimbledon Web site on Tuesday, 16 June at 10.30am. A live audio feed, supplied and managed by IBM, will broadcast the event as it takes place, and the draw will be published in its entirety as soon as it is officially completed. With pictures, live match commentary and all the latest information from the world’s premier tennis championships, the site has earned its reputation as one of the sport’s best Web sites. In recognition, the site has been awarded the IBM e-business mark – only the second site in the UK to receive the commendation. Last year the site attracted more than 60 million ‘hits’ – a 450 per cent increase on the year before – and it’s expected to double again this year.
This year the Club has added even more features to the site including:
Live, up-to-the-minute point-by-point scoreboards during play.
Live broadcasts of Radio Wimbledon, the official special event radio station of the Championships, which includes commentary from BBC Radio 5 Live.
Live NetCam, a video feed from Centre and No 1 Courts and four other show courts.
A live interactive camera on Centre Court, and on top of the Broadcast Centre.
Panoramic views of Centre Court and No 1 Court as well as of the Grounds.
Daily previews, news and reviews of play from top journalists such as Ian Barnes, formerly of the Daily Express, and Sandra Harwitt.
Audio interviews and post match interview transcripts.
Video clips on demand of player interviews.
Up-to-the-minute information about competitors, the Draws, and results.
Comprehensive information about The All England Club and The Championships, including ticket and transport information.
Thanks to an electronic store fitted with IBM’s Net.Commerce technology for secure shopping, millions of fans unable to attend The Championships in person will be able to choose from a selection of official Wimbledon merchandise from the comfort of their own PC.
Chris Gorringe, Chief Executive of the All England Club comments: “We have always tried to make The Championships as accessible as possible and our Wimbledon Internet site is a further example of our commitment to this policy. It has proved extremely popular since its introduction in 1995 and now, using state-of-the-art technology to provide a host of new features, we are expecting this year’s site to attract even greater numbers.”
“Over the last four years the Wimbledon web site has developed from a one-dimensional on-line brochure into an interactive site complete with live results, on-line shop and full match commentary,” said John Taylor, Wimbledon Tennis Projects Director for IBM. “It’s a perfect example of how IBM’s e-business solutions are helping the Club meet the needs of everyone who’s interested in Wimbledon, but unable to attend in person.”
Last year, thousands of quality items such as Wimbledon towels, polo shirts and posters were purchased by tennis fans all over the world. This year the selection is even wider and includes:
Silk ties
Shoulder bags
Racket Back Packs
Official posters
Wimbledon Annual
Final Programme
Official Videos
“The products sold on the Internet will also be featured in a new Wimbledon Direct Mail brochure which is sent to tennis enthusiasts, offering them the same terms and conditions and method of distribution as those sold on-line,” says Rob McCowen, Marketing Director of the All England Club. “We welcome our close relationship with IBM who have been instrumental in showing Wimbledon the potential of electronic business and is helping us with project management of the Wimbledon shop on the Web.”
e-business
IBM believes e-business is about doing business on the Internet – and changing the way people conduct business. By combining the reach of the Web with the vast resources of traditional information technology, companies around the world are shifting their business activities to the Net – attracting new customers and generating new revenue in the process.
In effect, the technologies employed at Wimbledon showcase IBM’s e-business solutions, the type of solutions that are seen in thousands of companies and organisations around the world. Private networks and intranets provide information on demand to different users. The Web site is used to display information about that organisation and is also used to sell goods and services.
The result is that IBM’s e-business solutions help improve customer service, reduce cycle times, get more results from limited resources and actually sell products and services. e-business brings together customers, vendors, suppliers and employees in a way never before possible. In short, e-business efficiently connects valuable information to the people who need it most.
Source: IBM