From data to action: How AI is shaping the future of sport

• The right use of data is more valuable than any collection
• High-tech on the water: How data is revolutionizing sailing
• "Predictive maintenance for athletes": How data can prevent injuries
• Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt: Technology as a new business area
• SAP Garden as an immersive fan experience

December is traditionally the month of reckoning. The Swedish audio streamer once again presents a personalized potpourri of sound consumption. The top songs of the year, favorite artist, most popular podcast or minutes of music streamed throughout the year. Of course, fitness apps also generate personalized annual results: overall performance, fitness values, records - we are celebrated for our activities. Social media is flooded for days with the results of our friends and ourselves, we get music suggestions for the next year; we compare and compete with others in terms of sport. You can approve of this or not. The fact is, it's always about commitment.

It's not news that collecting data is a valuable asset. The implementation of search engines began in the early 1990s. Today, data determines our everyday lives. With the abstinence of our smart gadgets, the "digital detox", what once began as a blessing of convenience is now seen as a curse. But it doesn't have to be, because when used sensibly and efficiently, data can make our lives easier, inspire us and enrich us.

This is the quintessence that was also shared in numerous panel discussions at ISPO Munich. Especially when artificial intelligence (AI) becomes part of the analysis of the data madness.

However, in recent years in particular, an enormous amount of progress has been made. "That's where I see that AI, and generative AI in particular, is definitely a big help," says Tobias Matern, explaining this further development. With this in mind, more and more outdoor and fitness brands are relying on their own sales platforms. Getting to know and understand the community is extremely important. It is essential for many brands to no longer leave the online distribution of their own products to a few individual platforms. Creating their own ecosystems is becoming increasingly important. Products, entertainment, events, loyalty programs - all on one platform. This makes the data madness incredibly interesting. For sales and customers.

Nowadays, nothing works in top-class sport without big data. An example from sailing: Chief skipper Erik Heil and his strategy expert Anna Barth from Team SailGP Germany are taking the wind out of the sails of everyone who believed that sailing and watersports were all about a fast boat, wind and water. The professional sailors report at ISPO Munich that they integrate advanced high-tech equipment and data-driven methods to improve performance on the water. Over 1,000 data points per second are processed and analyzed to optimize strategies and make the right decisions in real time. Because in high-speed sailing at over 100 km/h across the sea, there is little time to make the right decision. It is therefore not surprising that former racing driver Sebastian Vettel is involved in international sailing racing as co-owner of Team Germany.

For the German technology and software company Kinexon Sports, making the right decision at the right time is part of its business model. Specializing in real-time data analysis, it is no longer just about improving athlete performance. "Predictive maintenance for athletes" - i.e. the preventive protection of an athlete due to predicted injury-related absence - is becoming increasingly important. This is extremely important for clubs in the NBA, American football and international professional soccer, as fit players are not only sporting insurance, but also the club's capital. It's good if the coaching staff can rely on evidence-based data to possibly rest a player or take them out of the game to prevent a possible and expected injury. After all, players generally always want to play if you ask them. However, the responsibility usually lies with the sports management.

The fact that more and more software companies are entering the sports industry was more evident than ever at ISPO Munich. In some areas, they are even emerging from the industry, and the sports tech sector is booming. EintrachtTech is one such example. Its CEO Timm Jäger explains how EintrachtTech came about:

Match center, news, fan store, tickets, Eintracht TV, worldwide contactless payment or even intelligent sponsor implementations - all in one place. Fans can use the app directly in the stadium to book their public transport ticket home, take out insurance or subscribe to a national daily newspaper. A data-driven success that also serves a strategic purpose. "In the Bundesliga, you always have to think about new sources of revenue. We saw an opportunity here in our technological expertise. That's why we took this step," explains Timm Jäger and makes no secret of the fact that EintrachtTech also wants to make in-house development attractive to other clubs.

Another in-house development is the SAP Garden APP, which the Finnish company Futurice developed for one of Europe's most modern sports arenas in Munich's Olympic Park. The transformation and consulting company pursues a holistic approach with "ecosystem thinking". The fact that the SAP Garden APP is now being used on a large scale in the sports industry for the first time demonstrates the desirability of this sector. The result is a standardized digital platform for games of EHC Red Bull Munich or FC Bayern Basketball. Futurice is pursuing a clear goal with the SAP Garden APP.

After just a few months, the SAP Garden APP is already an integral part of many people's visit.

"Mobile ticketing and MatchCenter are of course the most popular features. And after just a few months, 20 percent of food and drink orders are placed via mobile orders, which is a great development," says Timo Schubert, Head of IT at Red Bull Munich and SAP Garden, providing initial insights into the project. Simply order the arena sausage from your seat and pick it up at half-time - just one service that simplifies the experience at SAP Garden. But the potential of the arena as an IoT (Internet of Things) is only just beginning. The more visitor data is collected, the greater the possibilities. Loyalty programs are conceivable in which the fan can be seen on video cubes as part of the show, or players can send a "personalized birthday cheer" to the stands. These examples show that when data is used sensibly and turned into innovative ideas, not only organizers, clubs and players benefit in sport, but also fans. And they are ultimately the most important thing in sport. Because without fans, there are no emotions and data cannot replace them.