28/09-10   -   Press releases

London Irish aims to outscore with IBM® Business Analytics

- Greater insight to performance data designed to improve competitive edge-

IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced that one of the UK’s elite professional rugby clubs, London Irish, has selected IBM Business Analytics to develop a ground breaking new system to significantly advance the Club’s analysis of training and on-field performance.

IBM London Irish Business Analytics Case Study

The innovative technology will be a first for professional rugby in the UK and will provide London Irish with faster access to more comprehensive performance data at both individual player and squad levels.
The system will consolidate the extensive amount of performance data collected by the coaching team including match day, training, GPS, which measures player exertion levels and strength & conditioning. Through the creation of improved and bespoke reporting the coaches will be able to quickly identify more detailed performance trends and potential areas of improvement. This insight will be used to maximise the team’s effectiveness on pitch through enhanced training plans and aid short-term and long-term player development and squad management.

The aim being that the increased speed and accuracy of the insight provided by the new analytics software coupled with the ongoing analysis of opponents will help to give the club a significant edge and ultimately boost match day performance.

Toby Booth, London Irish Head Coach said: “Performance analysis is vital for success. In order to push our programme forward and be the best we must constantly find ways to advance player and squad development. The IBM business analytics system is cutting edge and will enable us to keep our finger even more on the pulse; the ability to drill down into our data even further means we can view performance trends in a higher level of detail, develop enhanced training schedules and importantly focus our efforts even more effectively on the pitch.
Chris Miles, London Irish Business Development Director added: “Through our partnership with IBM we are investing in and building a bespoke analytics system to meet the specific requirements of the London Irish coaching team. Rather than purchase an off-the-shelf package, we wanted a partner who could tailor a system to our requirements and minimise changes to the data collection processes already established at the club. IBM was the only partner with the ability to do this."
With the arrival of the new CEO, Andy Martin, in 2009, the club is now in a new and ambitious era with plans for expansion which will include new training facilities, ticket and merchandise sales. An important goal is to improve the quality of the club´s management information system and provide player and match performance statistics on the club website so fans and members can follow their team´s progress. IBM business analytics is an obvious solution to address that goal and London Irish is currently planning for this as a second stage in the IBM business analytics implementation.
“Today´s announcement is part of IBM´s ongoing focus on helping clients from all industry sectors use their information as a strategic asset," said Steve Dunnigan, Business Analytics Unit Executive, IBM. “London Irish has demonstrated their commitment to improving their competitive edge by teaming with IBM."

IBM has invested more than $11 billion to build an analytics portfolio which includes more than 20 acquisitions. In addition, IBM has assembled 6,000 analytics consultants with industry expertise, and opened a network of seven analytics centres of excellence.

IBM Business Analytics is powered by IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence.
For more information about London Irish, visit: http://www.london-irish.com/
For more information about IBM, visit: www.ibm.com/software/uk/data/cognos/