CSCM understands that elite sports clubs, along with organizations who provide events and hospitality are complex businesses, none more complicated than those that entertain customers wanting to watch and dine at a Premier League Football Club.
Stadia, Academy buildings, warehouses, retail shops and training grounds all form part of a complicated infrastructure that makes up most elite sports clubs, just as at West Bromwich Albion Football Club.
As a company we recognise that in this sector it is important that the flow of information continues across all sites to ensure the smooth running of the organisation. There is no room for disruptions as this would have a negative impact on the experience their customers and visitors receive, affecting their reputation and client satisfaction levels. This applies to any business that operates in the hospitality sector.
Highly available Wi-Fi has become the norm, with customers expecting access to the internet from wherever they are within the venue. Also there is a high expectation to be able to present to attendees, popular venues are now able to provide wireless available screens and projectors which enable customers to communicate to a wider audience both present and virtual. Many venues take full advantage of their Wi-Fi using it to provide internal services such as tilling at table and some even track where their customers are within the building.
CSCM’s longstanding sporting client West Bromwich Albion Football Club understand that CSCM are well equipped to help transform their infrastructure as and when it’s required. Over the years the club and CSCM have adopted a partnership that assesses and continually improves the IT systems and infrastructure. This enables the club to cope with the demands of an ever evolving business.
Communication linking each of the sites has always been a top priority at the Club and using key partners like Virgin Media, Vodafone and BT, CSCM have created and continue to develop a complete external network linking the sites together, using Leased Lines, Les/Short Haul Circuits and complex VPN technology to ensure club systems are as secure as they can be. Internal communications are as equally important to ensure that communication around each site is available wherever a member of staff is located. Wireless and wired connections have always been considered during any upgrade, especially one which saw a complete 10 GB ring created around the main stadium arena ensuring that all stands and facilities were connected, as well as providing suitable redundancy should this ever be required.
General systems are also taken into consideration and communication tools such as email were moved to Microsoft 365 to give the organisation the security of knowing that wherever they were in the world access to email would still be available. This was also the case for a number of key applications and systems, where possible they were moved to an always on cloud based solution that gave availability to their systems 24/7. Key members of the team are also able to access systems from home, ensuring that at key points through the year the team are always connected and have access to the data and systems they need.
