Digital transformation, innovation and creativity at the service of sports management

According to Digital McKinsey, the most significant obstacle to achieving digital goals is the cultural and behavioral challenges of contemporary society

Sports Management
March 21, 2021
By JOAREZ FRANCO
Curitiba (PR)

An important question nowadays, for all those who are in charge of business or sports management, is to understand what the relevance of digital transformation really is. In this article, we will detail the benefits of digitization.

When we think about digital transformation, the first thing that comes to mind is going paperless. However, the benefits go far beyond that, such as having a highly available and accessible system, easily manageable and upgradeable with a centralized and highly reliable database.

With a vast portion of the workforce now remote, experience with technology has become the only way to work © Ivan Bandura

Benefits of digital transformation

When there is a need for a system or application, it can be developed to be installed and run on a personal computer or it can be hosted on the internet. From an accessibility standpoint, a web application has benefits over desktop applications due to its availability and no need for specific installation on a computer and/or laptop.

Consider a situation in which the directors of a particular sports organization are in another country or continent, following a worldwide competition and need to have access to federation data or information on affiliated black belts. With the web system, they can open the internet browser and access the data at any time. They can also obtain management reports, facilitating strategic planning, whether in the administrative area or in the technical area.

Another benefit that the system offers to the secretary department is to allow the management and updating of information in real time, without bureaucracy and the need to have a printed form. In a world championship, for example, affiliated members and/or black belts can approach the general director to register and update their information directly in the system.

Maintaining a centralized database ensures the information is secure, since the system contains layers of protection by encrypted user credentials and passwords and can only be accessed by authorized personnel. The infrastructure is equipped with daily backup routines that ensure reliability throughout the process.

In addition to the operational benefits described, the digital solution paves the way for new types of innovation and creativity for the team as well as introducing the concept of digital maturity to the organization. It changes the way the entity operates at different levels: systems, processes, workflow and culture.

All of this opens doors to the next opportunities, such as digital certifications, e-learning, championships management system and so on.

The digital solution paves the way for new types of innovation © Adeolu Eletu

Challenges of digital transformation

According to a 2016 Digital McKinsey survey, the most significant obstacle to achieving digital goals is cultural and behavioral challenges. It requires a mindset change to adapt to digital transformation. Organizations and entities can address cultural barriers by creating a workforce transition plan as part of the evolution process.

At the same time, people may not have the experience necessary to use new technologies. Technology may be straightforward, but people are not. Modern tools and software development processes allow for new workflows, which organizations need time to adapt and optimize results.

It is important to keep in mind that digital transformation is a long path of a continuous process; the key is to be inspired and stay motivated by its many opportunities for business evolution and, consequently, for success.

Sadiomar Santos, ITKF General Director with Joarez Franco

Digital transformation after covid-19

Today, with a vast portion of the workforce being remote, people experience of digital technology is no longer just desirable; it has become the only way to get the job done.

According to Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO:

“What we are witnessing is the dawn of a second wave of digital transformation sweeping every company and every industry. Digital capability is key to both resilience and growth. It is no longer enough to just adopt technology. Businesses need to build their own technology to compete and grow. ”

Organizations that have already realized this and are well prepared for this change will certainly have a great competitive advantage, and this is a no turning back point.

I would like to end this article by saying that it is a great honor to be part of the International Federation of Traditional Karate-Do and to be able to contribute in the area of Information Technology (IT) and thanking the ITKF board of directors for their trust in me, in order to offer digital solutions for the organization. This desire to contribute to karate-do using my professional skills is not new. I’ve been architecting this for some time, and when the covid-19 reached the whole planet, in early 2020, it was the ideal time to offer my contribution through digital transformation to an entity that aims at human development based on the teachings of the Master Hidetaka Nishiyama.

Joarez Evangelista Franco Júnior is computer engineer,
business analyst, black belt sho-dan and it advisor at
international traditional karate federation (ITKF).