What Defines Optimal Product Integration in a Sports Organisation's Digital Ecosystem?
Understanding and implementing the ‘know-how’ of Integrating new technologies into existing product ecosystems is part of our journey at LaSource. Our expertise within this field originates from delivering multiple projects for sports organisations way before the inception of our agency. Managing product enhancement and development projects for our clients has enabled us to incorporate this service as a core value proposition at LaSource. We firmly believe that integrating the right products and technologies within an existing tech stack ecosystem can considerably accelerate business transformation and improve various business processes. However, product integration is easier said than done, and more often than not, the absence of a sound strategy makes unavoidable obstacles harder to overcome.
In an ideal world, an organisation would not want to differentiate between its “want” and “need” to integrate a product - and initial results would be fast to achieve with a measurable ROI. Unfortunately, multiple factors need to be considered, from growing and improving the platform to monitoring it and constantly enhancing its value proposition. Starting with a clear vision, evaluating your existing resources, and working closely with your provider, this article will guide you through some of our key considerations for integrating a product within your digital ecosystem.
Optimal Product Integration
Aligning Vision with Present Capabilities
For sports organisations, the initial need for a new technology or product stems from meeting a specific business requirement or to optimise certain operations. This is a significant first step in showcasing an innovative and evolutionary mindset. However, this pragmatic approach may differ from the internal execution capabilities. Taking stock of your resources (financial, human and other resources that could be relevant) and ensuring that different business units that stand to indirectly or directly benefit from this integration are of a uniform opinion regarding it will enable a more realistic outlook for choosing the right provider.
At any time along this journey, an organisation may notice that the product or technology does not address all its needs. Being flexible and agile in these situations is of paramount importance. Not every provider will tick all the boxes; even if one does, it might be through custom developments or ad-ons that exceed their existing budget for the project. In such situations, it becomes crucial for sports organisations to prioritise their needs and wants. Identifying which requirements and risks are related to any initiative is key.
Streamlining Operations: Your Team, Resources, and Supplier Dynamics
You have selected a technology provider and understood its capabilities. That’s a great first step. Following this, the key would be to chalk out essential milestones along the integration journey (considering your vision). Establishing a clear project management plan would enable you to assign ownership of different phases internally along the integration roadmap to ensure progress.
Apart from the internal organisation of resources and staff, you will conduct as part of the plan, it is essential to evaluate which features are sense-making to integrate as a first step. Remember, budget constraints and a long-term strategy do not mean one cannot achieve short-term positive results. On the other hand, anticipating complex features you will need along the journey across different integration phases will allow enough time for development and implementation.
In most cases, tech providers have ‘off-the-shelf’ features that can be integrated easily and quickly within an ecosystem. It would be wise to prioritise them in the fundamental stages as they would, in all probability, require less dependence on human resources and showcase swift first results, increasing your belief in the project and the custom integrations that would follow!
Long-Term Vision: Short-term Results
We’ve already mentioned how product integration is a journey that can be lengthy at times. But we cannot stress enough the importance of being pragmatic, resulting in ‘quick wins’. At LaSource, we realise the importance of these quick wins. At first, they would showcase progress and prove to be a source of motivation for you to continue on the trajectory that you have embarked on. Secondly, these wins would enable you to test, learn, and deploy your products at the nascent stages of integration. Bringing your customers on board and assessing their feedback will provide a realistic outlook of the functionality of your product, allowing you to scope the room for improvement and act as proof that the steps you are taking align with your vision.
Not everything will be rosy and smooth. After all, we do not live in an ideal world. You will undoubtedly have to make certain adjustments because of certain shortcomings within the product, lack of optimal resources and fluctuating market trends. In such moments, quick, short-term wins would reassure your faith in the project, evaluate how you can scale further, and open the way to evolve your strategies based on recently emerged factors you may not have considered.
Your Provider is a Partner
While the journey ahead may appear daunting, with its length, tedium, and occasional confusion tempting you to abandon the project, it's crucial to recognise that your tech provider is a steadfast ally. Maintaining an open and transparent dialogue with your provider regarding your long-term aspirations and immediate objectives fosters a collaborative environment, enhancing the overall process. Given their unparalleled understanding of their products, trusting in their advice, expertise, and experience enables you to reach new heights. Whether it's defining the roadmap, aligning evolving goals and expectations, assessing solution behaviour, or conceptualising innovative ideas, your provider remains a reliable partner. Regular and synchronised discussions, tailored to your needs and requirements, ensure smooth progress and effective problem-solving.
Conclusion
To summarise, sports organisations must adopt a global perspective when integrating a new product, considering strategy, resources, and financial capabilities to select the most suitable provider. Transparency from the provider is crucial, ensuring a pragmatic sharing of solution capabilities for effective collaboration and early success. Both parties need a systematic approach to anticipate challenges and constraints. While not all integrations succeed, having opt-out or project realignment mechanisms is essential.
Establishing and managing digital ecosystems presents complex challenges, but companies cannot afford to avoid this effort. Those who embrace it can derive maximum value and gain a competitive edge by adapting to changing sports business landscapes.
At LaSource, we help startups and sports organisations work closely together through our expertise and different services. As we believe in the value creation of new technologies, we aim to create an environment in which the most promising startups effectively collaborate with sports organisations to drive significant value and unlock the potential of their business. If you want to know more about what we do with the most exciting sports organisations in the world, feel free to drop us a line here. And if you are curious about our services, you can click below.
LaSource is a sports consulting agency working closely with startups, sports tech companies, and sports and media organisations to create and implement business strategies that accelerate growth and shape the future of the Sports industry.