If you’re a football fan with Microsoft Dynamics skills, now could not be a better time to be in the industry. More and more football clubs are implementing Microsoft Dynamics to help them compete off the pitch as well as on it.
Identifying and managing talent
One of the top 10 Premier League clubs uses Dynamics CRM as a player database which includes contracts, bonus clauses and statistics such as number of yellow/red cards, goals, assists and appearances. They have a separate Dynamics CRM solution for scouting which collates reports and statistics from hundreds of scouts around the world, so that when the club needs a particular type of player they can drill down on those skills to decide where to look.
From changing room to boardroom
With clubs being run more as businesses than sporting institutions, they need sophisticated technology to support them. Stephen Kavanagh, the MD of Charlton Athletic acknowledges that: “we can’t just be a great football club: we need to be a great business as well”. Clubs are turning to super-sub Microsoft Dynamics to help them manage their business effectively and handle the uncertainty which comes with seasonal and performance-based fluctuations.
Hospitality (along with retail) is one of a club’s main revenue streams, and Dynamics CRM helps clubs manage the various aspects of this, like seats, food and beverages. Charlton Athletic for example, use both CRM and NAV in an integrated system which covers club membership, ticketing, merchandising, hospitality events and finance.
Microsoft Dynamics GP has also seen increased popularity, with clubs like Liverpool and Everton making use of its accounting and business management tools. Other clubs use Dynamics AX to pull together data from across the business and gain a clear high level view- including Real Madrid who brought together 70 separate IT systems using Dynamics AX.
Keeping the fans cheering
Football clubs don’t want to get caught offside with their fans: engaging with the supporters, making them feel part of a community and maintaining their loyalty is a top priority for many clubs and Microsoft Dynamics is helping them achieve this. Real Madrid for example, uses a combination of technologies including Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and Microsoft Social Engagement to store every interaction with a fan, including mobile check-ins at the stadium and data from Twitter to help them improve the fan experience.
One top 4 UK Premier League club are currently upgrading their system to Dynamics CRM 2015 to become more interactive with their global fanbase and provide the best customer service. This will include logging all call recordings on the CRM system so that complaints can be tracked and resolved quicker.
With the increased demand and adoption of this technology in the football industry, there are many Microsoft Dynamics AX and CRM job opportunities available. If you’d like to find out more about working at a football club or similar sporting-related organisation where Dynamics AX jobs and Dynamics CRM jobs are going, then get in touch with Cognitive Group:
Cognitive Group are specialists in Microsoft Dynamics recruitment with a focus on Microsoft Dynamics AX jobs, Microsoft Dynamics CRM jobs and other roles in the Microsoft Stack
