Arthur Goldstuck | CEO | World Wide Worx | Editor-in-Chief | Gadget.co.za | mail me |
While Bafana Bafana lost the opening game against Mexico, Lenovo’s technology underpinning the event was a big winner. The opening match of the World Cup did not go South Africa’s way.
As always, we lived in hope. Then we resigned ourselves to the inevitable. However, the one thing that worked seamlessly and proved to be a winner for fans of both Mexico and Bafana Bafana was the technology underpinning the tournament. It became the World Cup’s indirect win for technology.
Technology behind every experience
Having had the unique privilege of attending the match, I was surprised to see the ambitious ticketing strategy work without a hitch. Tickets were available only as QR codes through a mobile app a few hours before the game. Supporters scanned them at the entrance gates.
Given the scale of the event, the variety of devices in supporters’ hands, and the sheer volume of people converging on the stadium, I expected queues and confusion. The Estadio Azteca welcomed 88,824 people. Instead, tens of thousands of fans streamed through the gates with remarkable ease.
Behind the scenes, a complex network of systems supported crowd security, analytics and fan engagement. Football’s biggest tournament had also become one of the world’s biggest technology showcases, even though most supporters remained unaware of it.
South Africa’s growing importance
This year’s World Cup carries an additional dimension. It is the first tournament under Lenovo’s stewardship as FIFA’s official technology partner. For many people, Lenovo is simply a laptop manufacturer. However, its role at the World Cup demonstrates how far the company has evolved from that perception.
We’ve evolved from being just a PC company. We are now a solutions-led company, wrapped around services.
– Yugen Naidoo, Lenovo’s General Manager for Southern Africa
That transformation helps explain why South Africa has become increasingly important within Lenovo’s global operations.
We see enormous growth opportunities in South Africa. There is no doubt that the Middle East and Africa region is becoming increasingly important to Lenovo. Our Southern African operation achieved 20% year-on-year growth in PCs, 20% growth in infrastructure solutions, and 33% growth in services during the previous year. Services penetration has also reached almost 11%. That is currently the highest level in Lenovo’s Middle East and Africa region.
– Fiona O’Brien, Vice-President for Sales Transformation and Enablement in Lenovo’s International Markets
The above numbers tell only part of the story. The biggest transformation has been transforming our programmes, people and skills. Many of our people previously sold PCs. Today, we call them International Sales Organisation sellers because they provide complete solutions to customers and partners.
From products to problem-solving
That change reflects a broader movement across the technology sector. Selling products has become the easy part. Solving business problems is where companies increasingly create value. That broader shift also represents the World Cup’s indirect win for technology, as innovation increasingly takes centre stage.
The Southern Africa team has led some really interesting customer engagements that have produced tangible outcomes. Those are exactly the kinds of stories I’ll take back and use to challenge teams in other countries.
The observation says a great deal about how global technology companies now view the region. Africa has traditionally served as a destination for products and services developed elsewhere. Increasingly, it is also becoming a source of ideas and practical use cases. At the same time, modern technology deployments depend on global partnerships and collaboration across disciplines. The same principle applies at the World Cup.
Bringing AI use cases in sport to life
I saw a ticket on a phone. My colleagues in broadcasting saw video feeds. Referees relied on decision-support systems. Coaches? Who knows what they saw, considering their unusual tactics. However, we do know they have instant access to an enormous depth of performance data.
Beneath those experiences, a vast technology infrastructure connects devices, applications, networks and data centres.
We’re working closely with FIFA to bring AI use cases in SPORTS to life. Internally, we’re exploring digital assistants, configuration AI, natural language processing and AI-assisted tender responses.
The company follows a simple philosophy. It uses the technology internally before recommending it to customers.
In conclusion
If Lenovo and its sales organisation want to partner with customers on their AI journey, there is a need to live that experience themselves. Technology manufacturers need first-hand experience of what works and what doesn’t.
It is especially exciting because this is the first AI-powered World Cup. We’re making history, and we’re part of that history.
Whether measured through seamless ticketing, AI-enabled operations, or connected infrastructure, the World Cup’s indirect win for technology may ultimately prove just as significant as the action on the pitch.
