NFL Team Drives Disruption in Sports with Help From Lumen

No industry is exempt from digital disruption, including professional sports. Innovative networking technologies, applications and media platforms are radically changing the game as we know it.

Since joining the NFL in 1976, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have grown their fan base to include an audience of millions of people from all over the world. But with digital transformation revolutionizing the way people consume spectator sports, the organization’s IT management team needed a single—and utterly reliable—network provider.

The Buccaneers and Lumen have had a long-standing partnership thanks to the relationship cultivated by Michelle Hogan, Lumen General Manager of Central, West, and South Florida, and her team.  Through her leadership and with the support of the marketing team, they’ve been working together to provide expertise to the Buccaneers both on and off the field for the last seven years. By staying connected and engaging in technology discussions, Lumen made the decision easy thanks to our agility and ability to adapt to ever-changing needs in the market.

Choosing the Lumen global network enabled the Buccaneers to consolidate their infrastructure and wide area network (WAN) under a single contract. This enhanced the team’s competitiveness and more wholeheartedly engaged its fans in the spirit of the game.

Digital transformation hits the sports world

Sports is no longer an experience limited to those lucky enough to possess a stadium ticket. Modern-day fans have myriad options besides passively watching games that are conventionally broadcast on TV. Today, technology enables them to have total, immersive and even interactive sports experiences from virtually anywhere, at any time. Whether it’s the excitement of witnessing the plays in real time on a mobile device, watching instant replays to examine the referees’ calls more carefully, getting up-to-the-minute statistics and expert analyses through a live video stream, or jumping into the fray of discussion via Twitter, fans now can have much richer sports experiences.

As the sports landscape continues to evolve, teams will have unprecedented opportunities to reach the masses with exclusive content from live streaming to virtual and augmented reality—bringing fans closer to the game than ever.

The Buccaneers football team has embarked on its digital transformation journey. Especially notable is where it started: with the enterprise network.

“The challenges that we were trying to resolve were that we had many networks spread throughout the world,” said Steve Rutkowski, network administrator at the Buccaneers’ headquarters in Florida. Managing vendors in varied locations created unnecessary complexities and delays. Not to mention, these disparate legacy network systems weren’t always reliable when communicating with fans, players, and employees.

The players themselves experienced network problems. Both players and coaches at the Buccaneers’ training facility relied heavily on WiFi to access digital playbooks and other apps. With mushrooming bandwidth requirements, the team needed a consolidated network solution that could support both sudden, on-demand needs as well scheduled bursts of data requirements. On game days, 70,000 fans would log onto the stadium’s WiFi to receive game tweets, text alerts, play analyses—or just check their email. The Buccaneers had to be sure not to disappoint.

Lumen had the answer

The Lumen global network provided the perfect solution for delivering communications services to the entire organization. By selecting a mix of MPLS, internet and voice offerings, the Buccaneers technology team consolidated their infrastructure and wide area network (WAN) with a single provider.

Not only was Lumen able to provide the network in the areas that the Buccaneers already covered, it meant the team didn’t have to rely on a third-party vendor to supply the last section to network endpoints. The Lumen services and network support centralized voice and internet communications between the organization’s global operations.

Lumen also improved the Buccaneers’ return on investment (ROI) by reducing the need for additional capital expenditures (CAPEX) such as replacing older hardware and software. It also slashed operational expenses (OPEX) as the older multivendor network no longer required daily maintenance. And with Lumen, the team now enjoys increased flexibility and scalability—an important IT requirement for any spectator sports organization.

Ready, set, game

On game days, the Buccaneers are very preoccupied with winning. Now, with a core team of Lumen engineers and managers in the Tampa Bay area, they can leverage 24/7 local support on game days and during the off-season. Scalable and reliable Lumen services ensure they can support high bandwidth periods, expand capacity and prioritize network traffic as needed. And the combination of Lumen MPLS/IP VPN, Lumen Internet Services and Lumen® Voice Complete® helped streamline network operations so the Buccaneers could prepare for future growth.

“It is a great feeling going into every home game and knowing that the services will be up and that the fans will have the world-class experience they have grown to expect at Raymond James Stadium,” says Rutkowski.

This dependable infrastructure positively affects bottom line results as well. Now departments can get their jobs done more quickly and shift their focus to higher-revenue projects. With an infrastructure designed for growth, the Buccaneers are now poised to exceed expectations—on and off the field.

Read more about the unique Lumen solution for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This content is provided for informational purposes only and may require additional research and substantiation by the end user. In addition, the information is provided “as is” without any warranty or condition of any kind, either express or implied. Use of this information is at the end user’s own risk. Lumen does not warrant that the information will meet the end user’s requirements or that the implementation or usage of this information will result in the desired outcome of the end user. All third-party company and product or service names referenced in this article are for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement or affiliation with Lumen. This document represents Lumen products and offerings as of the date of issue.