SailGP gets Cognizant on board to navigate fan experience

SailGP has agreed a multi-year partnership to make Cognizant its digital transformation partner, ahead of its second season.

Cognizant will aim to improve audience insights, enable data visualization and create an immersive fan experience for SailGP viewers worldwide. Built in to this offering will be promotion of SailGP’s Race For The Future agenda, which champions a nature-driven world with an acceleration of the transition to clean energy.

Among the tasks that Cognizant will take on is transforming the SailGP website to be more dynamic, before improving the SailGP mobile app. Enhancements will include real-time updates on key performance metrics such as the high-performance athletes’ heart rate or the speed and distance of the boats.

In addition, Cognizant will work with cloud provider Oracle to augment the Internet of Things (IoT) technology operating on each of the eight SailGP F50 catamarans to inform decisions, improve performance and, hopefully, make the boats go faster.

Ursula Morgenstern, president, Cognizant global growth markets, said: “We are pleased to be SailGP’s Official Digital Transformation Partner, bringing Cognizant’s expertise in digital transformation and software engineering to the forefront of the first climate-positive sail racing championship in the world. 

“Many of our clients are sailing enthusiasts. It is an honor to align with an organization that has demonstrated similar growth and is committed to a sustainable future, as well as diversity and inclusion.”

CEO of SailGP, Sir Russell Coutts, added: “Starting today, Cognizant will actively participate in SailGP’s development and our Race for the Future purpose-led agenda, aimed at accelerating change to a cleaner and more inclusive future.”

SailGP gets underway in Bermuda on 24/25 April, with an eight-event tournament culminating in a $1 million (£722,790) winner-takes-all race in San Francisco in March 2022.