Bodø/Glimt selects AWS for club-wide data and AI programme

Bodø/Glimt will build its future technology systems on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform under a partnership designed to help the club collect, organise and use data across its operations.The club assessed several providers before choosing AWS, citing its technical expertise, its ability to expand capacity as the club needs it and its willingness to help develop new tools.Bodø/Glimt managing director Frode Thomassen said: “They have a strong track record and a technology platform that can grow with the club. Just as important were their ambition and the way they work.“We want strategic partners that challenge us, contribute actively to development and can work quickly, as well as providing infrastructure.”Bodø/Glimt plans to keep a small technology team in-house to set priorities, decide which problems to tackle and retain ownership of its data, while drawing on AWS for cloud infrastructure, AI tools and specialist expertise.Thomassen added: “We are a small organisation, and we intend to stay that way. Our ambition is to learn faster, make better decisions and use our resources more intelligently than our competitors.“Technology gives us new ways to do precisely that, and building on AWS will be an important part of how we develop our technology.”The AWS agreement follows the creation earlier this year of Edge Case Ventures, a wholly owned company set up to develop and introduce technology within the club and support projects involving its partners.Bodø/Glimt has also created a leadership role responsible for data and AI and agreed a separate partnership with BearingPoint for advice on data, AI and digital development.Kristoffer Brandt, who leads AWS in Norway, said: “With AWS, the club gets access to the same scalable infrastructure and AI technology used by leading sports clubs and organisations around the world.“That gives it a better basis for making decisions across the organisation.”Alma Antonia Botten, managing director of Edge Case Ventures, said the club would bring in outside expertise while keeping decisions about how it uses technology and data in-house.She said: “We are building this step by step. The most important thing for us is to control the strategic direction and own our data, while working with some of the best technology teams.“We believe the combination of a small internal team and strong strategic partnerships can give a club like Bodø/Glimt a significant competitive advantage.”