Wimbledon's Digital Media Ace Is an IBM IT Architect Named Melissa Bailey

When Melissa Bailey in 2008, at age 33, was senior-certified as an IBM IT architect, she became the youngest person to ever earn that prestigious achievement. As Wimbledon's 2017 qualifying matches unfold this week and the tournament's glorious “fortnight” approaches, she is hard at work figuring out new ways to make the strawberries and stream irresistible across smartphones, tablets, computers and connected TVs. An event like this is now consumed and enjoyed well beyond the boundaries of broadcast TV. From a report in U.K.'s Telegraph newspaper by Gary Flood: “It’s all about understanding the consumer of your content, now,” Bailey declares. “That’s as much about the basic numbers of how many times it was downloaded or people tuned in as it is the host of social media chat around it, what the bloggers and Facebook audience said, as well as the expert journalists and reviewers.” Bailey and her team carry out a lot of work for Wimbledon, she says, in doing just that – sifting through all sorts of data and words to pick out the hidden patterns that the All-England Lawn Tennis and Bowling Club can then think about exploiting. IBM’s Watson cognitive computing platform is proving a big asset in this very complex work, she adds, with the lesson for all media companies out of her work being unambiguous: “Media in 2017 is about data. You have it, but may not be mining it as you should." As part of this year's effort, IBM and the Telegraph are asking people to chime in via social media with their opinion of what makes--across different attribute categories--a great tennis player. The #WhatMakesGreat hashtagged responses will double as entries in the ultimate Wimbledon raffle: chances to win a pair of tickets to Center Court during the regular run-up and-or 2017 Finals weekend. Per the Telegraph illustration above, Bailey's numbers-crunching has found that when ranking current professional tennis players on the basis of their willingness and ability to challenge authority, the first seven of 12 are women. A finding that commentator John McEnroe may will no doubt find intriguing: One of many signs of a passionate character is possessing a challenging mindset. Top of Watson’s list is Petra Kvitova, the two-time women’s singles champion. It might explain why the Czech player managed to defy medical opinion and return to top-level tennis only five months after suffering serious damage to her left hand when an intruder at her home attacked her last December. Her love of the game and desire to play, allied with a fierce determination, enabled her to make an emotional return to tennis at the French Open. IBM has long been a major sponsor of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. The company is also sponsoring the Telegraph's coverage. Previously on Fishbowl: Another Grand Slam for Roger Federer's Sponsors GQ Magazine Writer Has a Grand Old Time in Switzerland With the Resurgent Roger Federer The 'Houston 9' and the Birth of Women's Professional Tennis

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Wimbledon's Digital Media Ace Is an IBM IT Architect Named Melissa Bailey

Her data mixed-doubles partner is Watson

Richard Horgan

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Richard Horgan