Enterprise software company SAP provides real-time analytical insights using machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT). SAP made its initial entry into esports last April when it signed a three-year partnership deal with Team Liquid 
, which includes player performance software for Team Liquid’s Dota 2 team.
Milan Cerny, property owner and innovation lead of SAP told The Esports Observer that when the company decided to enter esports, Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2) checked a number of boxes for them.
“It’s really good for us to have access and work with [Team Liquid] directly. “
“Dota 2 is very, very complex so it lends itself by default to be analyzed,” said Cerny. “It also creates an opportunity for us to provide more transparency and simplify all the aspects of this game to a larger audience.
“The data access situation [in Dota 2] is just very good,” he added. “Data can be accessed on the most granular level, giving us the opportunity to provide real value by using our technology.”
Part of that value is providing Team Liquid with player performance software.
“It’s really good for us to have access and work with [Team Liquid] directly. That way we can learn a lot and they can immediately profit and benefit from what we develop,” said Cerny. “We are very, very happy with the long term commitment we have with Team Liquid. That’s the organization that we want to work with on a co-innovation and partnership level in the long term.”
Credit: SAP
SAP soon found that Dota 2 not only stood to benefit from data analysis but came equipped with its own active community that fit the company’s target demographic. A young, digitally-savvy audience makes esports an attractive market for a growing number of brands. Before you jump in headfirst, however, Cerny advises newcomers to learn and understand the market.
“It wasn’t a quick decision for us to enter esports,” he recalled. “It was well-prepared. We took time behind the scenes to analyze the industry, finding out who would be the best possible strategic partner.
“Working with the Dota Pro Circuit so closely is also good for us in terms of making a statement.”
“You want to engage with that community and show them that you are here to stay and that you want to provide real value to them. That’s really important, especially in esports, which has grown so much over the years. It has a very passionate, emotional community and ecosystem. You don’t want to just come in and be a “next-best” sponsor, put your logo in people’s faces and hope for the best.”
When SAP finally took that leap, the company wanted to assure the Dota 2 community that it was in it for the long haul.
“Working with the Dota Pro Circuit so closely is also good for us in terms of making a statement,” Cerny said. “We made a commitment to this community and to this circuit. We started providing our services to many different event and tournament organizers (TOs) who learned to use them and worked with us to develop and refine them. Every TO [remains independent] and they can provide and create their own product on top of ours.”
DreamHack recently partnered with SAP for all of 2019. This includes 13 events across eight countries, with plans to create more than 900 hours of video footage from the events. SAP has also expanded its partnership with ESL to provide analytics for ESL One Katowice and Birmingham Dota 2 broadcasts.
Credit: ESL
Through its partnerships and event participation, SAP keeps its fingers on the pulse of the Dota 2 Pro Circuit as a whole. This allows the company to not only promote its products across the world but recruit young developer talent along the way. Cerny calls Asia a “super interesting” market, for example, and he is looking forward to the International being held in Shanghai.
Esports and technology have two major things in common—they are both constantly changing. As streaming becomes more integrated into the esports experience, SAP is focused on how it can add value for everyone involved.
Every TO [remains independent] and they can provide and create their own product on top of ours.”
SAP recently began collaborating with a startup called Layerth that was co-founded by Dota 2 observer Jonathan “PimpmuckL” Liebig. Layerth produced in-game overlays for Dota 2 broadcasts.
“We collaborate with [Layerth] quite closely,” said Cerny. “They started [using SAP services] at ESL in Hamburg last year and since then, our services have been used by their technology stack in various events. It’s a very good collaborative model for us because it’s scalable and it’s learning both ways.
“We provide real value in a way that we add something to the table and to the stack that they might not be able to achieve themselves, at least not easily. On the other hand, we get the benefit of them being the absolute experts in terms of how Dota is visualized on a live broadcast and how it seamlessly integrates with the Dota UI.”
Editor’s note: This interview was conducted by Graham Ashton.
Want to hear more about the intersection of esports and data? Milan Cerny will be a speaker at the HIVE esports business conference in Berlin on April 11, 2019. The first international esports business conference in Europe’s capital of esports. An unprecedented conference format featuring thought leaders of industries adjacent to esports sharing their insights. Click here to reserve your seat!
