Cisco has named Bryan Bedford as global industry director for Retail, Hospitality, Sports, Media and Entertainment, the new name of the organization previously known as the company’s “sports and entertainment” division.
For as long as there have been networks inside stadiums, networking giant Cisco has always been a part of the stadium infrastructure marketplace. From core networking to Wi-Fi to broadcast to IPTV, Cisco products are behind many of the networks in use at stadiums today, especially at the largest venues that host the biggest events. And most of those projects came from the company’s “sports and entertainment” division, which more than a decade ago had built its own stadium replica inside the company’s headquarters to showcase how technology could be used to improve stadium operations and the fan experience.
Bedford, who has been at Cisco for more than 12 years, has been around the sports and entertainment group for most of that time, and has extensive relationships with many teams and venues, as well as technology partners. And though the new title of the group adds some new verticals to its purview, Bedford said in a phone interview that Cisco’s focus on stadiums would only be growing under the new plan.
“We’re actually doubling down [on stadium support]” in the new organization, Bedford said. Though the reorganization is still “under development,” Bedford did say that Cisco had already been adding resources in the field to its sports practice over the past few months. While more details about exactly how the group will operate won’t be available until later this spring, Bedford said he’s already excited about the direction that “version 2.0” of the group will be heading in.
“Cisco has a rich history of working in sports and entertainment, and those accomplishments have taken us to this point,” he said. But changes in technology and the blending of some of the vertical markets that have similar needs — like all the retail and residential areas springing up around stadiums these days — are pushing companies like Cisco to reconsider how they approach and support the different markets, Bedford said. “This [the reorganization] gives us the opportunity to look inside the business units and see what kind of innovation we can provide, to take things to the next level,” Bedford said. “It’s a pretty cool opportunity.”
