The Premier League Visualizes Victory With Vizlib

• The Premier League sought better data solutions to handle growing performance and business metrics.

• Qlik’s native tools had limitations with complex data visualization and large datasets.

• Adopted Vizlib for advanced, flexible visualizations and improved data presentation.

• Used Vizlib and Qlik Analytics Platform (QAP) for bespoke, branded web pages and better stakeholder engagement.

• Vizlib’s flexible subscription and support enabled effective scaling and managed increased user demands.

The Premier League stands as a global titan in the world of sports, captivating millions of fans with its high-octane matches and world-class talent. As the league continues to evolve, so too does the volume and complexity of data it generates. From tracking player performance and analyzing match statistics to understanding fan behavior and managing financial operations, the Premier League is inundated with information. Traditional data management methods are increasingly unable to keep pace with these demands, hindering the league's ability to extract meaningful insights and make data-driven decisions that drive strategic growth.

Established in 1992, the Premier League has grown to become one of the most popular and lucrative football leagues globally. With a vast amount of data generated from matches, player performance, and social media engagement, efficient and effective data management and visualization became increasingly critical. Steve Palmer, Head of Data Solutions at the Premier League, joined the organization in 2016. “The Premier League sells itself as the most competitive and compelling sports league in the world,” Palmer said. “It’s important for us to be able to measure what this means and to measure our metrics to make sure that we keep a competitive advantage over people that are trying to come into our space. So, my role is to try and make it as easy and simple as possible to visualize our key performance indicators and distribute this both internally and to our external stakeholders and partners.” Palmer quickly made a name for himself in performance metrics, but as technology advanced, so did the complexity and volume of data. Managing player-tracking data alone evolved from tracking a single point to capturing thousands of data points per second with skeletal and mesh tracking. “Instead of center of mass, we moved to skeletal tracking, which is 20 points of the body,” said Palmer. “So, we've just immediately multiplied [the available data] by 20, and we're not working at 25 frames per second; we're now working at 50 frames per second. So, every data point is 100 times as large as before.” “The next challenge for us is the next iteration, which is called mesh tracking, which is full body scanning, picking up about 2000 body points up to 200 times a second. So, we're talking vast amounts of data that we need to be able to process, store, and then visualize in some capacity.” Previously, the Premier League used basic visualization tools that were not well-suited to handle the growing complexity of their data. This limitation often resulted in cumbersome reporting processes and less effective communication of insights.

The Premier League’s investment in Qlik was a strategic move to enhance its data processing and visualization capabilities. As the league's data needs grew more complex, it became clear that a robust business intelligence (BI) platform was essential to efficiently manage and interpret the vast amounts of data. Qlik Sense emerged as the standout choice during their search for the ideal BI platform, offering the necessary tools to build a secure and effective data infrastructure. This decision marked the beginning of a significant shift in how the Premier League managed its data, allowing it to visualize key performance indicators and make data-driven decisions with greater ease and accuracy. As Steve Palmer noted, “We needed to have the infrastructure and processes in place to manage an efficient and secure data sphere.” To ensure the successful implementation and ongoing management of the Qlik platform, the Premier League partnered with Firemind, a company specializing in Qlik consultancy and software support. Firemind's role was pivotal in helping the Premier League navigate the complexities of big data and develop bespoke solutions tailored to their specific needs. From the outset, Firemind supported the Premier League in building its data warehouse and visualizing data in a way that was both on-brand and accessible to stakeholders. “We rely heavily on Firemind for our infrastructure and expertise in particular areas like web development,” said Palmer. "Despite the great success that Firemind has had over the last few years, we’ve still retained a core team that understands our projects and how we work. We’ve developed an amazing relationship with them and produced some amazing results together.” Through this collaboration, the Premier League was able to leverage Qlik’s capabilities to their full potential, transforming their data visualization efforts and enhancing their overall operations.

Before integrating Vizlib, the Premier League faced several hurdles with its reporting and visualization methods. The data management team relied heavily on native Qlik dashboards, which, while functional, lacked the advanced visualization capabilities needed to present data effectively to various stakeholders. The native Qlik dashboards were functional and working, but more for a business-type environment,” said Palmer. “So, we needed to find something that had the opportunity to be more attractive visually.” The team’s reliance on these basic tools resulted in a slow and often frustrating process of creating reports and visualizations. This limitation impeded their ability to quickly adapt to new data needs and effectively communicate insights to different departments, from football performance teams to commercial partners.

The Premier League explored various options in search of a more robust and flexible visualization solution. The need was clear: they required a tool that could integrate seamlessly with their existing Qlik infrastructure while offering advanced visualization features. This led them to Vizlib. “We went again through another process of looking at the various options, and it became evident that the market leader, the best option for us in this field, was Vizlib,” said Palmer. “And that's been a successful partnership. We’ve found that the flexibility with the various visual objects provided by Vizlib has enabled us to visualize what we want to see.” Vizlib’s advanced visualization capabilities promised to address the Premier League’s specific needs. With Vizlib, the team could move beyond basic charts and create visually compelling and highly informative dashboards.  

The integration of Vizlib into the Premier League’s data infrastructure marked a significant shift in its approach to data visualization. The Vizlib suite allowed the team to build custom visualizations that better represented their complex data sets and improved stakeholder engagement. “Previously, our people were accustomed to the native Qlik Sense objects, and the similarities between the two have made the transition to Vizlib very easy,” said Palmer. “Once you learn how to use one object, you have a good start on all the other objects. And pretty much that's all we use now.”

Enhanced Football Metrics Implementing Vizlib's advanced charts and graphs gave the Premier League deeper insights into game metrics, player performance, and team statistics. These enhanced visualizations allowed the league to analyze and present complex football data in a more accessible and impactful way. By leveraging tools like heat maps, Sankey charts, and trend analysis, the Premier League was able to identify key patterns and insights that were previously difficult to visualize. This resulted in more precise and actionable information for teams and stakeholders, ultimately contributing to better decision-making on and off the pitch. “We've used a full range of charts,” said Palmer. “I particularly enjoy some of the Sankey charts—the different charts that show trends across time, the heat mapping, the standard line and bar charts, and there's a number of examples of how it's added to our visual displays.” Community Impact Reports Vizlib's visualizations played a crucial role in showcasing the Premier League’s contributions to local communities and tracking COVID-19 trends. The tool enabled the creation of visually compelling reports that highlighted the league’s impact in various constituencies, including efforts during the pandemic. By using map-based visualizations and detailed graphical representations, the Premier League was able to communicate its community outreach efforts clearly and effectively to both internal and external stakeholders. These reports not only demonstrated the league’s commitment to supporting local communities but also provided valuable data to guide future initiatives. “Whilst it was a difficult time for the country, we did some work during the COVID times to show what was happening in each of the local authorities where our clubs were situated,” said Palmer. “[We were] showing the cases per 100,000 people and the Vizlib mapping exercises and objects enabled us to show and track on a daily basis how the trends were working, which was used by the league to help inform the return to play protocols.” Faster Report Generation The Premier League's adoption of Vizlib led to a significant decrease in the time required to create complex visualizations and dashboards. This improvement was crucial for handling the league's growing data demands, allowing the team to process and present vast amounts of information efficiently. The enhanced speed did not compromise the quality or detail of the visualizations, enabling real-time data interpretation and reporting. The efficiency gained through Vizlib was evident in the seamless generation of charts, even as data volumes increased. “There have been vast increases in the size of the data, but the speed at which the charts are generated in real time hasn't changed,” said Palmer. “So, there's an efficiency within the Vizlib charts that has coped with all our increase in data so far.” Improved Stakeholder Engagement The introduction of Vizlib's advanced visualizations greatly enhanced the Premier League's ability to communicate insights effectively to various stakeholders. The new visual objects made it easier to present data in an attractive and accessible manner, which was particularly important when engaging with diverse audiences, including internal teams, external partners, and shareholders. The visually appealing and on-brand representations ensured that stakeholders could quickly grasp key insights, leading to more informed decision-making and stronger engagement. “It's much easier to customize [our visualizations] to the Premier League way of doing things, and it's much clearer to our stakeholders,” said Palmer. “The stakeholders that the dashboards have been built for are the subject matter experts, and they interpret the numbers. So, in terms of the way that we develop our apps, it has made it much easier to provide what we want and what our stakeholders need.” Tailor Visualizations to Specific Needs One of the key advantages Palmer found in Vizlib was its ability to create customizable dashboards and visual objects that addressed the unique needs of different Premier League departments. Whether it was for performance analysis, business metrics, or community outreach, Vizlib allowed Palmer’s team to tailor visualizations to meet the specific requirements of each function. This flexibility ensured that each department received the most relevant and impactful data presentations, enhancing the Premier League’s ability to operate efficiently and make data-driven decisions. “The flexibility and variety of visual objects provided by Vizlib have enabled us to visualize what we want to see,” said Palmer. “So, our digital team has been delighted that they've been able to see where there's been growth and key areas to highlight.” Create Interactive Dashboards Vizlib enabled a raft of interactive features, such as drill-downs and dynamic filters, which provided users with the ability to explore data in greater depth. These features allowed stakeholders to engage more actively with the data, uncovering insights that might not have been immediately apparent in static reports. By empowering users to interact with the visualizations, Vizlib helped Premier League to foster a deeper understanding of the data, supporting more nuanced analysis and better-informed decisions. “Vizlib has enabled us to build out much more complicated charts than we could use before, and to have them on brand, and to have the flexibility to add things into them,” said Palmer. “The success of our data store, which is what we use to bring out our web applications, means that the number of people that are viewing our objects and dashboards has grown exponentially.”

The Premier League’s integration of Vizlib has significantly improved its data visualization and reporting processes. By moving beyond basic visualization tools and adopting Vizlib’s advanced features, the Premier League has enhanced its ability to communicate complex data effectively and efficiently. The success of this integration underscores the importance of selecting the right tools to meet evolving data needs and highlights the benefits of advanced visualization solutions in managing and communicating complex information. Schedule a demo today to learn how Vizlib can increase the value of your Qlik data.