News

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC — The Tennis Industry Association (TIA) is creating new opportunities for technology development companies that offer “software as a service” (SaaS) to help tennis providers manage and grow their businesses.

“The software as a service industry has been growing at a very rapid pace,” says TIA Executive Director Jolyn de Boer. “A few years ago there were only a small handful of technology companies in the market that offered business management solutions specifically for tennis facilities, retailers and providers. Now, there are many companies that offer business solutions, including software designed for tennis providers. Our goal and opportunity is to help identify these companies, as well as eliminate some of the time providers spend trying to select one of these services by offering a group of TIA-researched solutions.”

Approved TIA SaaS Business Partners will become part of the family of TIA Recommended Software and Business Solutions, and also receive membership benefits and services to help the facilities, retailers and tennis providers using their specific technology product. The TIA maintains a network of thousands of facilities, retailers, and tennis businesses that can utilize SaaS products in their daily operations.

“Connecting providers to our TIA SaaS Business Partners will help move the industry forward and ultimately help grow the tennis economy—by making provider operations more efficient and accessible for consumers,” de Boer adds.

“SaaS partners also will be contributing to the growth of the recently re-launched PlayTennis.com, the industry-supported site to connect consumers to all things ‘tennis,’” says TIA Information Technology Manager Matt Allen, who works with many companies in helping to grow the game through technology.

A key component of the partnership between the TIA and SaaS providers will be the utilization of an API (application programming interface) that allows SaaS clients to select tennis information (i.e. business info, programs, events, etc.) that can be automatically published on the PlayTennis.com website.

“This is an instant added value to our SaaS partners and their end-users. Tennis providers can publish their business and program information in one place and have it appear on PlayTennis.com searches, instantly expanding their potential consumer reach,” says de Boer.

For more information, contact TIA IT Manager Matt Allen at (843) 473-4500 or [email protected].

About the TIA

The Tennis Industry Association, the not-for-profit trade association for tennis, is THE unifying force in the tennis industry whose mission is to promote the growth and economic vitality of tennis by working closely with the U.S. Tennis Association and industry partners to develop and implement initiatives to increase tennis participation and improve the health of industry businesses. Core TIA activities include producing more than 70 research reports annually on participation and consumer/trade research, in addition to Grow the Game Initiatives such as PlayTennis.com, 10 and Under Tennis, the GrowingTennis System™, Tennis Welcome Centers, Cardio Tennis, Careers in Tennis and Tennis Tune-Up Campaign. Visit TennisIndustry.org or call 866-686-3036.