The client base for data in esports is strongly varied, and as such, their needs and requirements for data are equally diverse. The first step to delivering accurate data to those that require it is to identify the needs of certain groups of potential clients.

Potential client Nr. 1: The Betting industry

The first group of clients are betting clients. They require data of the highest quality. Highest quality in data means that the data is reliable and accurate, rich in its depth and has a speedy delivery. Richness of data can be defined by depth and granularity. 

The easiest comparison between a quality data stream and a public data stream is as follows; a public data stream does not give access to a lot of underlying, important information that affects the outcome of the games themselves. A quality data stream offers accurate data in depth, which includes the data usually hidden.

Time is key for the betting industry; speedy delivery of high-quality data allows them to offer their users the best experience. It is a vital cornerstone for the industry, as all customers want a good experience.

“The Betting Industry cannot sustain on delayed data. Delayed data defeats the purpose of the customer experience of any betting client. The competition within the industry is built on the concept of speed. With a fast data stream you as an operator are ahead of your competitors who might work with delayed data and bear a high financial risk,” explains Juana Bischoff, Head of Sales at Bayes Esports.

An option for betting clients that comes with a huge risk is the use of public, or the far more dire option of illegally obtained data. Public data is potentially slow and incomplete, whereas illegal data is a huge risk.  If a betting operator uses such a stream, the stream could disappear at any given moment. Building a product on such a data stream is an enormous risk. An unreliable source could be here today, gone tomorrow. And with it, a client’s product. 

Potential client Nr. 2: The Media Companies

The second group of clients are media companies that report online and live on esports events. Media clients that require esports data include a broad number of products, from Google and widgets to visual products. The speed of the data isn’t necessarily the top priority for these clients, but they need reliable, complete and accurate information for their live tickers, results and standings. 

Media companies have much interest in a central and reliable platform which enables them creating public products such as match calendars, visualizations, heat maps, analytics and visualization tools, to name a few. It’s an exciting prospect to see the many ideas that esports enthusiasts provide. A remarkable observation is the dedication to making a great and special experience for esports fans. Many clients are esports fans themselves, and their goal in building products is providing a great experience that also entertains the user.

The user experience has to engage the user and entertain, while also offering the best and most accurate data.

Potential client Nr. 3: The Rights’ Holders

The third group of clients contains the right holders, which means the publishers of the game and the tournament organizers. They wish to give the esports fan an enjoyable experience but give out their data to numerous sources in varying degrees. This doesn’t mean that the data is public for anyone to use, and it may only reside with an exclusive recipient. 

Rights’ holders are interested in the distribution and monetization of their data. What helps them is bringing their data into a unified format which always travels in the same queue and offering a simpler integration with a single API. This means that valuable time and effort is not wasted on integrating various methods of access. 

Indeed, one of the big hurdles in esports data is the huge number of API integrations currently necessary within the industry. Data comes in different formats and through different APIs, all of which need to be integrated individually. This means that valuable time isn’t spent on the product itself but squandered in the integration process.

Rights’ holder clients also ask for speedy delivery, which must be faster than any public stream. Within esports, many things happen within seconds. 

• Timely - faster than a public stream

• Rich - including unseen data that influences the game’s outcome

• Accurate - everything provided is correct

• Granular - nothing is missed

• Unified - one format you can trust

• Simple - Integration with just one API instead of many

• Reliable - directly from the rights holder

• Risk-free - data you can build any product you wish on and trust it will be there tomorrow