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In sports today, finding the net is no longer just a player's job—AI is stepping into the game, helping teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers shoot for success both on and off the court. Let's explore how AI is not just a player, but a game changer for this winning team.

The Challenge: Integrating AI Seamlessly

The Cleveland Cavaliers, a winning NBA team, have integrated AI into the core of their operations to maintain their competitive edge. However, integrating advanced AI solutions into their workflows presented significant challenges. The Cavs’ development team, though skilled, was small and often overwhelmed by the intricate details required in deploying machine learning models effectively.

The Turning Point with Shakudo

Enter Shakudo—a data platform designed to simplify and enhance AI integration within existing systems. For the Cavs, Shakudo was more than just a service provider; it was a game changer. By implementing Shakudo's solutions, the Cavs could streamline their machine learning workflows, from model training to deployment, without the heavy lifting traditionally involved in DevOps.

“It’s like I have a machine learning engineer in my back pocket. Shakudo really helps me go coast-to-coast with our ML and LLM solutions.”
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Ben Levicki
‍AI Solutions Architect on the Cleveland Cavaliers

Shakudo's platform offered a comprehensive toolset that allowed the Cavs to deploy, manage, and scale their AI applications efficiently. This integration freed the team from technical complexities, allowing them to focus on strategic objectives like enhancing fan experiences and optimizing game strategies.

Real Results

Since partnering with Shakudo, the Cavaliers have seen tangible benefits. In just two months, they developed four new AI applications that amounted to $100,000 in terms of return on operation, driving significant efficiency gains. 

The platform enabled the team to tailor user experiences specifically designed for their stakeholders and end-users, significantly reducing the development cycle. Ready-made templates for a diverse range of use cases allowed the Cavs to swiftly adapt the technology to their unique needs and dramatically speed up project timelines. Brainstorming discussions about possibilities become tangible projects a few days later.

“It’s like an extra collaborator in the room, trying to help me gain more value out of the platform. Having use cases definitely helps me determine my road maps and the best way to go about my use cases. It helps close the gap between point A and point B.”
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Ben Levicki
‍AI Solutions Architect on the Cleveland Cavaliers

Aside from accelerating the development cycle, the platform smooths machine learning and LLM adoption across the organization. It also scales with the Cavs' evolving needs, promising a future of limitless potential and innovation.

“The platform opens up many doors. You may have only one or two use cases right now but the platform allows you to solve the six or seven different use cases that are down the line that you're not even thinking about yet.”
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Ben Levicki
‍AI Solutions Architect on the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Benefits

Reducing the DevOps Burden: Tasks like setting up and managing Python environments or running shell operations were time-consuming and technical challenges for their data scientists. Now, with Shakudo, these DevOps processes are streamlined, allowing the team to focus on higher-level tasks without getting bogged down in the technical details.  “As a data scientist, I’m not focused on DevOps or ML operations. I really want to focus on outputs and Shakudo helps me provide the best product for our internal use cases and explore external use cases as well.”

Shortening Time to Deployment: Previously, launching new features could be delayed by scheduling conflicts or resource availability. With Shakudo, updates and new features can be deployed quickly and independently, enhancing productivity and responsiveness.

Enhancing Scalability: Shakudo has enabled the Cavs to expand their AI capabilities efficiently as their needs grow. This scalability has proven essential for adapting to varying demands and exploring new applications and use cases.

Lowering Costs: The streamlined development and deployment processes have allowed the Cavaliers to realize returns on operation, highlighting significant efficiency gains and financial benefits from using Shakudo's solutions.

“In the last two months, we’ve been able to produce four applications that amount to $100,000 in terms of return on operation, so real efficiency gains.” 
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Ben Levicki
‍AI Solutions Architect on the Cleveland Cavaliers

Shakudo has been a game changer for the Cleveland Cavaliers, providing a comprehensive platform that simplifies AI integration and enables the team to harness the power of machine learning and LLMs effectively. With Shakudo's solutions, the Cavs have streamlined their workflows, reduced technical complexities, and realized significant efficiency gains and financial benefits. The platform's scalability and adaptability have opened up numerous possibilities for the team, allowing them to explore new use cases and drive innovation both on and off the court.

Ready to take your sports organization's AI game to the next level? Discover how Shakudo's AI solutions for sports teams can help you achieve similar results to the Cleveland Cavaliers.