The Future of Sports: Microsoft’s Susanne Tedrick On The New Emerging Technologies That Are Disrupting The World Of Sports

Prioritize progress over perfection. I remind myself often that any progress made towards my goals is something to be celebrated, not something to be browbeat myself about for not getting to 100%. The process of progress is greater than the illusion of perfection.

New technologies have changed the way we engage in and watch sports. Sensors, Wearable Tech, Video Assistant Referees (VAR), and Instant Replay, are examples of new technologies that have changed the way we play and watch sports. In this interview series called, “The Future of Sports; New Emerging Technologies That Are Disrupting The World Of Sports,” we are talking to sports leaders, athletes, sports tech experts, and sports equipment companies who can talk about the new technologies that are reshaping the sports world.

As a part of this interview, we had the pleasure of interviewing Susanne Tedrick.

Susanne Tedrick is an infrastructure specialist for Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. In her work, Susanne helps her clients in their efforts to migrate and optimize their IT infrastructures to cloud environments. Previously, she worked as a technical specialist at IBM Cloud. Susanne is the author of the critically acclaimed book “Women of Color in Tech” for John Wiley & Sons — a book designed to inform and inspire women of color to pursue tech careers.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

My start in cloud computing and the tech industry in general wasn’t conventional. Up until about 6 years ago, I had worked for many years in the financial services industry in administrative and operations roles. While well-paid and well-respected, I realized that I did not enjoy my work and decided to pursue a career in the tech industry, as I had always loved computers and technology as a child. I went back to school at Northwestern University to get that fundamental information technology education, while pursuing every professional development opportunity you can think of (e.g., internships, externships, hackathons, bootcamps, volunteer work, etc.).

It was because of this work and dedication that I was able to secure a technical sales internship (then full-time job) at IBM, and then to my current position at Microsoft.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I got a book deal because of my journey into tech! In December 2018, I was awarded the Rising Star of the Year Award from the IT professional organization for my work in tech, as well as my volunteer and mentoring work. A profile of me was written up for their magazine, and an acquisitions editor at John Wiley & Sons reached out to me on LinkedIn shortly thereafter. We talked about my background and if I had any interest in writing a book to inspire other women of color to pursue technology careers based on my experiences. It was truly a surprise but welcome opportunity to help others and to contribute to bringing more women of color to the industry.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Before leaving the house for school each day, my paternal grandmother would always say to me “be of good courage.” With challenges in my household and from the outside world, my grandmother always tried to instill in me to be brave, strong, resilient and to persevere in the face of difficulty. These words continue to resonate with me every day, especially as I was going through years long career transition. As challenges and setbacks came up, sometimes there was a voice of doubt that kept asking “am I on the right path? Should I stop and go back to what I was doing?”. Although hard, I remained strong, and I kept going. And I’m happy I did.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I have been blessed with many friends, family, mentors, and sponsors who have helped me get where I am today. I am eternally grateful for everyone who has and continues to be in my corner. In becoming the leader I am today, I would like to acknowledge my mentor and former manager, Kirk Yamatani.

Kirk not only helped me in fundamental leadership skill development, but he strongly advocated for me to take on stretch opportunities to further improve my skill. He coached me where he saw room for improvement, and he held me up high when I succeeded. As a woman of color in tech, having someone who will not only mentor you but actively advocate for you is essential for career growth and advancement -and sadly, is sometimes the exception rather than the rule. But more importantly, he wholeheartedly believed in my ability to be successful.

Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

One of my favorite books is “Good to Great” by Jim Collins. The book identifies the qualities and traits of great companies that have consistently been innovative and successful. A theme I picked up on quickly was this commitment to continuous learning and improvement, not resting on past success and embracing calculated risks. Throughout my career, I have tried to apply these principles to be a good technologist.

You are a successful business leader. Which three-character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

• Being grateful and continuously thanking those who have supported you. Reflecting on my own career journey, my success is a result of many people giving me their precious time, resources and expertise. No one can be successful being completely alone.
• Having a growth mindset, which includes embracing failure. I’m reluctant to call myself an “expert” in any area, as I feel like there’s always so much for me to learn and to be even better. And I certainly don’t succeed after my first try at new things, but I keep challenging myself and keep at it.
• Having emotional intelligence and empathy for others. Valuing and understanding where someone is coming from, and without judgement, is a powerful gift.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I try to give back wherever I can. I volunteer for a number of non-profits such as CompTIA, NPower, and ChickTech to help increase the participation of women and people of color in the tech industry.

Ok wonderful. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about the sports technologies that most excite you at the moment? Can you explain why you are passionate about it?

I’m biased, but I’m excited on the adoption and application of cloud technology to sports — not just on helping teams and leagues achieve operational efficiencies for the back office, but its application on the field in terms of athlete performance and safety, event management, fan engagement and the consumption/distribution of sports content.

I’m passionate because cloud has a tremendous opportunity to transform the entire industry inside and out, and we’ve only just scratched the surface. We saw cloud at play during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, with teams and venues delivering events and engaging content to fans simultaneously, without them needing to leave home. As we come back to live events, we can see cloud enable venues to bring fans back safely (e.g., contact tracing, enforcing social distancing), while still delivering the content fans enjoyed when at home (e.g., cloud native fan applications, streaming content).

How do you think this might change the world of sports?

Cloud has the potential to transform the sports industry from a multitude of perspectives — for fans, for venues, for teams, for content providers, and for athletes. It is one of the few industries that has nearly limitless opportunities for disruption and innovation.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

I am always mindful of data collection, and specifically security and privacy. It is incumbent on cloud providers not only to keep data safe but to ensure that data being collected is not used in a way to harm or take advantage of people. Not all data collection is inherently bad, but there can be a slippery slope between usefulness and benefits to users and downright dubious practices.

What are the 3 things that concern you about the sports industry today? Can you explain? What can be done to address or correct those concerns?

One of the major challenges in the industry is connecting with younger/future generations, and this is not solely addressed by integrating the latest and greatest in technology and social media. It’s not necessarily the methods of how they’re engaging, but whether they are engaging with the content in a way that is not surface and superficial. I don’t think there is a clear-cut answer or approach to this, but I do think the industry as a whole needs to spend time building and nurturing the next generation of fans.

As we’re not completely out of the woods from the COVID pandemic, I worry about “hitting pause” again on live events. Technology has shown us that we can keep the show going virtually, but there is something to be said of being in a stadium or at a field, with friends and loved ones and bonding over a game. There is also something to be said on an overall hit on league, team and event venue revenues. I think whenever possible, we should utilize all tools at our disposal to keep live events going.

The civil unrest in the United States in 2020, sparked by the death of George Floyd and many others, invited an opportunity for many industries, including sports, to have hard but needed conversations on systemic racism, and a larger conversation on diversity, equity, and inclusion within their confines. It also invited opportunities for everyone to work together toward progress. These conversations, and the work to be done, need to continue in 2021 and beyond.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

• Be yourself. When I began my tech career, I spent so much time trying to fit into this mold of what I thought a model technologist looks like. I realized over time that no such thing exists — my peers and mentors come from a wide variety of professional experiences and backgrounds and are deeply respected in industry. In addition, I realized that by trying so hard to be something else, I wasn’t fully bringing to the table the qualities and skills that made me a good technologist.
• Failure is a good thing. I have learned far more from my academic and career missteps, flubs and boo boos, that I have from my successes. This is not to suggest not trying your very best, but we don’t always hit it out of the park the first (or second… or 16th time). It is 110% ok to fail.
• Prioritize progress over perfection. I remind myself often that any progress made towards my goals is something to be celebrated, not something to be browbeat myself about for not getting to 100%. The process of progress is greater than the illusion of perfection.
• Develop a sense of levity. In my experience, life often throws us unexpected detours and challenges. Tapping into my more humorous and silly side has helped me get through more challenging moments and dark times. This has been especially true if I’ve had a disastrous client call, a poor review or getting some not-so-great news.
• Utilizing cloud is both a technical and business discussion. When I started down the cloud computing path, I focused mostly on the technical aspects of infrastructure and cloud native application development. With more time in the field, I realize that it’s not just a discussion of features and capabilities, but rather, what is your end goal? What resources do you have to ensure your success? What are your constraints — are you in an industry that has more regulatory scrutiny? What is the current technical skill level of you/your current staff? Using cloud computing requires us to rethink how we have typically used hardware and software from different perspectives.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’m an advocate of “paying it forward”, something that has been reinforced by another great mentor of mine, Marc Bulandr. Reflecting on my own career trajectory, I know that I would not be here without the continued love and support of my family, friends, mentors and sponsors. I also know that I’m privileged to have this support system, as many may not. I try to find ways to give to others, so that they can have access to opportunity, and that they not only succeed, but excel in their endeavors. We all have something meaningful to contribute and that can help others.

We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

Aisha Tyler, if you’re reading this somehow, I am a HUGE fan! You are incredibly funny, ridiculously talented and a true inspiration to me. Would love to lunch with you!!!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You are welcome to connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter. You can also see my website at susannetedrick.com.

Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!