The Special Olympics embarks on digital journey to empower its athletes

The Special Olympics is overhauling its technology stack as part of a digital transformation designed to bolster the training of its athletes across the globe.

Nathan Cook , who started as chief information and technology officer at Special Olympics more than a year ago, has aggressive plans for the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit’s next five years, which includes moving away from its disparate legacy IT systems and building a Microsoft-centric platform running Docebo’s unique learning managing system (LMS), which educates athletes on how to best participate in the field and trains coaches about how to teach athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs).  

“We started on our digital transformation over the course of the last year or two and are working to reduce our digital sprawl and towards a singular ecosystem that allows us to have a complete view of our systems and our data, with a focus of being digitally capable and ready by 2030,” Cook says.

The organization initially began moving to the cloud for its 2018 Seattle USA games. Today, Cook’s IT staff of 24 continue to manage a collection of on-premises systems and core applications as the digital transformation to Azure accelerates.

In addition to its partnership with Microsoft, the Special Olympics’ partnership with Toronto-based Docebo “represents a significant step forward in our commitment to providing top-tier learning management solutions tailored for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Cook says.

Empowering athletes and staff

The Special Olympics platform will make use of a range of Microsoft technologies, including Dynamics for its CRM, Azure for its cloud, and Dataverse Power Apps for business applications, the CITO says.

Previously known as Common Data Services, Dataverse’s Power Pages, Power Portals, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Virtual Agents are all part of the Special Olympics’ program delivery solution, enabling the grassroots program staff to focus on important priorities such as getting out on the field, Cook says, adding that Microsoft has been a very generous benefactor to the organization’s digital transformation.

Deploying services to the cloud will enable the organization’s participants and staff to “play more” and spend less time on paperwork, Cook says. “The more we can move that process out to the cloud, enable the end users to own and be empowered to manage themselves and their own data, the more we can reduce the amount of time and effort on our programs and get more people out onto the field and playing.”

The multifaceted benefits of the cloud will better “respect the time” of all members of the Special Olympics community, including athletes, volunteers, coaches, administrators, donors, and fundraisers, the CTIO says. A well-designed CRM that participants can use to register and store their data once and not be asked to repeat for every event is a big win, he adds.

Cook also aims to employ “cutting edge” AI tools and an array of modern services to “reduce the barrier to entry” for the IDD population, which counts about 6.2 million athletes participating in 30 sporting events on teams from across 190 countries globally.

For instance, many of its athletes use smartphones and tablets, and Cook aims to better connect and deploy customized applications that enhance learning, training, and performance for those platforms.  “We are looking for ways to for them to be engaged with the organization on their own terms, in their own time, and use the tools in new ways that empower them, and they can get used to,” he says.

The Special Olympics is also using Microsoft’s Power BI analytics platform to create internal and external reports that help establish legacies for the athletes.

“Legacy is something that helps change lives, change minds, and change culture,” Cook says. “We are capturing data from events, including their stats, and scoring, and making more data-driven decisions. Anywhere we have data, we are using Power BI to visualize it and build systems to capture.”

A winning team

Docebo and Atos are key partners whose digital tools help IDD athletes reach their full athletic potential, Cook adds.

Docebo, which became a global partner of Special Olympics International earlier this year, aligns with its athlete-first perspective and has “embraced our desire to ensure our athletes are part of the accessible design aesthetic and effective delivery of information for athletes with IDD,” Cook says.

“By leveraging Docebo’s state-of-the-art technology and innovative e-learning platform, we are poised to deliver an enriched and highly customizable training experience that meets the unique needs of this community,” Cook adds. “This collaboration enables us to seamlessly integrate advanced AI-driven features and user-friendly interfaces, ensuring that our educational offerings are both accessible and engaging.”

Atos, which is headquartered in Bezons, France, and Munich, Germany, has provided the Special Olympics with advanced digital tools and tailored resources to enhance the training and competitive experiences of its athletes, the CITO says.

“A key focus of ATOS’s engagement with Special Olympics is the development of our major games systems, designed to support, enable, and empower the inclusion of our athletes in over 30 Olympic-style sports on a global scale,” says Cook, who adds that Special Olympics is not associated with the Paralympics arm of the Olympics.

“This includes providing essential infrastructure and technologies that ensure athletes can compete on the main stage at our world games events such as the upcoming 2025 World Winter Games in Torino. We chose Atos as a critical partner in this effort because of their shared commitment to connecting the world around inclusion and their world-class technology that has demonstrated success supporting the largest humanitarian sporting events,” Cook says.

A unique perspective on the power of tech

Benjamin Collins, operations specialist for brand and communications at Special Olympics International, has participated as an athlete and employee of the organization for more than 40 years. Collins, who competes in bocce ball and 10-pin bowling, is blind and uses the Microsoft voice-activated system Jaws to write and send e-mails to staff, administration, and athletes from his home in Rockville, Md.

Before COVID, Collins worked at the Special Olympics’ former DuPont Circle location and commuted to work riding the bus and Metro subway system and walking with use of a cane. At one point, he determined there was too much traffic to walk safely across the L Street and 19th Street intersection and wrote an email to the Department of Transportation requesting the installation of a crosswalk with an audible countdown for pedestrians.  The city took photos and gave Collins’ suggestion the greenlight, making that intersection safer for all pedestrians and drivers.

Collins attributes some of his success as a longtime Special Olympics athlete and employee to technological advances, including the Microsoft tools and learning management system.

“It’s been wonderful. If I didn’t have that unique technology, I would not be able to get everything done,” Collins says. “I like to be independent.”