CSI Software, Houston, hosted the first-ever CIO Forum for health and fitness IT professionals last month in Las Vegas, the company announced.
The CIO Forum attracted 10 attendees, who represented players from the industry’s top revenue-generating club companies, including Chelsea Piers, Fitness Formula, Sport & Health and Urban Active.
Only about 20 to 25 club companies have a chief information officer (CIO), and companies that lack a CIO do not provide their top IT person a seat at the management table, according to Andy Wigderson, vice president of sales and marketing at CSI.
| “The idea was to get these people together in one room and talk about how IT can be used in health and fitness clubs,” Wigderson said in a release. |
The event focused on best practices, fostering innovation and driving new initiatives. It accomplished CSI’s goal of creating a greater network of IT industry peers while addressing key IT issues that affect health clubs, Wigderson said.
| A roundtable discussion focused on what is possible using the latest IT technologies and applications. Individual presentations shared examples about how clubs are meeting challenges, leveraging resources and embracing new growth opportunities using IT as a solution. |
The fitness industry should place more emphasis on IT, Wigderson said, because other industries have realized improvements in revenue, customer service and cost reduction through enhanced IT infrastructure.
CSI Software plans to hold another CIO Forum next year, possibly in May in South Beach, FL, Wigderson says.