Ardent Leisure looks to a digital future

Ardent Leisure has outlined plans to drive future business through digital engagement with customers.

In its announcement of its 2013/14 financial results last week, the group, which operates Goodlife Health Clubs; d'Albora Marinas; AMF and Kingpin Bowling facilities; and the Dreamworld, WhiteWater World & SkyPoint theme parks and attractions on the Gold Coast, that told investors one of its key aims over the next financial year would be to boost its digital offerings for customers following work on its back-end systems.

Nearing the halfway point of a cloud migration drive, the transformation effort is being overseen by Ardent Chief Information Officer Paul Young, who took on the role in September last year.

Young told iTnews.com.au, "we're reinventing and reinvigorating ourselves at the moment.

"The reason for me being chosen for this role is the recognition that we need to move into the 21st century with our digital strategy

“There’s a long-term plan for our parks, including DreamWorld, WhiteWater World and Skypoint. And what’s in place currently is not right for our long-term plans.”

According to Young, consumers now have different expectations of theme parks, bowling alleys and gyms, with an increasing reliance on mobile as the primary means of engaging with businesses.

He added "at a park like DreamWorld, for example, how do you purchase tickets? Or if it’s busy, how do you reserve a seat at a restaurant or get notified when it’s available?

"We’re looking at how to transform the customer experience

“Our current experience is manual. So the question is how you get close to your customer and provide them with a digital experience.”

Underpinning Ardent’s digital ambitions is a move to the cloud, facilitated over the past five years by an effort to consolidate the enterprise applications used across the group.

Looking to the future, Young explained "the way I look at it, the way you operate entertainment might require specific systems and pieces of hardware.

"It’s about customer experience and removing friction points."

Click here to read the news item Ardent Leisure turns to digital transformation by Andrew Sadauskas at iTnews.com.au

21st August 2015 - ARDENT LEISURE RECORDS PROFIT DIP BUT LOOKS AT FEC EXPANSION

20th August 2015 - OPENING OF KINGPIN DARWIN MARKS NEW ERA FOR ARDENT LEISURE

14th August 2015 - ACCESSO AGREES FIVE YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION AT DREAMWORLD