Copérnico is our timing software that is easy, intuitive and full of possibilities. This timing software is created by and for timers and developed by experts in digital products, usability and user experience products. The sum of this is a timing software that does think about making your work easier in every aspect: you can time any type of event and it is very easy to learn. If you want to know in-depth all the features of our timing software, we recommend you to read this other article.
Welcome to the new timing era: are you ready?
When we at timingsense say this, it is not because we want to coin a marketing slogan, but because we know that Copérnico will mark a new era in the world of sports timing. We have created the timing software with which to face the current and future situation of timers and timing companies:
- The devaluation of timing services.
- The difficulty of training timers to offer complete timing services at events.
- The flood of post Covid-19 events.
- The current reality of the sector is that as there are more timing companies, competition devalues the prices of the services offered, so you have to look for new ways to differentiate yourself with value-added services.
On the other hand, as your timing company grows, it is more complicated to find the right or capably trained staff to carry out the work, even more so when the events demand more and more differential products and services: applications with real-time results, videos and other content, special classifications…
Looking ahead to post COVID-19, it is very likely that in the last four months of 2021 there will be an endless number of postponed and non-postponed races every weekend. It is very likely that, where before you had to face 3 events on the same weekend, now you will have to face 5 or 6 competitions with the same resources.
In addition, it is possible that the pandemic will bring a rebound effect: by the end of this year, 2021, there will be timing professionals who have ceased their activity for obvious reasons, thus leaving less options for organizers to choose from and accumulating even more work for the timers that survive. At the same time, it is very likely that people who have been unemployed for some time and who have some experience in this sector, see a solution for self-employment in the medium term for timing. Are you having a deja vu moment? As we were saying, the worst thing about this situation is that the increase in supply with no added value for the same demand causes prices to fall. The solution?
Copérnico is the solution
According to Michael Porter, to compete in a mature market, you have to opt for one of these four options or a combination of them:
- Lower prices.
- Brand positioning.
- Better service.
- Better product.
Lower prices:
“Charge what you’re worth or you’ll end up being worth what you charge.”
If you are in the timing industry, you will agree that in the years prior to the pandemic, we have suffered a relentless decline in the average billing per race for the same service. We have had to offer more services to maintain or increase turnover. Add to this the fact that participation peaked in 2016-2017 and has declined ever since.
Brand positioning:
In our industry, brand positioning is not achieved by just investing in advertising or creating aspirational products; it is achieved by offering a great service or product for years.
Better service:
In our industry when we talk about service we define it as customer service, the speed with which we resolve incidents and quick access to information to resolve their doubts and even that the same customer has access to their relevant information. It is here where Copérnico begins to play a differential role as it allows you to do many other things:
- Offer the customer an infinite number of combinations to create control panels where they can see in real time the course of their race.
- Avoid human errors in data transfer by connecting your registration and results platform to Copérnico through APIs. If you don’t have a results platform yet, maybe you should try Sportmaniacs.
- Update and notify rankings instantly thanks to the Live app.
Better product
In the sports timing industry we define the product as the value we can bring to our customers; the organizers and our customers’ customers; runners, triathletes, cyclists… and the tools that help us bring value to the events we time: from the chip we use, to the code for displaying the athletes passing through the finish line on a giant screen.
Copérnico and its technology
We know that in less than a year and a half Copérnico is going to be the greatest reference in timing software and it is partly thanks to the key technology on which it is built: intelligent micro-services and caches, and connection with APIs.
This technology means that there are no permanently running servers to host its code: Copérnico code only runs on demand in Amazon Services. This has an efficient impact on the scalability of the data and the stability of the timing software.
Copérnico is also an infinite set of APIs to which you can connect and transfer information in an automated way. This API-driven philosophy has allowed us to build a plugin system that anyone can participate in. Our roadmap for the end of 2021 includes creating a marketplace where Copérnico-specific plugins can be offered and sold.
Any timer or developer in a timing company will be able to develop two types of plugins:
- Private: only the creator will be able to use it and this will differentiate them from the competition.
- Public: it can be used by anyone who pays for it, thus obtaining income in the Copérnico market.
At the moment we already have customers creating private plugins. And for us it is strategic not to develop all the plugins internally and to count on external developers who can increase the capabilities of Copérnico.
2021 is going to be a crucial year for Copérnico, both in terms of customer growth and in closing an ecosystem where other timing companies can contribute their grain of sand.
What we have no doubt about is that our timing software is the best solution for the uncertain times ahead. Tomorrow there will be a big difference between timers who use Copérnico and those who don’t, and the best time to start is now.
