The Special Olympics embarks on digital journey to empower its athletes

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.