The England Rugby Football Union (RFU) will be able to measure the performance of all members, on and off the field, when it kicks off the rollout of business intelligence systems next month.

The organisation is automating the production and delivery of reports across all areas of the business, including the skills of individual players, referees and coaches, overall national participation levels and the development of the game.

Sporting bodies have traditionally focused on the success of national teams, without paying proper attention to off-field developments, says RFU head of planning, funding and resources Nick Bunting.

'Our ultimate goal is to get more people playing the game, in a better environment, with better support,' he said.

'We can now use IT more effectively to deliver clear reports on performance, while reducing administration and overheads.

'We will also be able to deliver the information to the executive level, allowing our directors to determine priorities for developing the game.'

The RFU is involved with every aspect of the sport across the country, so a high volume of data will be handled by the OutlookSoft 5 system.

'The information we process is hugely diverse,' said Bunting.

'It covers everything from the business and operational side, such as financial planning and sponsorship to grass roots rugby and the performance of the national team,' he said.

Sporting organisations are becoming more professional and will benefit from the introduction of commercial management systems, says Butler Group analyst Michael Azoff.

'There are many parallels between sports and the business world,' he said.

'If the RFU can exploit IT where others are not it will give them an advantage.'