Acronis, a specialist in cyber protection and hybrid cloud storage and currently celebrating its 15-year anniversary, has formed a new technology partnership with Arsenal Football Club. The partnership, which was announced at a media event during Arsenal’s pre-season tour to Singapore, will see the Swiss-Singaporean company provide data protection to the club’s growing IT infrastructure. 

In top-flight sports, team and competitor analysis is more important than ever to gain an upper hand over the opposition. In this ever-advancing digital age, it is particularly important in football. Developing a winning game plan means recording and analysing the number of passes within certain areas of the pitch, touches in the opponent’s box, goals scored off set pieces, and more – all of which are factors that are meticulously studied before, during and after every match.

Arsenal Football Club is at the forefront of data use within football, examining data to improve its performance both on and off the pitch. The club knows that data is extremely valuable and needs to be protected.

In its new role as an official partner, Acronis will deliver easy, efficient, and secure data protection for all of Arsenal’s data, applications and systems, such as the team’s Microsoft OneDrive and Office 365 accounts. Acronis will also provide secure storage of every first-team and academy training session recorded at the club’s training ground in Colney – which amounts to 8TB of data a year, the equivalent of 875 matches.

Designed to protect files, apps and systems in any high-pressure, data-intensive environment, Acronis’ solutions deliver the superior performance that highly competitive teams seek. That’s why Acronis is already the data protection partner of choice for multiple motorsports teams in Formula 1 and Formula E. They know Acronis can ensure the safety, security and privacy of their most critical digital assets, which they rely on to improve the competitive performance and financial returns of their team.

“At the highest level of competition, data is a critical asset. The teams that understand its importance partner with Acronis to optimise their data management. Arsenal FC has been a leader in data use, which is why we are proud to be partnering with them. It shows that Acronis’ technology is perfectly suited to high-pressure, digitally intensive environments – even those that are always on the road. We are confident this partnership will benefit Arsenal, Acronis, and all our partners and customers,” said John Zanni, president of Acronis.

As the Official Data Backup Partner of Arsenal FC, Acronis’ expertise will help the club deal with growing volumes of data while ensuring the continuity of their operations. 

Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal’s chief commercial officer, said, “As we enjoy another hugely successful pre-season tour in Singapore, we’re delighted to welcome Acronis into our family of official partners. Acronis are world leaders in data backup services and their advanced technology will ensure the club’s data is safe and secure. We look forward to working with Acronis and supporting them in their business growth plans.”

All Acronis solutions come with an integrated anti-ransomware defence, which means that data protected by Acronis will also be safe from cyberattacks. Based on artificial intelligence, Acronis Active Protection actively monitors systems in real time for suspicious and malicious behaviour, enabling it to automatically detect and stop attacks. Its self-defence capabilities also keep cybercriminals from disrupting the backup software or altering contents of its protected files.

Many of these AI-based technologies are developed in Acronis’ research and development centre in Singapore. Acronis employs more than 50 engineers, with plans to expand the base to 150 engineers in the next three years. The centre will continue to focus on advanced engineering, expanding AI, security, and privacy features of Acronis solutions.

The partnership will run for three years and entitles Acronis to LED signage around the pitch at every home Premier League, Emirates FA Cup and Carabao Cup match. Acronis will also have presence on Arsenal interview backdrops and access to Arsenal first-team players and legends to support Acronis’ aim to increase brand awareness globally.