Acronis, a global leader in hybrid cloud cyber protection solutions announced another significant sports partnership during the Formula 1 finale in Abu Dhabi.
In Abu Dhabi, Acronis officially announced a new technology partnership with Manchester City.
The company is already the data storage provider for Formula 1 teams Williams Racing and Force India, and also has an agreement in place with English Premier League giants Arsenal FC.
Acronis has enjoyed huge success since venturing into the sports industry, and has secured a number of major cybersecurity contracts. The company is projected to scale its operations even further in 2019.
Telecom Review was in attendance at the official announcement between Acronis and Manchester City and managed to secure an exclusive interview with the company’s CEO Serguei Beloussov. Under his dynamic leadership Acronis has become a major player in the cybersecurity space.
In a brilliant interview, the charismatic CEO outlined what differentiates Acronis from its rivals, its decision to penetrate the security space in world sports and its plans for the future.
Beloussov said that technology was the predominant factor in what separates Acronis from other player in the cybersecurity industry.
He told Telecom Review, What differentiates us from our competitors is primarily our technology. We’re by far the most innovative company and the only one in our space that integrates security. In addition to this, Acronis is the only entity that uses emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain. I also think we’ve got a very strong marketing team that has really helped us get our solutions into a lot of new markets. However, I think the key differentiator between us and our rivals is technology.”
Acronis has secured a number of multiple partnership agreements with sports companies worldwide and the CEO expressed his surprise that Premier League football clubs host more data than the engineering-centric world of motorsports.
Beloussov added, “We knew in Formula 1 that they needed cyber-protection because they generate a lot of data, and they also need to store a lot of historical data that has been built up over a period of 10 years. So the accumulation of data is not something new in Formula 1. However, what we were very surprised to find out was that it is happening in every sport. In fact, we were shocked to realize that Arsenal FC has more data than a F1 team. There’s a lot of sport science related to the players and then when you take in the fans there’s a lot of multimedia data which they store and analyze. It’s a big industry, and it’s valued at around $90bn. It’s a very passionate industry and a very competitive industry.
In addition to the CEO disclosed that he expects to be talking to a lot of other F1 teams over the forthcoming months, and is projecting that they will reach agreements with a whole host of other F1 teams in the next twelve months.
Some ICT experts have predicted that AI and Machine Learning will be a ‘silver bullet’ for the challenges presented in the complex world of cybersecurity. However, this was refuted strongly by the CEO of Acronis, who was quick to dismiss it.
“There is no silver bullet to cybersecurity. One of the founders of the leading national security agency in the United States, which also happens to be the largest cybersecurity organization in the world, famously said, that as soon as a computer is on it is unsecured. So there is no silver bullet. However, it is important to acknowledge that AI plays an important role in cybersecurity and allows us to process things faster and it’s a solution you have to have, said Beloussov.”
In relation to the Middle East, the Acronis CEO conceded that despite the fact it’s not the most mature market in the world, it is one of the fastest growing markets in the world for the cybersecurity leader.
The CEO concluded by saying, “The Middle East is a very important market for us, but the geopolitics of the region can make it a big challenge. Obviously diplomatic relations between Qatar and a number of countries in the Gulf such as Saudi Arabia and UAE are non-existent now and can create problems from a business perspective. But it is a technology-centric region, particularly in the UAE, and Dubai is pursuing a progressive approach in relation to its smart city aspirations, so it’s an important market for us. It’s one of the fastest growing markets in the world for us.”