Sahara Force, Singapore's Acronis sign data protection deal

London, April 8 (IANS) Formula 1 racing team Sahara Force India and Singapore-headquartered data protection multinational Acronis have announced signing of a technology partnership by which Acronis will provide protection to the teams factory, wind tunnel, and trackside IT infrastructure, according to a joint statement by the companies.

As part of the agreement, the mission control room at Sahara Force factory in Silverstone, UK, will be named the "Acronis Mission Control Centre," signifying the value of data and its protection in Formula 1, the statement said.

"Acronis will provide backup, disaster recovery, software-defined storage, file sync and share, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based ransomware protection to the team's factory, wind tunnel, and trackside IT infrastructure," it said.

Noting that Formula 1 generates significantly more data than other sports and teams rely on huge data centres full of computers that need protecting, the statement said: "Sahara Force India captures hundreds of gigabytes of telemetry data at the racetrack and continuously produces terabytes of engineering data at the factory." 

"Acronis will provide the most innovative and effective ways to store, protect, and defend data from ransomware attacks." 

Sahara Force Chief Operating Officer Otmar Szafnauer said in a statement: "It's a mutually beneficial partnership because we will demonstrate the capabilities of Acronis' data protection and storage solutions, while also giving Acronis insights into the needs of the motorsport industry." 

"We are proud to form a partnership with Sahara Force India. Acronis' innovative technology fully meets the requirements of motorsport teams, offering fast, easy, and reliable protection of data when it matters most," said Acronis President John Zanni.

Acronis also said the agreement would allow Sahara to take full advantage of the AI-based Acronis Active Protection technology