The European Tour has announced a multi-year partnership from the 2022 season onwards with Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions. As an Official Tour Partner and Official Cybersecurity Partner, Fortinet will provide its expertise and innovative security solutions to support the Tour’s digital innovation journey.
The European Tour hosts one of the largest and most complex “Bring Your Own Device” environments in the sports industry, with up to 25,000 fans, media and key stakeholders attending tournaments each day on its flagship European Tour – which becomes the DP World Tour next season – spread across a 47-tournament season in 27 countries. The Fortinet Security Fabric – which offers a broad set of automated, integrated solutions supported by advanced threat intelligence and AI-enabled security services – will enable the European Tour to enhance its security analytics, reporting and response capabilities at its various tournaments, as well as implement a zero-trust security approach.
The European Tour also operates a hybrid cloud environment for its office and tournament-based services around the globe. By partnering with Fortinet, the Tour will benefit from Fortinet’s adaptive cloud security solutions to bring advanced security, broad visibility and control across the Tour’s cloud infrastructures and increase the speed of its operations.
Speaking about the new partnership Michael Cole, Chief Technology Officer at The European Tour, said; “In recent years we have pioneered the Tournament-As-A-Service concept, which packages intelligent and connected golf course systems into a cloud-based “smart city” solution that can be rolled out at any tournament. As we continue to bring this concept to life, Fortinet’s platform approach, through its Security Fabric offering, will further enhance the management, monitoring and agility of this complex operation and make sure we give our various stakeholders – whether that be fans, media, partners or players – an exceptional and secure experience.”
John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet said; “The European Tour delivers an amazing experience – in equal measure for their fans and world class golfers. As the European Tour’s Official Cybersecurity Partner, our company will bring its deep expertise in cybersecurity innovation to the world of golf. We are thrilled to be working together with the European Tour to accelerate its digital innovation journey thanks to the Fortinet Security Fabric, enabling broad visibility, seamless integration and granular control and automation.”
Max Hamilton, Commercial Director at the European Tour, added; “Following the ongoing and extensive transformation of the European Tour’s technological landscape, we have been keen to find a new partner that will help protect our investments and keep us at the forefront of technology in sport. Technology plays such an integral role in modern golf and Fortinet’s innovation and expertise will enhance our ability to successfully deliver a secure experience. It’s a true partnership in every sense of the word and further demonstrates our excellent commercial momentum.”
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