OpSys adds Adelaide Crows to roster as Acronis MSP push gains ground

Latest partnership with elite sports organisation aims to turn cyber protection into a competitive advantage and is part of Acronis global MSP push.

Australian Football League team the Adelaide Crows has partnered with OpSys for the next three AFL seasons to provide managed cybersecurity services and IT strategy.

The club is focusing on strengthening its data and IT resilience, while also providing a foundation for future digital adoption.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve every area of our operations and we feel this partnership is another important step forward in our digital transformation,” said Tim Silvers, CEO, Adelaide Crows.

OpSys will provide managed cyber protection services for the Crows, which combines OpSys real-time threat detection with Acronis secure backup, disaster recovery and endpoint protection.

“Beyond protection, we’re also implementing a broader IT strategy that aligns with the club’s performance and security goals,” Silvers added.

Targeting sports with cyber protection partnerships

The Crows partnership is the latest addition to the Acronis #TeamUp program, a global initiative that connects MSPs with professional sports organisations.

The Swiss-founded cybersecurity outfit provides native cybersecurity, data protection and endpoint management with its flagship Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud platform. It’s heavily focused on MSPs, providing multi-client support, usage-based pricing and integrations with management tools.

In Australia, the program already includes Sydney FC in collaboration with Hyperix and supercars outfit Brad Jones Racing. Internationally, there are more than 40 sports organisations in the partner program including the New York Yankees and Arsenal FC.

Silvers at the Adelaide Crows stressed the strength of combining cyber expertise, strategic IT capability and industry understanding with a view to strong governance and protection across digital systems.

Matthew Fabri, managing director at OpSys said, “We don’t just deploy tools; we co-design secure, scalable environments tailored to the specific needs of high-performance teams like the Crows to build resilience, not just systems.”

It comes as cybersecurity threats put sports organisations at risk of data breaches and cyber attacks and digital transformation continues to reshape professional sports.

“The digital transformation that has occurred over the recent years has enabled better performance analysis, improved fan experiences, stronger sponsor value, and enhanced operational efficiency,” Fabri said.

Sports organisations are no longer just athletic institutions — they’re digital media hubs, data-rich enterprises and global fan engagement platforms. The key here is that with digital assets, there needs to be security to protect them, Fabri noted.

“Sports clubs now hold a large amount of PII data, players, staff, members etc. Sports clubs need to be aware and protect against growing cybersecurity threats, especially as teams become more reliant on cloud services, mobile apps and live data analytics,” he said.

Like other organisations, elite sports groups must respond to the evolving cyber threat landscape while simultaneously refactoring legacy systems and balancing performance with security.

OpSys will need to tackle the challenges, which range from technical integrations to workplace changes, that come with building resilience and steering digital transformation efforts.

“The key challenges include evolving cyber threats, legacy systems, and the need to balance performance with security. There's also a cultural aspect — building cyber awareness within sporting environments,” Fabri explained.

At an operational level, that means adopting a layered security model, continuous monitoring and tailored staff training.

“Our approach is proactive, not reactive — we’re not just responding to issues, we’re anticipating and preventing them,” Fabri ended.