French: Acronis Prevented Millions of Cyberattacks Globally in 2022

General Manager, MEA and South Asia at Acronis, Mr. Peter French, speaks about business growth in cloud computing service and how Acronis supported global businesses and prevented cyberattacks in Nigeria and the rest of the world in 2022. Nosa Alekhuogie presents the excerpts:     

How will you describe year 2022 for Acronis in terms of business growth?

2022 was an exceptional year of accomplishment and growth for Acronis. Globally, we experienced a 53 per cent year-on-year (YoY) total cloud annual recurring revenue (ARR) and 59 per cent YoY cloud service provider on annual recurring revenue. We have continued pushing for innovation in our roster of cyber protection solutions, releasing over 60 new technical advances in 2022. More locally, in Africa, Acronis has seen significant growth in 2022. In Nigeria alone, we have increased our partner base 10-fold. Our partners are the heart of our business and across the globe, we are excited to report 3,500 new global service provider signups over the past year. With over 3.5 million protected workloads, over the past year, our cyber protection solution stopped over 100 million cyberattacks. 2022 marked the most successful year in Acronis history, with a new funding round of $250 million that brought the total value of our company to $3.5 billion.

Acronis launched a data centre early last year, what is the acceptance rating of the data centre?

As a result of our Nigerian launch in 2022, we are witnessing an increase in MSP participation and rapid adoption of our advanced cyber protection portfolio.  Additionally, our presence helps expand the cloud market in Nigeria. We seek out data centres of the highest quality globally to ensure our customers have the best possible experience. 

Nigeria remained the biggest market on the African continent, what is Acronis outlook for 2023 having tested the market in 2022?

While Acronis has seen over 250 per cent year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth in Nigeria, a recent statistic highlights a 1616 per cent increase in the number of data breaches in this region during Q3 of 2022. As a cyber protection company, we are excited to enter 2023 on such a strong foundation and look forward to even greater growth results in the Nigerian market. 

There is presently a proliferation of data centres in Nigeria, what make Acronis data centre unique from others?

Acronis is actively expanding our presence in existing Cyber Cloud data centers all over the world. By operating within these data centres, Acronis can introduce our comprehensive cyber protection solutions to Nigerian organisations of all sizes, including consumers looking to preserve and protect their most critical files. Our presence in local Cyber Cloud data centres, allows for much faster and more reliable access to data. Local access to data centres eliminates third parties and potential delays, which maximises our customers’ performance and provides more reliable access to data. Globally, we have expanded our data centre network to over 50, and in our selection process we look for SOC certified entities, with most being ISO 27001 certified. Acronis operations and services are all independently ISO 27001 certified as well, ensuring that industry-level safety practices are implemented as we handle sensitive customer data. Additionally, Acronis meets or exceeds all GDPR requirements on a worldwide basis.

There is a projection of $6 trillion loss to cybersecurity within and outside Nigeria by 2030. As a cyber protection company, what can be done to avert this or reduce it? 

At Acronis, we recognise the need to eliminate needless complexity in cyber protection, so we deliver a simplified, single-agent platform for MSPs to protect customers. Our integrated solution not only reduces complexity but also reduces costs and risks with the ability to free up resources and time for our partners, while closing potential security gaps. Another vital facet to reduce losses posed by cyber security threats in today’s cyber threat landscape is proactive grassroots-level education and training. By teaching and practicing responsible cyber awareness skills, intelligent security habits can be adopted and utilised by all parties. Similar to how someone might strive to improve their health and fitness by cultivating knowledgeable habits, digital hygiene can be trained and honed. Acronis refers to this as being ‘#CyberFit’. No one is exempted from this, beginning from a child using home devices, to a professional working in a complex Information Technology (IT) environment. Our software is built, tested, distributed, licensed, and stored in Switzerland, where we have always employed robust security processes and protocols that protect the information for Acronis and our customers. We are continuously pushing for new innovations to keep up with the developing threat landscape and as more companies and individuals become interconnected, we will continue to innovate to keep all data, apps, and systems secure.

Acronis has been doing business in Nigeria, how much of local capacity are you leveraging to penetrate the market?

As a Swiss company with a worldwide presence, we strive to think global and act local. At the start of 2022 we had zero local presence in Nigeria. Fast forward a few months and we now have two distributors and over 10 employees in Nigeria.  We have also expanded their reach to help service businesses in the African region.  We look forward to further expansion into this region. In 2023 we celebrate 20-years of continued innovation from Acronis. We are excited to see even more opportunistic growth and expansion into Africa and invite interested service providers to reach out to learn more about our partner program.