Milan—Lenovo and world football (soccer) association Football Club Internazionale Milano (Inter) have upgraded their multi-year partnership taking the prized back-of-shirt placement on the team’s iconic jersey, starting in the 2021/2022 season. Lenovo has been the official Global Technology Partner since 2019, where it has been instrumental in transforming the club’s digital experience, providing both Inter’s Suning Training Center in Appiano Gentile and their headquarters with vital smarter technology.
From servers, data management, storage, and smart collaboration devices, through to laptops, monitors and accessories, as part of the upgraded partnership Lenovo will be supporting Inter with technology to gather and manage large amounts of data, transform operations, and deliver better results on and off the pitch. Lenovo’s smarter tech enables Inter to digitize historical archives and documents for easier data access.
Inter’s heritage is second to none. The only club to participate in the top-flight of Italian football since its inception in 1909, they have been crowned champions of the European cup three times. With 19 Serie A titles to their name, they are the reigning Italian champions.
Lenovo’s partnership has delivered on a number of operational performance improvements for Inter since 2019:
Inter’s data processing performance and speed has improved by 20 percent, managing over 100 million GPS data points collected over the past two seasons during training, including 60 million player-related data points that must be wrangled
The computational power of Lenovo’s servers has reduced the time it takes Inter to process reports by 25 percent
Lenovo data storage is fundamental to supporting 50,000 hours of digital video made available as part of the Media Asset Management (MAM), enabling the hosting of 400 terabytes of digital content on the Inter digital archive
Provides one of the most advanced performance analysis work-flows in Italy, enabling improved stability, flexibility, scalability and security
Shirt Sponsorship
The upgraded shirt sponsorship deal elevates the union of the two iconic brands and their shared values in high performance and relentless innovation. The Lenovo logo’s strategic placement in the coveted back-of-shirt spot on the team’s jersey will lead to a significant increase in brand visibility, including in both Serie A and Coppa Italia.
Global Technology Partner
The past two years have seen Lenovo become deeply embedded in the club as its Global Technology Partner. This includes integrating edge server devices to allow for even greater efficiencies in the collection and processing of data, as well as Lenovo’s high-performance PCs, monitors and smart collaboration devices. The latest agreement will see Lenovo provide Inter with a complete IT solution across hardware, software, and support:
Player Technology: Unrivalled data storage and processing powers will unleash analytics and player development. Structured and unstructured data points will provide tactical insights into player fitness and match analysis. During training sessions, Global Positioning System (GPS) is also used to analyze player speed, distance, workload and the impact on overall team performance, to inform Inter’s training schedule. The data will be used by the team during training sessions to not only review matches, but strategically plan the next games.
Fan Technology: Bringing over 50 million fans (with more followers in Asia than any other Italian club), Lenovo technology enhances matchday experiences and provides a window into the day-to-day activities of this legend of football. Lenovo’s Media Asset Management (MAM) solution provides Inter with a huge online historical archive of digital assets, including 50,000 hours of video alone, which is easily accessible and customizable on demand. For example, fans can enter their name and date of birth into the Inter digital archive to find out what has happened at the club during their lifetime.
Business Technology: Lenovo has matched smart technology to Inter’s present need and is providing expertise for the technological development of the club’s headquarters and training facilities. Ushering in the future of work, Lenovo’s world-leading hardware and software solutions include ThinkPad™ laptops, ThinkVision™ monitors, and ThinkSmart™ collaboration devices, and more for remote/hybrid collaboration and streamlining business operations. Using Lenovo’s smarter tech has allowed for Inter to collaborate seamlessly through web conferencing and remote working.
FC Internazionale Milano Corporate CEO, Alessandro Antonello, said, “The fusion of football and technology is now essential in driving Inter to new heights – from the way we interact with our fans to the tools we have available – this Lenovo partnership sits at the heart of all of it. We’re pleased to deepen our partnership with Lenovo: together we can fuel innovation to make Inter increasingly technologically advanced and forward-looking.”
“Since first coming together, our technology partnership with FC Internazionale Milano has delivered real tangible improvements in performance. More than a sponsorship, this is a meeting of winning mentalities dedicated to continued success both on and off the pitch,” said Luca Rossi, President of Intelligent Devices Group, Lenovo. “Focused on a bold vision to enable smarter technology for all, we’re eager to continue strengthening our partnership to make real advances in digitally transforming Inter into a club of the future for its next generation of fans and wider community.”
