SINGAPORE, 29 July 2015 - Acronis®, a global leader in data protection, today announced the opening of an R&D center in Singapore. The center is set to become one of the largest software research facilities in Singapore and in the steady stage will host 120-150 engineers. Research scope of the center will include efficient data storage and processing, optimized data transfer protocols, data security and mobile data protection.
Acronis' total investment in R&D in Singapore is expected to surpass S$55 million over the next five years.
The company aims to hire local engineers and will provide extensive training and mentoring for all new team members of the R&D centre, nurturing them to become senior engineers and managers in the future.
"Our strategy focuses on global technological leadership. Acronis' research facility in Singapore will become a software R&D center that may be one of the largest and most advanced in the region in 3 years from now. Acronis will be hiring dozens of local engineers starting already this year, both experienced researchers and fresh graduates. We will establish direct relationships with the universities and specific education departments to expand the pool of available IT specialists. In addition to internal research, Acronis is planning to conduct joint research with A*STAR institutes and other local organizations," said Mark Shmulevich, Acronis' chief strategy and operations officer.
Acronis has already offered internships and mentorship opportunities to a number of universities and polytechnics in the country and is open to form more partnerships in order to facilitate skill transfer and create opportunities for the new graduates to make a career with a global IT company.
Acronis is exploring collaborations with Data Storage Institute (DSI), Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), and Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) under A*STAR. Negotiations are also under way to establish close ties with local institutes of higher learning including NUS, NTU, SMU and Temasek Polytechnic.
"Acronis is looking to participate in national projects that involve the collection and computing of big data in order to improve services. Any city that depends on data needs that data to be protected," said Serg Bell, CEO of Acronis, a Singaporean national and the company's co-founder.
He added "For Acronis, it is a logical development. It is our way to give back to our home country and stimulate the economic development and productivity growth in Singapore, contributing to Singapore's initiative to become a Smart Nation."
"The establishment of Acronis' R&D centre in Singapore is not only a testament to our proposition as a trusted regional data hub but also enables companies to go beyond delivering value through Singapore to innovating and creating new business value from Singapore. We warmly welcome the setup of this centre and look forward to partnering Acronis in its growth," said Mr Kiren Kumar, Director of the Infocomms and Media Division, Singapore Economic Development Board.
Acronis was founded in Singapore in 2001 as a part of SWsoft, a technology firm which pioneered web hosting automation software. In 2003 Acronis branched out as a separate business unit, enlarging its footprint in the Asia Pacific region, Japan and the western countries.
In September 2014 Acronis brought its international headquarters back to Singapore from Switzerland, to continue operations from this neutral technology and business hub.
"Singapore is a convenient location for international technology business. The country is well connected to the rest of the world; more than 50% of world's population and economy is in the distance of 8-hours flight from here. Singapore serves as a business and technology hub in Asia, it is a good place for a truly global company," Serg Bell said.
As well as being a politically neutral, stable and a truly independent country, Singapore has great infrastructure, network connectivity, talent pool and a strong work ethic.
The company is open for collaboration with technology incubators, startups, innovation centers and other players in the region's innovation ecosystem.
Acronis is a global cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management for managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments. Acronis solutions are highly efficient and designed to identify, prevent, detect, respond, remediate, and recover from modern cyberthreats with minimal downtime, ensuring data integrity and business continuity. Acronis offers the most comprehensive security solution on the market for MSPs with its unique ability to meet the needs of diverse and distributed IT environments.
A Swiss company founded in Singapore in 2003, Acronis has 15 offices worldwide and employees in 50+ countries. Acronis Cyber Protect is available in 26 languages in 150 countries and is used by over 20,000 service providers to protect over 750,000 businesses. Learn more at www.acronis.com.