ACRONIS AT THE FOREFRONT OF GLOBAL CYBER PROTECTION

In turbulent times when the future of the global economy and life seems uncertain, reading the annual recapitulation of Acronis, a world leader in integrated cyber protection solutions, brings calm and inspiration. Established in Singapore in 2003 and incorporated in Switzerland in 2008, in 2021 Acronis expanded its global workforce and its Bulgaria-based R&D division, opened new offices, won over 30 prestigious international awards and scored its best year ever in regard to gaining new clients, growth and charity activities.

This is possible thanks to Acronis's integrated cyber protection solutions for service providers, companies and individual users that cover all the threats an organisation or a person experiences on a daily basis.

For half of 2021, Acronis's stellar growth has taken place under a new CEO, Patrick Pulvermueller. A cloud software and hosting industry veteran, he brought to the company over 20 years of experience in technical, management, and leadership roles in which he has proven to sustainably bring innovation and global growth to brands. Patrick Pulvermueller is an expert in developing successful, cloud-based go-to-market strategies, particularly through service providers, resale channels, and strategic alliances. His knowledge and talent are now devoted to making Acronis and its team even better and more successful.

We talked to Patrick Pulvermueller to learn more.

What was your motivation to become a part of Acronis?

I have known Acronis for more than 19 years and have used its products for the last eight years. I was already convinced of the quality of the company's products when Serguei Beloussov, the key shareholder and founder of Acronis, invited me to have a closer look on what makes Acronis so exciting. I did, and I found three things. First, Acronis has amazing people, and at the time I was looking for working with a team that was really energised, really behind their mission and truly knowing what they want to deliver and how to deliver it. Second, Acronis had an amazing market. Cyber security is a very compelling market to be in, especially for Acronis where we combine cybersecurity with data protection to achieve what we call cyber protection. Third, Acronis had an amazing product, its trademark complex solution that serves everyone.

I wanted to be a part of this team and to feel this energy. I know that when people believe in what they do, success will ultimately arrive. And this is what we see right now in Acronis: acceleration growth via finding the right talent, especially in Bulgaria.

What do you think about Acronis after half a year as its CEO?

I have not regretted one single second of it. Everything I hoped I could find at Acronis, I found. Sometimes it feels like a dream.

What did you learn about cyber security since you joined Acronis?

At Acronis I learned that cyber security is so much more than antivirus protection plus backup. There are so many different tech angles and tools nowadays to protect your customers' end-services, security and devices from all types of threats, such as ransomware and malware. Acronis offers the only global solution that integrates all of these features into one single experience and service for companies and individuals. This makes Acronis truly unique.

Is this the future of cyber security? Can you say that Acronis is at the forefront in this field?

The short answer to both questions is yes. Cyber Protect and Cyber Protect Home Office are a solution that removes the danger of a human mistake when configuring the features of different cyber protection solutions for different devices, and this will become even more important in the near future. Acronis has one fully integrated solution based on one code that covers all the gaps. Achieving this was a difficult task that started in 2013, involved hundreds of professionals and cost millions of dollars of investment. This is how Acronis ended up with a fully developed, working solution that is hard to replicate by others.

What are the other strong points of Acronis's solution for cyber protection?

Acronis offers one service and product that you can install on all types of devices – a laptop, a server, a phone, etc. Then you can turn on and off the features that you do or do not need. It literally takes one click to achieve full protection of your company or personal devices, servers, technology, through the cloud. It covers everything – from security to data protection, to management.

Our R&D departments are now busy expanding this service to cover the home automation devices as a part of the Internet of Things that are taking over our homes.

Acronis's biggest R&D department is in Bulgaria and it continues to grow. How do you see its future?

Bulgaria is our largest office today and will continue to be so, as we plan to have more than 1,000 people there very soon. I have worked with the country for the last six years and I have found that in Bulgaria you can find the best talent with the best motivation. We, at Acronis, are so proud with the work done by everyone here, with our amazing partnership with Sofia's Technical University. It is just perfect.

What do you think about Bulgaria as a visitor?

Unfortunately, I never had the chance to really enjoy Bulgaria, because my schedule is so busy. But I have enjoyed what I have seen and experienced from the country. I was planning a tour around Bulgaria with my family, but the pandemic put that on hold. Now, hopefully, we can do this.

How do you balance your personal and professional life?

For many years now my life has been managed by my calendar with the help of my executive assistant. Having a clearly set schedule is what keeps me sane. I know that in order to keep going and to give the best I am capable of, I need enough time to sleep, to workout so that I stay physically fit and to maintain my social life. Everyone in the company knows that they can call me 24/7, but also that dinner-time with my wife and five kids is sacred for me. Of course, my phone is always on the table in case of an emergency. The weekends are less structured.

Living like that was tough at the beginning, but now it has become a second nature, and it works quite well. When the separate areas in one's life are balanced, then everything else is so much easier.

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