Data Security a Huge Issue for NFL Teams
After a season of highs and lows, the Denver Broncos are headed to Super Bowl 50 to face the Carolina Panthers. But teamwork, dedication and hard work aren’t the only things that contributed to the Broncos’ surge to the NFL’s championship game.
The amount of data generated by an NFL team is staggering. Besides statistics, plays, strategies and a crunch of information that would make some quarterbacks’ heads hurt, the business of running a professional sports team requires videos, photos and graphics to be distributed to special events, marketing and fans relations partners.
Because of email and private network restrictions, all of this data used to be downloaded to discs, thumb drives or hard drives. They would then be delivered by hand to players, coaches and other important members of the Broncos team.
WS_FTP is Broncos’ Choice for an FTPS Server
The franchise’s use of Ipswitch WS_FTP Server, a FTPS (file transfer protocol secure) server, gave it a great defense for protecting data in motion. This data includes plays, high-definition videos, graphics and more to players, coaches and business partners. You could argue file transfer capabilities didn’t directly get the Broncos to the biggest game in football, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
But this process was time-consuming, inefficient and not to mention a huge data security risk. Ipswitch’s WS_FTP Server came to the rescue the same way Brock Osweiler saved the day – or at least didn’t blow it – this past season when quarterback Peyton Manning missed some of the action with an injured foot.
Unlike Osweiler, who subbed for Manning only temporarily, WS_FTP Server was a permanent solution to the Broncos’ file transfer woes. WS_FTP Server is secure enough to keep confidential team information out of the wrong hands – some would unfairly imply out of the New England Patriots’ hands. It’s also powerful enough to handle the influx and growth of data, and gives ultimate visibility and control for top achievement.
Another key quality of WS_FTP Server is its uninterrupted service that increases uptime, availability and consistent performance with a failover configuration. Unlike the Microsoft Surface tablets that failed the Patriots during the recent AFC Conference Championship, WS_FTP Server won’t go down, or leave the Broncos’ files in limbo, unprotected and undelivered.
NFL Becoming a Technology-Driven Business
The NFL’s need for quality IT service goes beyond devices displaying plays and diagrams. File transfer played a role in the way football went from throwing a pig skin down a grassy field to being a technology-driven business.
By providing partners with just a username and password, transferring files is completed in just a few clicks. So before the Broncos head to Santa Clara for the big game, the team can rest easy knowing its files are secure and accessible by all players, coaches, team executives and business professionals keeping the team running smoothly.
Read the Ipswitch File Transfer Case Study: Denver Broncos
We’ll find out Sunday if the Broncos and Manning can beat the tough Panthers, if the commercials will make us laugh and if Beyoncé and Coldplay will dazzle with their halftime show. But one thing the Broncos and all Ipswitch customers will always be assured of is the success, security and compliance of WS_FTP Server file transfer solution.
