PRESS &
NEWS RELEASE

Manchester united shoots for success with a “digital experience platform” powered by HCL

Aug 08, 2018

Published Date: Aug 16, 2018

Noida, India and Manchester, UK – 16 August 2018 – Manchester United (NYSE: MANU) has today announced a major milestone on its digital transformation journey with HCL Technologies, with the successful launch of the Manchester United Official app* powered by HCL’s digital experience platform. The launch is part of the ongoing digital transformation of the club to provide a real-time, engaging, personalized, and unified experience to Manchester United’s 659 million global followers, which supports the club’s strategy to become a Digital Sports Enterprise. This transformation is supported by HCL’s extensive market-leading capabilities that enable global enterprises to transform their businesses for the digital age.

At the heart of this transformation is the digital platform developed by HCL, providing the club with a single view of fans across web and app touchpoints, offering fans a one-stop shop for everything in Manchester United. The platform also enables Manchester United to deliver an unparalleled and unified fan experience and continuously presents relevant club content driven by analytics in an easy-to-consume premium web and app experience benefitting a club with a 140-year brand heritage.

HCL’s digital platform integrates multiple industry-standard products, services, and applications into a cloud-native, auto-scalable architecture that has been configured to support more than a billion fans. Manchester United now has a robust and scalable digital platform that will allow it to integrate a number of key revenue-driving touchpoints including; ticketing, e-commerce, events, and experiences, as well as deliver benefits to key stakeholders across the value chain. By fostering greater fan engagement globally and attaining greater insight into their digital preferences and behavior, Manchester United will be able to create new business models and better monetize its digital real-estate.

The new app and recently revamped club website (www.manutd.com) aim to establish a sustained digital relationship between fans and the club, leading to a more active and engaged user base. The digital platform includes bespoke real-time authoring and editorial tools, along with unified content and digital asset management capabilities, providing the club’s content editors with unprecedented publishing speed and agility. The Manchester United official app and website will be the go-to destination for breaking Manchester United news and matchday coverage.

Manchester United’s Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold comments:

“This app will allow our 659 million Manchester United followers to easily connect to the club they love, wherever they are in the world. Fans will now have the opportunity to follow all Manchester United matches through the app with up-to-the-second notifications and updates.

Just days after launch, the Manchester United Official app reached number one in the App Store’s sports category download charts in 68 markets around the world. The app was also top ten within the sports category in a further 123 markets.

The app was created by a dedicated project team from HCL Technologies and Manchester United, ensuring a truly collaborative approach to the project. The team not only built the new app and website but also created an advanced underlying platform that will give the club the ability to adapt as new technologies emerge.”

HCL Technologies’ Corporate Vice President, Ashish Gupta, comments:

“Our partnership with Manchester United has been one of continuous co-innovation. HCL’s digital experience platform has driven significant business transformation combining digital product strategy and technology innovation to deliver a compelling user experience. The Manchester United official app has received excellent reviews from a worldwide fan base with downloads in over 210 markets.

Manchester United is a great example of a modern, forward-thinking global organization that is embracing transformative solutions to realize its digital potential. We are excited to help Manchester United achieve this important milestone and look forward to many years of continued success.”

For more information, please visit /UnitedByHCL

* The Manchester United Official app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.

About Manchester United 

Manchester United is one of the most popular and successful sports teams in the world, playing one of the most popular spectator sports on Earth. Through our 140-year heritage, we have won 66 trophies, enabling us to develop the world’s leading sports brand and a global community of 659 million followers. Our large, passionate community provides Manchester United with a worldwide platform to generate significant revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting, and match day.

About HCL Technologies

HCL Technologies (HCL) is a leading global technology company that helps global enterprises re-imagine and transform their businesses through Digital technology transformation. HCL operates out of 41 countries and has consolidated revenues of US$ 8.0 billion, for 12 Months ended 30th June 2018. HCL focuses on providing an integrated portfolio of services underlined by its Mode 1–2–3 growth strategy. Mode 1 encompasses the core services in the areas of Applications, Infrastructure, BPO, and Engineering & R&D services leveraging DRYiCETM Autonomics to transform clients’ business and IT landscape, making them ‘lean’ and ‘agile’. Mode 2 focuses on experience-centric and outcome-oriented integrated offerings of Digital & Analytics, IoT WoRKS™, Cloud Native Services, and Cybersecurity & GRC services to drive business outcomes and enable enterprise digitalization. Mode 3 strategy is ecosystem–driven, creating innovative IP–partnerships to build products and platforms business. HCL leverages its global network of integrated co-innovation labs and global delivery capabilities to provide holistic multi-service delivery in key industry verticals including Financial Services, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, Media, Publishing, Entertainment, Retail & CPG, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Energy & Utilities, Travel, Transportation & Logistics, and Government. With 124,121 professionals from diverse nationalities, HCL focuses on creating real value for customers by taking ‘Relationships Beyond the Contract’. For more information, please visit www.hcltech.com

Forward-looking Statements 

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the statements containing the words ‘planned’, ‘expects’, ‘believes’,’ strategy’, ‘opportunity’, ‘anticipates’, ‘hopes’ or other similar words. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding impact of pending regulatory proceedings, fluctuations in earnings, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services, business process outsourcing and consulting services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, customer acceptances of our services, products and fee structures, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, our ability to integrate acquired assets in a cost-effective and timely manner, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-timeframe contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, the success of our brand development efforts, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies /entities in which we have made strategic investments, withdrawal of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property, other risks, uncertainties and general economic conditions affecting our industry. There can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements made herein will prove to be accurate, and issuance of such forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by the Company, or any other person, that the objective and plans of the Company will be achieved. All forward-looking statements made herein are based on information presently available to the Management of the Company and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company.

For further details please contact:

HCL Technologies

RAVI KATHURIA

Ravi.Kathuria@hcl.com

Elka Ghudial

Elka.Ghudial@hcl.com

Manchester United

Kate Lowe

Kate.Lowe@manutd.co.uk

SOURCE: