Manchester United aims to enhance fan experience with new HCL deal

Manchester United has announced a new global partnership with HCL Technologies, the IT services company.

The deal will see the club and HCL working together to create digital initiatives targeting Manchester United’s 659m followers around the world.

To kick-start the partnership, India-headquartered HCL will design a ‘United Xperience Lab’ at the Old Trafford stadium, where the two organisations will look at ways in which United can use technology to promote a more unified fan experience for its supporters.

Richard Arnold, the group managing director of Manchester United, said: “Our partnership with HCL is a first for Manchester United.

“With the introduction of the United Xperience Lab at Old Trafford, we hope to demonstrate best practices within the industry to generate new ideas that leverage the latest technology available in the evolving digital landscape.”

He added: “It is a very exciting prospect and the possibilities of what we can achieve are endless. Through digital transformation we hope to change the way in which our fans experience and interact with Manchester United.”

Six other United Xperience Labs are in operation around the world. With the latest, Manchester United is hoping to set what it sees as a new engagement benchmark in the global sports community.

Discussing the deal, HCL Technologies’ CEO and president, Anant Gupta, commented: “This partnership is unique and creates value not just for Manchester United and its fans, but also for all forward-looking organizations across the world.

“With enterprises facing an explosion of digital content and experience interfaces there is a growing need for a partner who can orchestrate these value chains and harness them for business benefits.

He continued: “Our partnership will enable HCL to create and manage these digital assets at a scale which will make it a prototype for successful digital co-innovation in any industry/organization in the world.”

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