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Official Enterprise Technology Partner of the Tampa Bay Lightning

A multi-year partnership to modernize the technology behind the Lightning, on the ice, in the business and across Benchmark International Arena.

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Tampa Bay Lightning players celebrating a goal, with the Imperium Data and Tampa Bay Lightning partner logos

The Lightning wanted more than a traditional IT vendor.

Vinik Sports Group sees technology as a strategic asset for operational excellence. The vision: use IT innovation to build a better team, a better business and the best fan experience in sports.

  • Upgrade data storage and modernize the IT infrastructure behind the organization
  • Improve operational efficiency and the fan experience at Benchmark International Arena
  • A partner that would work closely with the Lightning's internal IT team on scalable, secure solutions

In September 2025, the Lightning named Imperium Data, a local Tampa-based partner, its Official Enterprise Technology Partner.

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The Lightning wanted more than
a traditional IT vendor.

Technology as a strategic asset.

  • Upgrade data storage and modernize the IT infrastructure behind the organization
  • Improve operational efficiency and the fan experience at Benchmark International Arena
  • A partner that would work closely with the Lightning's internal IT team on scalable, secure solutions



The result: environments that are difficult to scale, operate, and own.

Designed, executed and owned, from strategy through implementation.

This wasn't a product transaction. We started with Vinik Sports Group's vision and the outcomes they needed, then worked alongside their team from strategy through implementation.

DESIGN.

We start with the Lightning's vision and the outcomes they need, then design solutions that fit their network and their business.

EXECUTE.

We carried it through implementation alongside the Lightning's IT team, in one of the most visible settings in professional sports.

OWN.

We stay on as an extension of their team after go-live, and as the Lightning's Official Enterprise Technology Partner.

Your network doesn't get timeouts.

What the partnership covers.

A multi-year partnership to use technology as a competitive edge, on the ice and in the business.

IT infrastructure and data center


Modernizing the IT infrastructure and data center that run the Lightning's business, built to be scalable and secure.

Data storage modernization


Upgrading how decades of footage and business data are stored, protected and accessed, including a new VAST Data platform.

Arena operations and fan experience


Technology that improves operational efficiency at Benchmark International Arena and the experience of every fan in it.

An extension of their IT team


A local, Tampa-based partner working side by side with the Lightning's internal IT team, well beyond a traditional vendor role.

The Partnership in Practice

One example: what began as a Production and Game Presentation initiative became a broader strategy to protect decades of Lightning history. Game footage, creative content and business data had built up across separate, aging systems, some of which the team couldn't even locate.


Vinik Sports Group selected the VAST AI Operating System. Imperium served as integration and delivery partner: infrastructure modernization strategy, designing the platform into VSG's network fabric, project management, technical oversight and coordination across all three teams. The result is decades of Lightning history on one platform, better protected, easier for production and creative teams to reach, and ready for analytics, AI and what comes next.

 

Imperium was the organization that could not only help us to design this system as a key part of our network fabric, but could also execute on the project such that we'd realize the outcomes that we had hoped we would.

 
Mark Bunn
Vice President of Innovation and Technology Services, Vinik Sports Group

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More from our community partnerships.

Imperium Data partners with the organizations that define Tampa Bay, on the ice, on the field and on campus.

Frequently Asked Questions

A multi-year partnership. Built in Tampa Bay. Designed, executed and owned alongside the Lightning's team.

01. What does it mean that Imperium Data is the Official Enterprise Technology Partner of the Tampa Bay Lightning?

It is a multi-year partnership in which Imperium Data works alongside the Lightning's internal IT team on the technology behind the organization: IT infrastructure and the data center, data storage, and the systems that support operations and the fan experience at Benchmark International Arena.

02. What has Imperium Data delivered for the Lightning?

One example is a data modernization project for Vinik Sports Group. Decades of game footage, creative content and business data were moved off separate, aging systems and onto the VAST AI Operating System, with Imperium Data as the integration and delivery partner.

03. Why did Vinik Sports Group choose Imperium Data?

In Vinik Sports Group's words, it came down to the engagement as much as the technology. They needed a partner that could design the system as a key part of their network fabric and then execute on it, staying involved from strategy through implementation.

04. What role did VAST Data play?

VAST Data provided the platform. The VAST AI Operating System now holds decades of the Lightning's game footage, creative content and business data in one place. Imperium Data was the integration and delivery partner: we designed the platform into Vinik Sports Group's network and carried the project through implementation alongside the Lightning's IT team.

05. Does Imperium Data only work with sports organizations?

No. The same approach applies across healthcare, higher education, state and local government, commercial enterprise, service providers and AI data centers: design the right solution, execute it, and stay accountable after go-live.

06. Is Imperium Data based in Tampa?

Yes. Imperium Data was founded in Tampa in 2018, which is part of what makes community partnerships like the Lightning, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and USF Athletics personal. We are proud to work with the organizations in our own backyard.

Built in Tampa Bay. Ready for what's next. Let's talk about your environment.

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