Established in 1847, the Carlsberg Group. The world’s third-largest brewer, has selected intelligent internet company Expereo to manage its internet connectivity across 40 countries at 160 sites. This decision is a crucial step in supporting Carlsberg’s global digital transformation journey.
Company Overview
The Carlsberg Group boasts a portfolio of over 140 brands, generating $10.6 billion in revenue, with a global workforce of over 40,000 employees. The brewery giant owns well-known brands such as Carlsberg, 1664, Asfana, Birrifico, Brooklyn, and Chongqing.
Challenges with Legacy Network
Despite operating a network connecting 200 sites across Europe and Asia, Carlsberg faced challenges with its legacy network. The network, composed of various regional point services and technologies, proved difficult to manage, causing delays in opening new locations. VPN performance into China was a notable issue. And the internet-based SD-WAN was found unsuitable for Carlsberg’s VoIP infrastructure and maximizing features in Microsoft Office 365.
Solutions and Deployment
In August 2023, Carlsberg turned to Cato Networks for a single-supplier Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) deployment. The brewery sought a managed internet network partner to consolidate its current estate into a unified network infrastructure. This partner needed to ensure the network underlay could support Carlsberg’s new SASE rollout and possess hyper-local knowledge and expertise to meet market demands in over 40 countries.
Expereo’s Selection and Role
Expereo emerged as the chosen partner to implement and manage a new internet underlay network for Carlsberg. The goal is to ensure seamless performance for employees, partners, and customers globally. The selected partner needed to provide a managed internet service from a single source, allowing Carlsberg’s internal IT team to focus on higher-priority tasks.
Global Internet Network Delivery
Expereo, with five global support centers and local language-speaking teams on the ground, is set to deliver the global internet network for Carlsberg by the end of March 2024. The implementation is expected to offer real-time visibility and insight into network performance through Expereo’s expereoOne offering.
Anticipated Benefits and Future Partnership
Carlsberg’s global director of networks, Laurent Gaertner, expressed the company’s desire for a partner with a deep understanding of the internet, providing unparalleled connectivity globally. The aim is to consolidate the network infrastructure. Moving from regional service providers with fragmented solutions to an integrated network and security stack. Carlsberg looks forward to a continued partnership with Expereo as it accelerates its digital transformation journey.
