Transforming Seven & i’s Wi-Fi network

As the parent company, Seven & i Holdings is responsible for group-wide business planning, management, and operations, alongside the strategic planning, implementation, and operations of IT and security for each company. In recent years, the group integrated IT infrastructure for synergy and to allow for more sophisticated security postures, with the Group’s Office Automation and Networking (OA/NW) Department overseeing infrastructure used by over 30,000 users across 25 companies in approximately 1,600 locations (as of the end of August 2024).

“We introduced a new Wi-Fi system with the aim of integration, but we couldn’t avoid mixing the old and new infrastructure, which made operations difficult,” recalled Hideki Kaneko, Senior Officer, Group OA/NW System Unit at Seven & i Holdings. “Users frequently complained about slow speeds and Wi-Fi interruptions. We could not visualize the Wi-Fi network status and troubleshooting required advanced experience, meaning only a limited number of our team could resolve issues. Even then, some problems could never be completely resolved.”

Despite its Wi-Fi network being new, Kaneko felt that the issues were too significant and that its workforce would not be satisfied if no changes were made. He decided that it was necessary to make another upgrade to a wireless LAN solution that could improve operations and provide visibility across the Wi-Fi environment.

Kaneko had prior experience with the Juniper AI-Native Networking Platform and believed it could solve Seven & i Holdings’ problems. In particular, the group needed to integrate multiple organizations’ IT infrastructures, and the Juniper solution had the advantage of extending networking across many sites.

With the support of Juniper Networks and solution partners, the company carried out thorough pre-verification. It focused on discovering and resolving new issues and began full-scale implementation.

“To be honest, I was against the introduction of Juniper. It’s true that we had difficulties with the existing system, but we felt that we were beginning to understand how to operate it,” said Akiyoshi Nakashima, Officer, Group OA/NW System Unit at Seven & i Holdings.

“However, as we started operating the Juniper network, we came to understand how intuitive it is to use, and that visibility and usability were high,” continued Nakashima. “The proposed new operational method using Juniper Mist AI was useful, and even staff who were unfamiliar with Juniper and Wi-Fi technology could adequately manage and troubleshoot. In fact, other skeptical staff members changed their opinion and even expressed that they wanted to operate and manage all networks with Juniper.”

By completely upgrading the Wi-Fi environment using Juniper’s AI-Native Networking Platform, the company has integrated the network across the group, significantly improving performance, convenience, and operability.

 ‘Follow-the-sun’ support, crucial for building new networks
“Juniper’s 24-hour support for multiple locations across different time zones was impressive. Since tickets can be opened from the Juniper Mist portal, the staff liked that it can be used easily, regardless of the question”.

 Improved operations and management
Operational efficiency was improved, and it was even possible to reduce resourcing required due to the operational simplicity. With the benefits of using the Juniper Mist portal and AIOps, any IT staff member can manage the network.

 Further simplifying operations with AI
“The Seven & i Group operates worldwide, so developing a global architecture will help with optimizing operational and procurement costs. I would like to work with the global team to see if we can integrate our network with Juniper solutions, including at our overseas bases,” said Kaneko.