Asahi Beverages

Asahi Beverages (Asahi) is Australia’s largest and most recognised beverage company, with operations spanning manufacturing, warehousing and sales. Managing technology across environments as varied and complex as these demands’ rigour, consistency and a network strategy that can adapt as the business grows.

When the opportunity arose to establish a new corporate head office at Freshwater Place in Southbank, Melbourne, Asahi’s IT team understood that this was no ordinary office relocation. The new site would be where the company’s Asia-Pacific CEO is based, where guests and partners from Australia, New Zealand and Asia would be hosted, and where Asahi’s ambitions for the region would be on display. From a technology standpoint, it needed to reflect a high standard.

The timing also presented a strategic opportunity as Asahi had been exploring a new approach to network security; one that would extend to its manufacturing and warehousing operations.

The project offered a controlled environment in which to design, deploy and validate the approach. As Network Services Manager, Wayne Andrew, explained: “This building gave us a chance for us to take a look at more modern technology. It turned out to be a pretty good result.”

Asahi and Data^#3 had been working together for around three years, beginning with a formal commercial arrangement and then a series of networking projects that built familiarity and trust on both sides. By the time the relocation for Freshwater Place project came into scope, that relationship was ready for something more ambitious.

At the heart of the Freshwater Place deployment is a solution built on Cisco architecture, a modern network design approach that decouples policy and segmentation from the physical network. This makes it possible to control access without adding complexity to the physical infrastructure.

The solution delivered a modern, identity-based network that provides stronger control over access, improved operational efficiency and a scalable foundation for future expansion. By simplifying network management and centralising administration, Asahi has reduced complexity while creating a more secure and flexible environment to support the business.

This site is also fully wireless, built on Wi-Fi 7 infrastructure. Asahi now has a modern, cable-free working environment that will meet the needs of a high-density corporate headquarters well into the future.

The new environment also included Cisco Spaces, a platform that brings an intelligent, user-facing layer to the physical workplace. Cisco Spaces enables touchscreen and mobile wayfinding to meeting rooms, workplace experience features, environmental monitoring including environmental conditions, and productivity tools around meeting room bookings and space utilisation.

This was among the first full deployments of Cisco Spaces at this scale in the Australian market outside Cisco’s own facilities; a distinction that brought Cisco’s global product and engineering teams closely into the project.

Throughout delivery, Data^#3’s role extended well beyond simply the technical scope. The team managed hardware procurement and bill of materials in close coordination with Cisco, ensuring equipment arrived in line with the compressed timeline.

Data^#3 also mobilised additional resources and worked within the existing weekly project cadence to keep all tracks moving. Critically, when on-site coordination was required with third-party providers to get network services into the building, engineers were there working alongside external delivery teams on behalf of Asahi, even when Asahi’s own staff weren’t physically present at the new site.

“The Account Management team were readily available when we needed it. There were also plenty of times I could see Data^#3’s engineers working with other delivery teams to help bring services in. They really went over and above to keep things moving,” Andrew stated.

A phased testing approach allowed issues to be identified and resolved in advance. The Data^#3 and Cisco team was on-site on day one of move-in, ready to support.

Relocating to a new office is a significant undertaking for any organisation. For Asahi Beverages, it was also an opportunity to raise the bar on network security, modernise the user experience and lay the groundwork for a broader technology transformation across the business. That the move happened on time, on brief and without disruption reflects how well the project was prepared and delivered.

When Asahi was looking for the right partner to take on this kind of work, Andrew’s thinking was deliberate:

“You want to be with a partner whose Account Manager truly values the relationship. One whose project management is strong, whose order management is reliable, and who will do things that bigger providers simply wouldn’t bother with. That’s what we found with Data^#3.”

The relationship that made Freshwater Place possible wasn’t built overnight. It developed through years of smaller engagements, consistent delivery and the kind of daily communication that gradually turns a supplier into a trusted extension of the team.
Andrew said he actively encouraged his internal engineers to utilise the Data^#3 team as an extension of their own team.

“I said to my team, leverage Data^#3 whenever possible. Run everything by them and ask any question you want. They know our network and they know what’s on offer from Cisco. It’s like having another resource in our team.”

That embedded, collaborative way of working is what allowed the project to absorb a six-week schedule compression, coordinate across multiple delivery partners and still land on time. It is also what gives Asahi the confidence to continue extending the partnership as the next phase of their network modernisation program takes shape.

“It’s a personalised approach. Data^#3 and Cisco have a good connection with their customers, they understand our business and they’re responsive. If I ask for something, I want an answer fairly quickly. It just makes everything easier,” Andrew concluded.