Digital Transformation Efforts Powered by Network Automation, Simplicity, Security, and Intelligence

ŠKODA AUTO, based in Mladá Boleslav, is a leading industrial enterprise in the Czech Republic and one of the oldest carmakers in the world. Today, ŠKODA AUTO employs over 30,000 people, operating as part of the Volkswagen Group for nearly 30 years. In recent years, due to double-digit growth, the company outgrew its existing network infrastructure.

Challenges

• As ŠKODA car sales grew, the legacy network became complex — difficult to manage and troubleshoot
• A focus to improve security led to a corporate mandate to adopt Network Access Control (NAC)
• Legacy network required downtime and out-of-hours staffing to apply upgrades and deploy new services

Extreme Solutions

• Extreme Fabric Connect

Results

• Fully virtualized architecture with simpler topology and configuration, enabling easier deployment of new manufacturing services to increase car production
• Factory guests now able to access specified internal networks with authentication, even from their own devices, while companywide security is strengthened via NAC
• Better network performance and stability, improving staff productivity and vehicle manufacturing operations
• Significantly shorter downtime for network upgrades and maintenance, so IT specialists can focus on strategic management, analysis and network planning, to help accelerate business expansion
• Improved performance of businesscritical applications, including manufacturing management software and enterprise resource planning platform, essential for optimizing vehicle production