Elkjøp is the largest electronics retailer in the Nordics, operating across Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
With over 420 stores and 10,000 employees, the company requires an agile and robust IT infrastructure to support its dynamic retail operations to not only meet, but exceed, consumers’ expectations.
It’s a lofty goal and one that Elkjøp Infrastructure Manager Reno Dokken was ready to achieve. Dokken leads a team responsible for maintaining Elkjøp’s platforms, networks and security policies, ensuring a seamless digital environment for both employees and customers. It’s his team who must ensure Elkjøp can keep up with rapid market changes and periods of high traffic.
“We need to be ready to scale up or scale down and be very dynamic in what we do,” said Dokken. “A simple network change used to take six weeks. Now, with Cato, it takes seconds.”
Legacy network and security vendors unable to meet modern agility needs
Six years ago, Elkjøp embarked on the mission to rebuild the entire (point-of-sale) POS system to support more powerful integrations and better keep pace with market changes.
“We built a modern POS system ourselves, based on cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, Internet connectivity, multi-factor authentication, and the ability to run on personal devices,” Dokken said.
However, the switch to modern cloud applications required a modern infrastructure. Elkjøp’s legacy infrastructure relied on a traditional hub-and-spoke Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network that required significant maintenance and lacked the flexibility necessary for modern cloud-based operations.
Security was a major concern. The company managed multiple security systems, including perimeter firewalls, proxy servers, endpoint protection and a hybrid cloud security set-up. Overall, there were 860-plus security appliances in the Elkjøp network. With separate vendors managing firewalls, load balancers and store infrastructure, Elkjøp faced operational inefficiencies and delays when implementing security policies or scaling its network.
Operationally, even simple network changes could take weeks due to the complexity of vendor coordination and the limitations of the existing infrastructure. Recognising the need for a modern IT security and networking solution, Elkjøp looked for a partner that could provide agility, security and operational efficiency. To support this transformation, Elkjøp selected Cato Networks, a leader in single-vendor SASE, delivering converged networking and security in one global, cloud-native platform.
Cato’s ability to converge multiple security and network functions into a single platform was a key differentiator. Unlike traditional implementations that required multiple vendors and manual configurations, the Cato SASE Cloud Platform allowed Elkjøp to simplify its infrastructure while enhancing security.
“We could put up guardrails to ensure our developers could access the resources they needed while ensuring everyone still had a safe work environment,” said Dokken.
Rapid and remote deployment with Cato – and without business disruption
Elkjøp’s deployment of Cato was designed to be swift and minimally disruptive. A phased rollout was planned across its 420-plus stores, prioritising locations based on network demands and operational dependencies. Pre-configured Cato Sockets were shipped directly to each store, allowing local, non-IT personnel to set up connectivity with minimal technical expertise.
Remote assistance played a key role in the process. The IT team provided step-by-step guidance to store managers, ensuring a smooth installation experience. Network configurations were centrally managed, automatically applying security policies and optimisations to each store once connectivity was established.
Each store connected to Cato’s global private backbone via encrypted tunnels established by zero-touch Cato Sockets, Cato’s edge SD-WAN device, ensuring rapid deployment and high availability. With 85-plus Points of Presence (PoPs) worldwide and centralised, single-pane-of-glass management, Elkjøp gained the performance, visibility and control required to support real-time operations at scale.
By leveraging automated provisioning, centralised management and a structured deployment strategy, Elkjøp successfully migrated its entire network infrastructure to Cato within a few months. The transformation allowed the company to modernise its operations without experiencing any disruptions to its business operations.
Bringing networking and security to the 21st Century
Since implementing Cato, Elkjøp has experienced a transformational shift in its IT operational efficiency. One of the most significant benefits was the drastic reduction in network change times. Dokken said that previously, “a simple network change could take six weeks due to vendor coordination. With Cato, we can do this in seconds – it’s an extreme increase in speed and efficiency.”
Security has also been significantly enhanced through Cato SSE 360, the security service edge component of the Cato SASE Cloud Platform. Powered by Cato’s Single Pass Cloud Engine (SPACE), the platform converges NGFW, NGAM, TLS inspection, IPS and more into a unified, cloud-native architecture. This convergence allows Elkjøp to strengthen its security posture, inspecting even encrypted traffic for attacks, reducing risk, complexity and operational burden.
Employee productivity has also increased. Remote workers now have a smoother and more secure experience thanks to Cato’s SASE-based remote access solution. Developers – who previously struggled with VPN limitations – have embraced the new system, allowing them to work more efficiently and collaborate effectively across teams.
Beyond technical improvements, Cato enabled a strategic shift in how IT supports the business. With a unified platform and simplified operations, the infrastructure team now plays a central role in driving innovation, supporting business growth and improving customer experience.
IT has evolved from a reactive support function into a proactive business enabler.
“Routing traffic and hiding behind certain public Internet protocols were extremely hard with our old set-up, as everything was bound to the physical location where the vendor had their equipment,” said Dokken. “For the first time, I have developers coming to me asking for network access because ‘it just works so smoothly’ with Cato.”
A SASE platform built to scale with peak seasons
Before Cato, peak seasons such as Black Friday and the holiday shopping rush were a time of immense stress for Dokken’s team. Elkjøp’s IT team had to coordinate with multiple vendors, running exhaustive pre-season checks to confirm readiness. Critical vendors, such as those responsible for firewalls, had to remain on call in case of an emergency. If a major issue arose, IT staff had to be ready to travel to affected stores immediately.
The 2024 season was the first time Elkjøp had Cato in full production during peak shopping times. Cato’s built-in failover mechanisms and secondary link testing eliminated nearly half of the pre-season readiness checks. Automated traffic rerouting ensured uninterrupted service, and the ability to manage everything centrally meant that emergency trips to stores became unnecessary.
“With Cato I slept better and with this side of our infrastructure under control, we have more time to evaluate the other aspects of our portfolio that can be enhanced,” said Dokken. “Cato showed that it’s possible to solve a complex problem in an elegant way, so now we want to find this unicorn in every other market.”
A partnership built to last
Elkjøp’s transition to Cato has been a game-changer, enabling the company to modernise its IT security and network infrastructure while enhancing operational efficiency. By replacing its legacy systems with a cloud-native, software-defined solution, Elkjøp has positioned itself for sustained growth and innovation in the fast-paced retail industry.
Dokken added: “Cato makes everything much speedier so we can focus on developing and improving our products to make them one-thousand times more valuable to our customers. There is no comparison to the old ways of networking and security; Cato represents the future.”
