Daikin Europe Digital innovation in manufacturing
Daikin Europe modernized operations across 130+ sites in 30 countries by partnering with Fujitsu and using Microsoft Azure. The transformation improved service stability, enabled seamless cloud integration, and empowered teams to focus on innovation and sustainability.
Challenges
Rapid growth and acquisitions demanded a scalable, resilient IT foundation, without overburdening teams or risking business disruption Expansion led to a fragmented IT landscape and legacy systems, creating operational risks and limiting agility for business-critical functions.
Solutions
Delivered automation, cloud cost control, and observability. Scaling IT operations and freeing teams to focus on innovation and growth. Modernised IT infrastructure, replacing legacy systems with a unified platform for seamless, resilient operations.
Outcomes
- Seamless infrastructure transition with zero business disruption
- Empowered internal teams to focus on strategic growth
- Delivered measurable savings while supporting sustainability goals
“What struck me most is the human connection in this project. The relationship between the teams felt natural from the start – like they had known each other for years. That sense of trust and pride made a real difference.”
Tom Tanghe, CIO, Daikin Europe
227
Network switches replaced across EMEA in 7 months without disruption
€952k
saved through Azure cloud optimisation
€975k
network infrastructure savings
- Industry: Manufacturing
- Location: Belgium
- People: 14,000
- Customer's website
About the customer
Daikin Europe, headquartered in Ostend, Belgium, is a leading manufacturer of HVAC&R solutions. With €5,03B in annual revenue and 14,000 employees, the company operates across 129 countries and continues to grow through innovation, acquisitions, and sustainability-driven investments.
Daikin Europe, a leading provider of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) technologies, operates across more than 130 locations in over 30 countries. With such scale, even a minor IT disruption could ripple across Europe, a risk Daikin was determined to eliminate. As the business expanded through acquisitions and innovation, its IT landscape became increasingly complex, with fragmented infrastructure and legacy systems struggling to meet the escalating demands of business-critical operations, digital transformation, and long-term growth.
To address these challenges, Daikin launched a digital journey to build a scalable, resilient IT foundation. The goal was not only to modernize technology, but to enable innovation, increase agility, and ensure long-term business continuity. This ambition aligned with Daikin’s Fusion 2025 strategy, a roadmap for digital transformation and operational excellence.
A strategic partnership for transformation
Fujitsu was selected as the transformation partner, with Microsoft Azure providing the cloud platform. Fujitsu designed and implemented a modern hybrid cloud infrastructure, combining automation, AI-driven monitoring, and FinOps cost control. Together, they delivered a comprehensive solution with a hybrid delivery model combining onshore, nearshore, and offshore teams. This approach enabled Daikin to modernize its IT infrastructure, optimize cloud resources, and introduce AI-driven monitoring for greater visibility and control.
Using AI-powered monitoring via OpsRamp, Daikin transformed how its IT teams manage complexity. Intelligent automation now filters and correlates thousands of system alerts, surfacing only those that truly matter. This shift has freed specialists from routine troubleshooting and enabled them to concentrate on innovation, architecture, and new growth initiatives.
A standout achievement was the replacement of 227 network switches across EMEA in just seven months, completed with zero business disruption. Coordinating this upgrade across all those locations required meticulous planning and flawless execution. This one-time initiative not only refreshed critical network infrastructure across the region but also delivered substantial cost savings while ensuring operations remained uninterrupted. As Dave De Graeve, Account Manager at Fujitsu, explained, Fujitsu manages Daikin’s entire infrastructure across EMEA, from the data center to the cloud, supporting 130 locations and 14 manufacturing plants. In just one year, the team handled more than 100 projects, a milestone not previously achieved at this scale.
Empowering teams and enabling growth
Beyond the technical transformation, Daikin’s IT teams moved from daily firefighting to roles focused on architecture, innovation, and strategic initiatives such as cloud and AI. Bram Inghelbrecht, Head of IT Infrastructure, noted that ideally IT should be practically invisible to end-users: “The best IT service is the one people don’t notice because it just works.”
Through these efforts, Daikin achieved significant cost efficiencies, realizing €0,97 million in network savings as a result of infrastructure modernization, while cloud optimization and FinOps initiatives contributed a further €0,95 million in savings. These financial benefits were reinvested in VPN and firewall upgrades to further strengthen security and resilience. What began as a tactical engagement became a strategic alliance, with Daikin and Fujitsu now working together on more than 100 active projects.
Operational agility and sustainable impact
The transformation delivered measurable results: firewall changes that previously took two months can now be completed in a single day, and more than 100 projects along with over 40 hardware/software renewals were completed in the first year. Infrastructure upgrades were completed across EMEA seamlessly, reinforcing Daikin’s environmental goals and ESG commitments. By consolidating infrastructure and optimizing cloud usage, the company reduced its carbon footprint and strengthened governance, visibility, and control — essential foundations for sustainable impact.
Human connection and lasting value
The success of this large-scale, business-critical transformation was built on trust and collaboration. Tom Tanghe, CIO of Daikin Europe, reflected on the collaboration’s culture: “What struck me most is the human connection in this project. The relationship between the teams felt natural from the start, like they had known each other for years. That sense of trust and pride made a real difference.”
The transformation led to a shift in how IT is perceived within Daikin. With the new partnership, teams experienced a proactive approach during critical moments, allowing them to focus on what truly matters for the business. IT moved from being seen as a source of problems to a driver of innovation and growth, giving people the space to evolve and contribute more strategically.
The partnership has since become a flagship example within Fujitsu, recognized for its teamwork and commitment to innovation. In less than two years, the collaboration grew to become Daikin’s leading IT partnership, surpassing other major providers and setting a new standard for what can be achieved together. What began as an infrastructure project has evolved into a strategic partnership that drives continuous innovation and sets a benchmark for collaboration across Fujitsu’s global customer base.
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