Case

Conscia upgrades Postcode Loterij’s 700-user network to Wi-Fi 7 in a single day without downtime

Postcode Loterij, together with Conscia, modernised its entire Wi-Fi network. At the headquarters in Amsterdam, 180 access points were replaced and upgraded to Wi-Fi 7 in a single day, without any disruption to service. The result: a stable, fast network that is ready for what's next and prepared for continued growth.

The Postcode Loterij, together with Conscia, has completely modernised its wireless network infrastructure. At its headquarters in Amsterdam, 180 access points were upgraded to Wi-Fi 7 within a single day, without disrupting business operations. As a result, the organisation now benefits from a stable, high-performance network that is ready for what’s next, capable of supporting continued growth and a fully wireless workplace. 

Growth and hybrid working drive the need for a new network 

In recent years, the Postcode Loterij has seen a growing need for a faster wireless network with better coverage. The rise of hybrid working has changed office occupancy patterns, with employees working from a wider variety of locations throughout the building. As a result, wireless connectivity has become increasingly important, while reliance on wired connections has decreased. At the same time, the organisation has grown by approximately 15 per cent to more than 700 employees, placing additional demands on the existing Wi-Fi environment, which was based on the older Wi-Fi 5 standard. 

Changes to office layouts and the introduction of new ways of working had created several areas with suboptimal coverage. In addition, newer devices occasionally experienced difficulties connecting to the existing network. Following Conscia’s recommendation, the organisation decided to replace all wireless networking equipment across the office with 180 new Wi-Fi 7 access points. 

Careful planning enables a disruption-free migration 

Because several departments, including the Postcode Loterij Member Services team, operate from Monday through Saturday and are often available during evening hours, careful planning was essential to ensure business continuity throughout the migration. The project was therefore scheduled for the Saturday of the Whitsun weekend, with Sunday reserved as a contingency day if required. To minimise implementation time, all new access points were preconfigured so they could be deployed and activated immediately after installation. 

The rollout began with the network serving the Member Services department, which needed to be operational again before 09:00. From there, the project team systematically replaced equipment floor by floor, continuously testing and validating the environment to identify and resolve any issues immediately. Thanks to the detailed implementation plan and thorough preparation, a joint team from Conscia, Logibit, and the Postcode Loterij successfully completed the entire migration within a single day, without employees experiencing any downtime. 

We are proud to have successfully completed such a large-scale replacement project together, without any disruption. Thanks to our long-standing partnership, Conscia has a deep understanding of our architecture, organisation, and specific challenges.

Jos Schneider

Jos Schneider, Group Tech Lead End User Computing, Postcode Loterij

A scalable network, ready for what’s next 

When employees returned after the weekend, the entire organisation was able to continue working as usual. The new network infrastructure enables the use of all available wireless frequency bands (2.4, 5, and 6 GHz), allowing network traffic to be distributed and optimised more effectively in an environment with a large number of simultaneous users. 

Areas that previously suffered from weaker wireless coverage have been eliminated, resulting in a more consistent user experience throughout the building. Security has also been strengthened through the adoption of the WPA3 standard. In addition, the project contributes to the organisation’s sustainability objectives, as the new hardware is significantly more energy-efficient while the replaced equipment has been responsibly recycled through certified partners. 

Jos Schneider, Group Tech Lead End User Computing at Postcode Loterij, said: “We are proud to have successfully completed such a large-scale replacement project together without any disruption. Thanks to our long-standing partnership, Conscia has a deep understanding of our architecture, organisation, and specific challenges. The migration plan perfectly matched our way of working, meaning our employees hardly noticed the transition. We now have a solid network foundation that can support even more users in the future. The success of this migration in Amsterdam is also serving as the blueprint for the transition to Wi-Fi 7 at other Postcode Lottery Group offices in Scotland and Germany.” 

A migration of this scale within a single day, in a live operational environment, requires precision and mutual trust.

Martin Bremer, Sales Manager Hybrid Cloud, Conscia Netherlands

Martin Bremer, Sales Manager Hybrid Cloud at Conscia, added: “A migration of this scale within a single day, in a live operational environment, requires precision and mutual trust. By providing the right technical guidance upfront and continuously validating the environment throughout the rollout, we delivered a network that was ready for immediate use and for what’s next. This successful project builds on our long-term partnership and provides a strong foundation for future growth, both in the Netherlands and internationally.”