All Nippon Airways (ANA) has transformed its IT architecture by deploying a centralized cloud network hub powered by Equinix Fabric, preparing Japan’s leading carrier for an expected tenfold increase in global data volumes.

The digital overhaul slashes network provisioning time by approximately 80%—reducing setup schedules from months to weeks—while freeing up engineering resources for application testing and development.

By switching from traditional dedicated circuits to a dynamic software-defined model, the airline targets a 30% reduction in its total cost of ownership over the next five years.

Upgrading the Digital Foundation for 280 Aircraft

Operating approximately 280 aircraft across more than 200 domestic and international routes, ANA relies heavily on resilient digital systems to run core flight operations, including:

• Passenger reservations and boarding passes
• Real-time customer communication tools
• Mission-critical operational coordination systems

As the carrier expanded its global footprint and adopted hybrid, multicloud environments, its legacy network model—which relied on separate physical circuits for individual systems—became increasingly complex and expensive to maintain.

To break through these bottlenecks, ANA centralized its network through Equinix Fabric, gaining on-demand, software-defined interconnection to major public clouds including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud without needing to install additional physical hardware.

Strategic Shift to Network-as-a-Service

“Our rapid business expansion demanded a network with unprecedented flexibility,” said Jun Nakazato, Manager of the IT Infrastructure Team in the Digital Governance Department at All Nippon Airways. “Rather than continuing to expand our existing network environment, we recognized that implementing network-as-a-service was the most effective path forward. Equinix Fabric delivers the dynamic foundation we need to scale seamlessly. Equinix serves not merely as a vendor, but as a critical strategic partner in modernizing our global systems and enabling our future growth.”

The move transforms ANA’s IT operations from legacy manual provisioning into an agile digital foundation designed to support upcoming technologies, including real-time operational coordination, advanced analytics, enterprise automation, and artificial intelligence workloads.

In addition to operational flexibility, the platform enforces consistent security policies and private connectivity aligned with enterprise compliance standards.

“ANA’s deployment of Equinix Fabric demonstrates what’s possible when enterprises evolve how they consume infrastructure, not by ripping and replacing, but by adding intelligence and flexibility on top of a resilient physical infrastructure,” said Kuniko Ogawa, Managing Director for Japan at Equinix. “We’re proud to support ANA as it builds a digital foundation capable of handling tomorrow’s data demands while delivering better experiences for passengers today.”

For more information about ANA and ANA HD, please visit: https://www.ana.co.jp/group/en/