Electrical retailer AO has upgraded its networks to accelerate its business with informed decision-making, securely connecting a diverse range of devices and streamlining IT operations across all 26 of its offices and logistics centres across the UK.
AO describes itself as the UK’s most trusted electrical retailer, and is known for its home appliances, consumer electronics and mobile phones. The firm started life in 2000 as part of a £1 bet by founder John Roberts on his mission to sell electrical appliances online.
The company has grown to own an in-house logistics business to manage the delivery process for a variety of white goods, and in its latest financial statement for the six months ended 30 September 2025, it posted revenues of £586m, driving an operating profit of £18m.
AO operates highly complex, interdependent workflows spanning production, logistics, delivery and installation, all of which are well-suited to artificial intelligence (AI)-driven optimisation.
However, legacy network infrastructures have been ill-equipped to support AI workloads at scale, particularly when they must also integrate and manage large numbers of connected devices used to track and monitor operations across packing, delivery and installation.
To achieve its digital transformation aims, AO upgraded its networks with HPE Mist’s AI-native capabilities, specifically trained for AI workloads and self-driving operations – designed to flag network issues before they happen, shortening response time.
The network is attributed with empowering AO’s fast-paced, customer-first service culture by supporting 24/7 logistics operations, including voice-activated inventory picking, packing, shipping, delivery, installation and recycling.
AO has deployed HPE Juniper Wi-Fi at its head office, design hub, creative studio and several logistics sites, with plans to extend coverage to all of its logistics and recycling centres at pace.
Wi-Fi Assurance is intended to proactively optimise wireless to meet service-level expectations (SLEs) set by the AO IT team, and provides one-click root-cause analysis and remediation to boost network experiences and performance.
“We’re a developer-centric organisation, and we saw the opportunity to use the HPE Juniper Networking platform to drive data-led decisions around internal user experiences, leading to amazing customer experiences,” said Matthew Brooks, network team lead at AO. “The ability to see exactly what devices are on the network and to leverage real-time device and occupancy analytics enables us to make smarter, faster business decisions, in IT and across our entire operations.”
In addition, use of the Marvis AI Assistant enables proactive actions and self-driving network operations from the service desk to the network engineering team. As the system constantly ingests data and learns from network devices and applications, IT teams can resolve issues with increased accuracy. The Marvis Client provides Wi-Fi insights from the end user point of view. AO plans to use the system’s Indoor Location Services to optimise desk and meeting room utilisation. By using location data, the AO team can identify usage patterns and address peak-time demand more effectively.
Ultimately, said HPE, by using AI-native Wi-Fi and switching in the Mist platform, AO can boost operational efficiency, enhance real-time visibility and improve the overall workplace experience.
“AO exemplifies how forward-thinking enterprises are using AI-native networking to drive real business outcomes,” said Mark Weeks, UK and Ireland sales director at HPE Networking. “By adopting a cloud-managed, AI-native networking architecture from HPE, AO has gained robust, secure connectivity that spans corporate offices and complex operational environments. The advanced HPE Mist platform delivers actionable insights and intelligent automation, empowering AO to accelerate decision-making and sustain competitive agility in a dynamic market.”
