Revolutionizing water supply in Ghana with Microsoft Azure: Ghana Water Limited's digital transformation

Ghana Water Limited (GWL) manages and delivers potable water to Ghana's urban communities. It operates an extensive network of 91 urban water systems, with a daily production average of 871,496 cubic meters of water. Covering roughly 68% of urban water supply needs, GWL plays a critical role in Ghana’s public health and wellbeing. Serving nearly 940,000 customers, GWL is committed to ensuring access to clean water through technology and innovation. 

Welcoming the digital era in the workplace

“Before making water available for the urban cities in Ghana, we ourselves need to be organized,” remarks Ing Dr. Clifford A. Braimah, Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited. To achieve this, GWL deployed Microsoft 365 E5, fundamentally reshaping its approach to communication, project management, and customer engagement. 

By transitioning from traditional methods such as holding in-person meetings to hosting virtual gatherings on Microsoft Teams, GWL has seen time and cost savings. “Previously, a large team meeting would involve many people travelling from all regions of Ghana to the head office—it was always a massive financial commitment,” says Dr. Braimah.  

Besides that, employees can now collaborate more easily thanks to the adoption of SharePoint and Excel Online. “We built a document management system on SharePoint that facilitates signing, tracking, and collaboration. Team members such as those in the secretariat office also use Excel Online to coordinate their tasks among each other,” says Dr. Braimah.

Using technology to simplify the payment process

Due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, GWL customer care assistants were unable to read meters or share bills in-person with customers. “So, we decided to simplify the payment process with technology,” shares Dr. Braimah. “Initially, we created an online payment portal using on-premises infrastructure. However, the hardware couldn’t keep up with the demand. We then shifted to Microsoft Entra ID and migrated the payment process to Microsoft Azure. This immediately made the process seamless. Customers have noticed how convenient it is to make payments securely from the comfort of their homes,” adds Dr. Braimah.

Thanks to this convenience, customers have increasingly adopted digital payments. "Initially, less than 5% of our customers used electronic payments. Now, that figure has risen above 20%," shares Stephen Tsetsekple, Chief Manager Technology and Innovation at GWL.

Unified operations in the cloud

With the move to Azure, GWL also transformed its infrastructure and data management. "Our databases used to be fragmented across the regions because we used local servers that housed customer information and billing,” recalls Tsetsekple. “Now with the Azure cloud, we have one database that’s accessible from anywhere. So even someone living in the US could pay the water bill for their family in Ghana simply by logging in and using our customer app.” 

GWL’s also migrated its enterprise resource planning (ERP) to Azure, enabling the company to overcome productivity challenges posed by unreliable internet connections. “Even when connections fail, our staff can securely use their phones as hotspots to access the ERP and continue working,” Tsetsekple highlights. “This flexibility has been a game-changer for us.”

Streamlined and accurate reporting 

GWL’s connected infrastructure also improved reporting procedures, revolutionizing how it manages data and communications internally. "Before, regional offices had to collate reports in Excel and send them to the consolidation officer at the head office. Getting a report would take about two weeks or more,” Tsetsekple explains. "Now, all regions are connected via Azure. It means that at any time we can generate and access any report, and it will be accurate and factual at the time we generate it."

This speed in reporting cascades down to annual financial reporting as well. Before, GWL’s financial reports for any calendar year would be ready 9 or 10 months later. “It has been a thorny issue between finance and external agencies that we report to,” reflects Tsetsekple. “But now, we have the financial report ready in two months. That is possible because everybody's connected to the same database in Azure and can collaborate remotely using Microsoft 365.”

Trust-building through smart metering

Innovation didn’t just happen in the offices, but out in the field as well. GWL implemented a smart metering system, powered by Azure IoT platform. With it, the company could control shutoff valves from the head office, monitor water usage, and ensure accurate meter readings in remote areas. Smart metering also introduced a level of transparency to GWL’s operations. "Readers can take pictures of customers’ meters and upload that to the cloud. If our ERP system flags an inaccurate reading, we don't have to go back to the field—we just fetch the picture taken to validate the reading,” explains Dr. Braimah. This visual verification process ensures that billing is based on accurate readings, reducing errors and enhancing customer trust and satisfaction. Additionally, GWL’s use of GPS data for each meter reading improves the accountability of field staff and ensures that any issues can be promptly addressed. 

GWL’s Geographic Information System (GIS) also runs on Azure, enabling the company to continuously synchronize data and daily maps. "Utility management involves managing a lot of assets. And the number one asset is the pipelines,” Dr. Braimah underscores. “All regional departments can upload their GIS mapped pipelines to Azure. At a click of a button, we can tell management the length of pipelines that we have from point A to point B, how deep that pipeline is in the ground, if there’s a burst or any other issue, enabling us to make faster, informed decisions." 

Better protected from cyberattacks

GWL has also significantly strengthened its security posture throughout its digital transformation, implementing robust measures to safeguard against cyber threats. "We had a spoofing attack last year. At that time, our security score was around 10% because we were still implementing security features," Emmanuele Pratt-Koomson, ICT Officer at GWL recounts. “Fortunately, we discovered the breach, and the just-in-time activation of a global administrator helped us resolve the incident swiftly.” 

GWL also prioritized users’ security to protect sensitive information. "With Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Sentinel, and Microsoft 365 Advanced Threat Protection in place, it's easy for us to monitor suspicious activities,” Pratt-Koomson points out. 

This proactive approach to cybersecurity was put to the test when various utility companies in Ghana were targeted by cyberattacks. "Because of our collaboration with Microsoft's security team, we were quickly notified," Tsetsekple recalls. “Upon receiving that message, we reacted in less than five minutes to enhance our security."

Partnership that drives innovation

The collaboration between GWL, Microsoft, and Reliance Infosystems has been pivotal in its technological advancement. Pratt-Koomson emphasizes, "Reliance Infosystems took us through the processes to understand what cloud systems are and how to make the best of them. When something new comes up, they provide training and enable us to test new solutions." This educational approach has empowered GWL to leverage Azure effectively, laying the foundation for more innovative solutions in the future.

Looking ahead, GWL aims to further enhance its security and business continuity capabilities. "We are heading towards single sign-on and almost done with Microsoft Intune implementation," shares Pratt-Koomson. The implementation of Intune will enable even more robust policy management and security measures across the organization, ensuring that GWL can withstand challenges and reliably provide clean water to Ghana’s urban population.