Case Study: Watercare achieves zero-trust protection and rapid VPN-free access for 1.7M residents with Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange

Watercare secures vital services for 1.7M residents using the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform with ZDX

Watercare Services is Auckland’s public water utility, converting about 400 million litres of fresh water daily and treating a similar volume of wastewater for 1.7 million residents. With ~1,100 employees, the agency faced a major security and productivity challenge when legacy VPN and gateway systems failed during COVID lockdowns, exposing inadequate troubleshooting for remote work and the need for a comprehensive zero trust approach to support work‑from‑anywhere (WFA) and secure IIoT/IoT access across its network.

Watercare standardized on the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange (ZPA, ZIA) and Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX), enabling VPN‑free access, local internet routing, and AI‑driven performance analytics. The deployment delivered WFA access for 800 users in under half a day, cut application issue resolution from weeks to minutes, optimized Microsoft Teams and M365, enabled direct internet access for IIoT/IoT across 1,300 sites, and established a strategic partner to help secure forthcoming multi‑billion‑dollar infrastructure investments.

Watercare

Adam Gower

Head of Digital Operations