With over 80 recommendations in the Cunliffe Report, change is coming. But innovation can’t wait. Here’s how Isle is helping water utilities lead transformation now.
Beyond the piloting valley of death: Samoa Water Authority commits to digital transformation
Beyond the piloting valley of death: Samoa Water Authority commits to digital transformation
Samoa is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, facing sea level rise, extreme weather, and increasing pressure on food and water systems. Sea level in the capital city of Apia has risen by 31 centimeters since 1990 — three times the global average — driven by tectonic subsidence and thermal expansion. Seasonal monsoons and inland flooding, once predictable, have become more severe and erratic. For the nearly 30% of Samoans whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and fisheries, these changes are highly disruptive at best and catastrophic at worst.
Against the backdrop of climate change, the Samoa Water Authority (SWA), which oversees 29,000 water metres serving 250,000 people across the islands of Upuluu and Savai’i, has been under pressure to upgrade its digital infrastructure. The utility’s ageing system has struggled to keep up with rising demand and environmental stress. In 2019, a measles outbreak exposed serious operational gaps, and when the COVID-19 pandemic followed, it became clear that SWA needed a more agile and digital-first infrastructure.
With support from the Mudanças climáticas Reservatório de teste and in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), SWA launched an 8-month long digital transformation trial in July 2024, piloting Bynry’s Smart360 cloud-based water utility platform. Smart360 is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that provides accurate meter data and billing, improved customer experiences, efficient asset/work management, and simplified operations for small and mid-sized water utilities. The goal of the pilot included streamlining meter data management, billing and workforce operations, while reducing total cost of ownership and improving customer experience for Samoans.
Over the course of the trial, SWA and Byrny:
- Migrated 35,400 customer and meter records with 100% accuracy
- Collected 24,659 field photometer readings, 20,225 of which were validated with 100% accuracy
- Digitally generated and emailed 7,015 bills to customers
- Processed and tracked 75 service orders
- Enabled dashboard based reporting for billing, payments, usage, and complaints
- Supported least 10 customers in paying bills or submitting service requests online
“The excitement was when I found out when it was cloud based and you could access it from your mobile”, said SWA Communications & IT Manager John Mauli. “I’m most excited about the way it will change the way [users] will do their work”.
The platform also helps address a long-standing issue for SWA: fragmented and inaccessible data. “We are slowly developing data silos”, said Mauli. “One of the difficulties is having to provide a deep analysis of information we have on hand. We would like to see how we can make better-informed decisions based on the data we have and bring the data into the Bynry platform.”
The pilot saw nearly 35,000 customers across Savai’i added to the Smart360 system. Now the trial has finished, SWA is moving forward with a phased rollout of the platform across both islands over the next 3-6 months.
The trial’s completion also marks a success for Bynry as a growing software solutions provider: “The trial is a key milestone [for Bynry] because once complete and we successfully launch Smart360, it’s going to directly impact the life of 50,000 Samoan islanders here who will have better access to quality water and overall serviceability around the water they get”, said Nilesh Gudhe, Founder and CEO of Bynry.
SWA’s energy is already paying dividends. With better data accuracy and improved visibility into system performance, the utility is gaining feedback that legacy systems couldn’t provide. Staff are spending less time on manual tasks and more time addressing customer needs, and issues that once took days to identify are now flagged in real time. For a utility navigating the dual pressures of climate change and growing demand, these gains cannot be underestimated.
Importantly, the collaboration between SWA and Bynry signals an example of cultural change. Trials in the water sector are common, but adoption of those solutions is not. By committing to take Smart360 beyond the pilot phase, SWA is breaking from the pattern known as the “piloting valley of death”, where proven but untested innovations stall after early testing.
Dr Jo Burgess, Director of the Trial Reservoirs Initiative said: “This is what success looks like: a demonstration that proves its value, and a utility that follows through and adopts the technology. Startups often go above and beyond to deliver trials, sometimes nearly for free. That model is not sustainable. SWA’s commitment to adoption sets an example for the sector. By moving forward, they have shown what respect for innovation – and for technology vendors – looks like. It’s how the sector moves proven but untested solutions from possibility to progress, and it’s what the Trial Reservoirs Initiative is all about.”
Note: The SWA and Bynry trial aligns with Samoa’s broader digital transformation roadmap, developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2022. That roadmap encourages Pacific Island utilities to embrace tech-enabled infrastructure to withstand climate impacts and build more resilient public services.