Datacom Announces New Platform To Help Councils Comply With Local Water Done Well Legislation

Auckland, New Zealand: Local technology company Datacom is developing a new platform to help councils comply with the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy and new requirements for the management of water services.

Datacom’s ‘Water Asset Intelligence’ platform – WAI – is a ‘ready to go’ pre-configured platform that will support councils that opt to establish a Council-Controlled Organisation (CCO) for the planning and management of their water services.

The WAI platform builds on Datacom’s existing cloud-based ERP council platform Datascape, which is currently used by over 75% of New Zealand councils.

Local Water Done Well offers councils new options to deliver water services and fund waters infrastructure. Councils must develop a Water Services Delivery Plan by September 2025 showing they can deliver water services that meet regulatory requirements, support growth and urban development, and are financially sustainable.

In their Water Services Delivery Plan, each council must provide a long-term assessment of their water infrastructure, how much they need to invest, and how they plan to finance and deliver it through their preferred water service delivery model.

For councils that opt for a CCO model, Datacom’s WAI platform will enable them to run all critical elements of their new CCO in an integrated, transparent way – bringing together data management, IoT water metering, water network monitoring, water billing and supporting public consultation.

“Councils have a lot of decisions to make as they develop their Water Services Delivery Plan,” says Datacom Managing Director Justin Gray.

“We want them to know that if they choose to establish a CCO as part of their plan we have a platform that is ready to go, that will de-risk the CCO formation and its ongoing management, give them real clarity around their water services and asset management, and ensure they are fully compliant with Government policy and reporting requirements.”

Datacom’s preconfigured WAI platform has been designed to meet the total platform needs of councils that opt for a CCO model, spanning all aspects of the management of water services and also the operational and stakeholder-facing functions of the CCO including:

• asset management
• CX and customer management
• staff and contractor management
• geospatial management
• finance
• corporate operations and security management
• record and knowledge management
• ICT services
• public-facing web and mobile interfaces including billing portals.

“While each CCO will require some customisation, in developing the WAI platform we have designed it in a way that will enable CCOs to be operational as efficiently, expediently and affordably as possible.”

Gray says the WAI platform also offers a strong foundation for councils that are looking to establish a regional multi-council organisation to manage water services in the longer term.

Datacom is looking to partner with a council for the final stages of design to ensure WAI has been developed in a way that meets councils’ unique requirements.

“Ensuring WAI has been co-developed with a council and has council input during the design phase is really important to us. Ultimately this platform is designed to support their needs so collaborating to get it right is key.”

Datacom has over 20 years’ experience working with local government, and it has developed a suite of proven platforms – including Datascape and Datapay. Over 75% of councils in New Zealand currently use Datacom’s cloud-based software suite Datascape as the platform for a range of functions including their website, CRM, a self-service portal for citizens, bookings, fieldwork, property and rating, or financials.

About Datacom
Built on strong values, Datacom has grown to be one of the region’s leading locally-owned technology businesses. We work across Australia and New Zealand to enhance people’s lives by turning the imaginable into reality. Datacom supports customers through a broad range of services and solutions that span technology, operations, digital and products, all underpinned by robust industry experience and insight. With more than 6100 people working across Australia, New Zealand and Asia, Datacom is truly world-class in capability, and proudly local at heart. For more information visit www.datacom.com

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