South East Water Operational Transformation through Cisco and Google Cloud Integration: An Expert Technical Analysis

1. Product Overview

South East Water, a leading water utility provider in the United Kingdom, embarked on a comprehensive digital transformation journey to modernize its operational infrastructure and enhance service delivery. Central to this transformation was the strategic integration of Cisco’s advanced networking and security solutions with Google Cloud’s scalable, secure, and intelligent cloud platform. This integration enabled South East Water to optimize its operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) convergence, improve data analytics capabilities, and ensure resilient, real-time water management.

The collaboration leveraged Cisco’s robust network infrastructure, including Cisco Catalyst switches, Cisco DNA Center for network automation, and Cisco Secure Firewall for enhanced cybersecurity, combined with Google Cloud’s BigQuery, AI/ML services, and Anthos hybrid cloud platform. This hybrid cloud architecture facilitated seamless data ingestion from IoT sensors deployed across water treatment plants and distribution networks, enabling predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and operational efficiency improvements.

This article provides an in-depth technical exploration of the Cisco products and Google Cloud services integrated by South East Water, detailing product specifications, features, benefits, and pricing information to guide enterprises considering similar digital transformation initiatives.

2. Product Specifications

2.1 Cisco Network Infrastructure

South East Water’s network backbone is built on Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series switches, designed for enterprise-grade performance, security, and automation. Key specifications include:

• Model: Cisco Catalyst 9300 and 9400 Series
• Switching Capacity: Up to 480 Gbps per switch
• Ports: 24 to 48 ports per switch, supporting 1G/10G/25G Ethernet
• Power over Ethernet (PoE): Up to 60W per port for IoT device connectivity
• Stacking: StackWise Virtual technology supporting up to 480 Gbps stack bandwidth
• Operating System: Cisco IOS XE with programmability and automation APIs
• Security: Embedded MACsec encryption, TrustSec segmentation, and Cisco Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA)

2.2 Cisco DNA Center

Cisco DNA Center serves as the centralized network management and automation platform, enabling South East Water to implement intent-based networking (IBN) and policy-driven automation.

• Deployment: On-premises or cloud-managed
• Automation: Zero-touch provisioning, software image management, and network assurance
• Analytics: AI-driven network insights and anomaly detection
• APIs: RESTful APIs for integration with third-party systems and custom workflows

2.3 Cisco Secure Firewall

To safeguard critical water infrastructure, South East Water deployed Cisco Secure Firewall (formerly Firepower) appliances and virtual firewalls integrated with Google Cloud’s security framework.

• Throughput: Up to 20 Gbps firewall throughput per appliance
• Features: Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), Advanced Malware Protection (AMP), URL filtering, and VPN support
• Integration: Cloud-native security orchestration with Google Cloud Security Command Center

2.4 Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Services

The cloud component of the solution leverages multiple Google Cloud services tailored for operational analytics and hybrid cloud management:

• Google BigQuery: Serverless, highly scalable data warehouse for real-time analytics on water usage and sensor data
• Google Anthos: Hybrid and multi-cloud Kubernetes management platform enabling containerized application deployment across on-premises and cloud environments
• Google Cloud AI/ML: Custom machine learning models for predictive maintenance and anomaly detection in water infrastructure
• Cloud Pub/Sub: Real-time messaging service for ingesting IoT sensor telemetry data
• Cloud Functions: Event-driven serverless compute for lightweight data processing and automation triggers

3. Features and Benefits

3.1 Enhanced Operational Visibility and Control

The integration of Cisco’s network infrastructure with Google Cloud’s analytics platform provides South East Water with unprecedented visibility into its operational environment. Real-time telemetry from IoT sensors is securely transmitted over Cisco’s network to Google BigQuery, where advanced analytics and AI models identify patterns, predict equipment failures, and optimize water distribution.

Cisco DNA Center’s intent-based networking automates network provisioning and policy enforcement, reducing manual configuration errors and accelerating deployment of new services. This results in improved network uptime and operational reliability critical for water utility services.

3.2 Robust Security Posture

Security is paramount in critical infrastructure. Cisco Secure Firewall appliances provide multi-layered threat defense, including intrusion prevention, malware detection, and encrypted traffic analytics. Integration with Google Cloud Security Command Center enables centralized security monitoring and incident response across hybrid environments.

Network segmentation using Cisco TrustSec limits lateral movement of threats within the network, while MACsec encryption protects data in transit. These measures ensure compliance with regulatory standards such as NIS Directive and GDPR.

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