City of Ekurhuleni Partners with Huawei to Launch AI-Driven SASE Solution

Home to 2 million residents across 2000 square kilometers, COE is not only a powerhouse of industrial activities but also a central pillar of the national economy. With advanced education and healthcare systems and a highly educated population, COE is rapidly advancing toward a new chapter in smart city development.

Three Network Security Challenges Facing COE

As COE accelerates its transformation into a smart city, it faces mounting network security challenges. The current infrastructure management systems suffer from multiple technical vulnerabilities and operational gaps, placing critical assets, such as power distribution stations, at high risk. With network attacks on the rise, municipal authorities urgently need to strengthen their defenses.

Weak Links in Branch Security

COE's power grid includes over 200 distribution stations lacking basic security protection, and user data needs to be transmitted to the power grid management system. Once some users or stations are attacked, the malware may spread to the headquarters, endangering the security of the entire power grid. This will bring huge economic losses and social risks to South Africa.

Bottlenecks in Centralized O&M

More than 200 distribution stations are scattered across the city, without dedicated O&M teams, relying heavily on the team at headquarters. The current system lacks visualization and automation tools, making it impossible to achieve efficient centralized management.

Outdated Security Protection

The functioning of the city depends on the security of distribution stations, which are part of critical infrastructure. However, the current grid management system and its dispersed branches urgently require robust IT support to counter frequent threats such as ransomware and data tampering—challenges that traditional defense methods can no longer effectively address.

Huawei's Xinghe AI Unified SASE Solution Reshapes COE's Security Landscape with Intelligent Gateways and Unified O&M Platform

In response to the challenges outlined above, Huawei has launched the Xinghe AI Unified SASE solution, tailored for the security of COE's power grid system. Featuring intelligent integrated gateways, unified O&M platform, and edge-cloud collaboration, the solution delivers three major benefits: secure interconnection, efficient O&M, and intelligent protection.

One-Click Connectivity, Online in Minutes

The solution enables automatic large-scale device networking. VPN tunnel connections can be established within minutes via email links, reducing labor costs by 20%. For COE's 200+ distribution stations, traditional VPN setup requires extensive planning and deployment. This solution supports one-click configuration, with automated delivery and visualized results. High-performance integrated gateways enable intelligent link switching, real-time link quality monitoring, and automatic path optimization, ensuring smooth transmission of high-volume CCTV video streams. Additionally, LTE wireless access eliminates the need for extra cabling, allowing centralized management of over 200 stations. After simple configuration, new sites can be instantly onboarded, enabling flexible and efficient network expansion.

Unified O&M Platform and Closed-loop Threat Prevention and Control

Huawei's Xinghe AI Unified SASE solution provides centralized configuration management and automated emergency response. Unified security policies can be delivered from the HQ to over 200 stations with one click. The system also supports automatic threat isolation without manual intervention.

Threat Detection in Seconds with 95% Accuracy

The platform automatically processes over 300 threat events daily, using custom models to identify and block unknown threats with a detection rate of up to 95%. Risks such as ransomware and data tampering are blocked promptly, significantly improving operational efficiency. Even with just the headquarters team, full-system protection is achievable.

Safeguarding the Grid, Empowering Smart Cities

Huawei's Xinghe AI Unified SASE solution is not only the lifeline of COE's grid security—it's also an accelerator for smart city transformation. It ensures stable operation of core urban infrastructure by reducing operational costs and minimizing attack-related losses. At the same time, it enhances citizen satisfaction and supports enterprise digital transformation.

Looking ahead, Huawei will working closely with COE to build a safer, more efficient, and sustainable smart city ecosystem—jointly shaping Africa's digital future.