Mining company launches new ICT strategy
AFTER substantially consolidating its data centre and IT infrastructure, copper miner OZ Minerals has now set out a five-year technology plan to drive its core mining processes.
The new whole-of-company ICT strategy includes initiatives across operation, risk management, automated dispatch, data management and underground mine control.
"Further out we will be looking at broader pit-to-port optimisation initiatives, and innovation opportunities such as consolidation of mine operations control rooms," said OZ Minerals ICT general manager Bradley Winks.
The plan will support operations across Australia - including the Carrapateena copper-gold mine purchased in 2011 - and overseas, including Chile and Argentina.
The new strategy follows an overhaul of the company's ICT environment after the merger of Oxiana and Zinifex in 2008 created the new entity. A wide-ranging review found the ICT environment was in a "less than desirable state".
"Many applications were due for life-cycle update or replacement, and the ICT Infrastructure was ageing and fragmented," Winks said.
"We found ourselves in the unique position of having to work on all aspects of the environment at the one time, and it led us to explore options not normally available when managing enterprise ICT environments. We were able to take a clean-sheet approach to the provision of data centre services, and make step changes to our environments to support the future direction of OZ Minerals."
OzMinerals engaged Dimension Data to assist with consolidation, including moving from around 50 physical services and 65 virtual services across three data centres in Melbourne and Brisbane, to seven physical machines in a Telstra facility in Melbourne with a disaster recovery site in Sydney.
"We saw the need to set ourselves up to support rapid change as a critical requirement for the company to be successful in future endeavours," Winks said.
The company was, like many of its peers, looking to move away from the traditional investment model to the cloud.
"We took the opportunity to move into an infrastructure-as-a-service model, and established our new data centre environment in the Telstra Network Computing Services," Winks said. "This allowed us to move our applications into a cloud model in a very controlled manner, where we could effectively manage the risk associated with transitioning to the new technology."
Research firm IDC said infrastructure-as-a-service overtook software-as-a-service as the biggest cloud computing category in January, as more companies move their systems to the cloud.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
OZ Minerals has launched a five-year technology (ICT) plan designed to drive its core mining processes. The strategy covers operation, risk management, automated dispatch, data management and underground mine control, with longer-term plans for pit-to-port optimisation and consolidation of mine operations control rooms. For everyday investors, this matters because the program aims to modernise operations, support faster change and improve efficiency across the business.
OZ Minerals engaged Dimension Data to consolidate its IT environment, reducing roughly 50 physical and 65 virtual services across three data centres in Melbourne and Brisbane down to seven physical machines hosted in a Telstra Network Computing Services facility in Melbourne, with a disaster recovery site in Sydney.
The company moved to an IaaS/cloud model to support rapid change, manage transition risk in a controlled way, and move away from a traditional capital-intensive IT model. OZ Minerals said this approach allowed them to shift applications to the cloud while effectively managing the risks of the transition.
The strategy includes initiatives across operations, risk management, automated dispatch, data management and underground mine control. The company also plans to explore broader pit-to-port optimisation and innovations such as consolidating mine operations control rooms.
Yes. The plan will support operations across Australia — including the Carrapateena copper‑gold mine (purchased in 2011) — and overseas operations in Chile and Argentina, according to the article.
OZ Minerals worked with Dimension Data to assist with consolidation. The new production environment is hosted in a Telstra Network Computing Services facility in Melbourne, with a disaster recovery site based in Sydney.
A wide-ranging review following the 2008 merger of Oxiana and Zinifex found the ICT environment was in a 'less than desirable state.' Many applications were due for life‑cycle update or replacement, and the ICT infrastructure was ageing and fragmented, which led the company to take a clean‑sheet approach to its data centre and IT services.
Yes. The article cites research firm IDC, which reported that infrastructure‑as‑a‑service (IaaS) overtook software‑as‑a‑service (SaaS) as the biggest cloud computing category in January, reflecting a wider shift of company systems to the cloud.
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