This document discusses the emerging role of information technology (IT) within the South African mining industry. It outlines several key trends driving changes to the role of IT, including globalization, industry consolidation, increasing focus on shareholder value and operational excellence, and transformation goals in South Africa related to empowerment and workforce development.
As a result of these trends, the role of the IT function within mining companies is evolving from a focus on internal processes and efficiency to creating business value as a strategic partner. IT functions are working to balance managing critical capabilities with driving new value through technology. For South African mining companies specifically, the IT function is becoming more global in scope while still focused on local delivery, and there is an emphasis on demonstrating
1. The Emerging Role of Information
Technology (IT) within the South
African Mining Industry
James AH Campbell
B.Sc (Hons) ARSM MBA (Dunelm) C.Eng MIMM Dipl Datm (UNISA)
General Manager, Information Technology
De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited
Gartner ‘Mining Event’
Mining Industry Technology Update
29th July 2003
Johannesburg, South Africa
2. 2November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 2
Preamble
For this presentation the ‘emerging role of IT’ has been interpreted in two
ways:
The role of the IT function within a mining company, including its focus, how it is
governed, and its management practices
The role of IT solutions in both supporting and enabling a mining company’s
business operations
The emphasis in this presentation is on the role of the IT Function.
3. 3November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 3
Presentation Agenda
This presentation will look at the global and local drivers for change in the
mining industry and how these effect the IT function and the IT solutions of a
“typical” South African Mining Company
Global Mining
Industry
Trends
1
Local Mining
Industry
Trends
2
Mining Co.
Strategic
Response
3
Global Trends in
the Role of the IT
Function
4
Impact on SA
Mining Co. IT
Function
5
Impact on SA
Mining Co. IT
Solutions
7
Global
Technology
Trends
6
4. 4November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 4
Mining Industry Characteristics
The Mining industry has similarities with other Resources industries but has
a number of additional characteristics that are unique:
Global operations
Commodity pricing of many minerals
Geographically dispersed and frequently remote operations
Generally autonomous local operating philosophy
Significant capital requirements over finite mine lives
High environmental impact and hence regulation
Non-renewable resource
5. 5November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 5
Major Global Trends
A number of emerging industry trends are forcing mining companies to
rethink their strategies to remain competitive:
Focus on shareholder value
Consolidation of players – in gold, platinum, coal, copper and other sectors
Increasingly global markets, with capacity for expansion in developing countries
More stringent governmental regulation
Increased environmental awareness and responsibility
Adoption of new technologies to increase productivity
Tighter links to customers, suppliers, utilities, and transportation
6. 6November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 6
Mining Industry Trends
Generally, trends in the mining industry are making cost reduction and
productivity improvement increasingly important:
Increasing
environmental /
safety compliance
requirements
Long-term decline
in commodity
prices
Growing emphasis on
cost reduction and
productivity
improvement
Increasing mining
costs
Declining reserves
Increasing operating costs caused by
Work practices reform
Growing infrastructure provision and supply
costs
Increasing safety and environmental
compliance requirements
Increasing development costs
caused by
Increasing native title requirements
Statutory approvals processes
Long-term decline in commodity
prices
Global downturn leading to reduction in
sales volumes: oversupplied markets
Release of company and government
stockpiles undermining prices in some
commodities
Substitute materials
Declining reserves
Some companies have mines that are
close to the end of their working lives
Development of the reserves pipeline is
either very lengthy and risky (implement
major exploration effort) or expensive (buy
into existing project)
7. 7November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 7
Major Local Trends
In addition to these global trends, the South African Mining industry will be transformed by
the new Minerals Development Act and proposed Money Bill:
The transfer of mineral rights from private into state hands
The need to transform and develop the workforce, whilst managing the impact of AIDS
The emergence of black mining companies
The requirement of legacy mining companies to transfer production to black mining companies
The need to meet the other requirements in the ‘scorecard’, from BEE, procurement to sound
environmental management
New royalty regime proposed for the mining industry
(Impact of the ECT Bill on information management and privacy)
… this is aside from an increasingly global management view: from a capital financing
perspective, to globally dispersed exploration programmes and operational mine sites, to
managing talent and knowledge capital.
8. 8November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 8
Mining Companies Strategic Response
Tomorrow’s ‘winners’ in the industry will be those who find the right balance
across growing shareholder value, satisfying regulatory demands, and
ensuring sustainability of operations
Partnering with complementary companies
Melding diverse cultures created through acquisition, joint ventures and internal
transformation
Complying with government regulations
Balancing the benefits of standardisation vs. local autonomy
Ensuring effective company-wide collaboration
Transferring knowledge and best practices across global operations
Acquiring and integrating effective technologies
.. without losing focus on the traditional mining success factors
9. 9November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 9
Winning Characteristics
Research* into the performance of companies in the mining industry confirm
that despite different corporate strategies, ‘winners’ seem to consistently excel
in three key areas
Effective investment in high-quality reserves to replace / grow production
Exploring and developing new greenfield projects
Exploiting existing mines to discover additional reserves
Acquiring operational mines from competitors
Joint-venturing to spread capital and hedge risk
Mining operations excellence
Optimising mine, concentrator, and smelter operations to maximise productivity
Invest strategically in existing assets to optimise long term value potential
Disinvest from operations that do not meet a specific hurdle rate
Sound but aggressive financial / risk management approaches
Hedging price uncertainty
Using debt selectively and wisely
* Source : Accenture Shareholder Value Analysis for the Mining Industry
10. 10November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 10
Agenda Revisited
Before we look at how mining companies’ strategic focus impacts the IT
function, we need to consider global trends in the role of the IT function
Global Mining
Industry
Trends
1
Local Mining
Industry
Trends
2
Mining Co.
Strategic
Response
3
Global Trends in
the Role of the
IT Function
4
Impact on SA
Mining Co. IT
Function
5
Impact on SA
Mining Co. IT
Solutions
7
Global
Technology
Trends
6
11. 11November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 11
Evolving IT Agenda
The role of the IT function is changing from purely that of a service provider, to
that of a ‘business value’ creator
Focus on IT
Processes (Budgets,
Requirements)
Focus on IT Efficiency
(Techniques, Metrics)
Focus on IT
Effectiveness (Cost-
Benefit, Sourcing)
IT Cost Effectiveness Impact
Limited Focus
on IT Value
Generation
Aligning with
Predetermined
Strategies
IT as a Key
Enabler of
Business Value
StrategicImpact
1990-
200x
1970-80
1980-90
12. 12November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 12
Striking the Right Balance
Hence, IT functions globally are trying to balance their focus on both managing
critical IT capabilities, and driving value from new technologies.
Invest ‘smart savings’ in new
technologies / capabilities
Target new technologies at the right
stage in the lifecycle / evolution
Focus on capturing ‘big benefits’
Strategic sourcing of products and
services
Build and Manage
Critical IT
Capabilities
Drive New Economic
Value in Business
Through Technology
Increase business / IT productivity
Reduce IT operational costs and manage
legacy costs
Capture quantifiable ‘smart savings’
Focus on ‘incremental’ economic value
creation
IT As An Economic
Value Creator
13. 13November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 13
IT Function – Top Challenges*
Demonstration of the value that IT
brings to the organisation
Pressure on costs in a difficult
economic climate
Need to increase IT efficiency and
effectiveness
Need to more closely integrate with
the business to enable measurable
results
How to launch specific initiatives to
create new value when budgets are
constrained: shorter project life cycles
Need to evaluate how emerging
technologies can be applied
Must mitigate security risks and
ensure business continuity: business
risk management
How can IT leaders operate at higher
levels of influence and responsibility
However, the IT function and its management team face a number of key
challenges in playing this value creator role
* Sources: Accenture CIO Surveys, Gartner 2003 CIO agenda, De Beers 2002 Group IT customer survey
14. 14November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 14
IT Value Challenges
Despite many efforts, most companies are still ill equipped to capture the value
creation potential of IT
Source: *Mainstay Partners survey of 450 companies; **Standish Group International; ***Meta Group 2003 Worldwide IT Benchmarking Report
0% 100%
Tie IT investments to their business strategy and goals*
Accurately measure business impact of IT investments*
Prioritise and manage technology investments*
Proper governance structures to deliver IT value*
IT investments completed on time, on budget, or within scope**
Actively and regularly collect and use IT metrics***
28%
12%
21%
9%
60%
20%
IT Value Practices
Degree of Adoption
Low Value High Value
of companies
of companies
of companies
of companies
of IT projects
of companies
15. 15November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 15
IT Value Creation Strategies
In response, IT functions are typically following three strategies to increase the
value they are delivering to the business
BusinessValue
3. Create new IT-enabled business
model(s)
2. Optimise current business
operations through IT
1. Optimise the existing IT function
Value Today Potential Value
Low risk, low return
More risk, higher returns,
but value constrained
High risk, but potentially
unbounded returns
16. 16November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 16
Agenda Revisited
Given Mining companies strategic focus and the global trends in the role of the
IT function, let’s bring this into perspective for SA Mining companies IT
organisations
Global Mining
Industry
Trends
1
Local Mining
Industry
Trends
2
Mining Co.
Strategic
Response
3
Global Trends in
the Role of the IT
Function
4
Impact on SA
Mining Co. IT
Function
5
Impact on SA
Mining Co. IT
Solutions
7
Global
Technology
Trends
6
17. 17November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 17
Impact on SA Mining Co. IT Function
SA Mining Co IT functions are becoming more global, and more focused on
delivering value to the business, whilst remaining solidly oriented on ‘keeping
the shop running’
• Efficient, cost-effective
service provider
• Budget driven
• Internally oriented IT
measures
• Regional / local
management of IT
• Self-sufficiency in IT
service delivery
• SLAs measuring IT
metrics
Traditional IT Role
• Global governance &
architecture, regional
delivery
• Business value creator
• Service delivery
improvement
• Transforming the IT
workforce
• Managing relationships
with multiple external
service providers
• SLAs measuring end-to-
end business processes
Emerging IT Role Globalisation
Consolidation
Shareholder Value
SHE
Partnering / BEE
Operational
Excellence / CI
3
Build / manage
critical IT
capabilities
Drive new value
through
technology
4
18. 18November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 18
Global
CIO
SA Mining Co – Global IT Management
SA mining companies are now more global in operation – particularly in the
gold, base metals, diamond and coal sectors. Global IT governance, standards
and architecture have to be combined with the need for more local delivery.
Collaborative
IT Solutions
Business
Support
Applications
National GlobalRegionalLocal
Technical
Applications
IT
Governance
IT Service
Delivery
IT Model,
Innovation &
Strategy
19. 19November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 19
SA Mining Co – Business Value Creator
Mining operations management still demand (loudly) that IT must focus on the
basics – but if the IT function is to avoid diminishing importance, budget and
sponsorship must be found for the higher value, discretionary projects
Non-discretionaryDiscretionary
Examples
Non-discretionary costs (‘must
have’) are costs required to
maintain current IT functionality
and operations
IT Spending
Strategic
Tactical
Discretionary costs (‘want
to’) are investments in new
IT functionality and
improvements to the IT
organisation / processes
Definition
IT operations
Service reliability & cost reduction
Applications maintenance
Planning and administration
Hardware and software licenses
Replace legacy business support
applications and processes
Business Intelligence in both core and
business support areas
Integrating technical and business
support applications
20. 20November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 20
SA Mining Co – Service Delivery Improvement
IT management practices in the past have been quite insular – focused on
internal metrics and budgets – and perceptions of service (internal and
outsourced) have suffered. More IT functions in mining are adopting Service and
Portfolio management techniques to effectively manage customer expectations
– Service Alignment Levers –
Service
Management
Framework
Incentives
Process
Ownership/
Leadership
Collective
Oversight
Groups
Cost and
Performance
Measures
Reporting
Relationship
s
Service
Agreements
Pricing
Arrangements
Increasing Business Risk ->
0
0.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
IncreasingValue->
Portfolio Management
21. 22November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 22
SA Mining Co – Transforming the IT Workforce
In the SA context, despite the shortage of skills, managing black IT talent and
achieving EE goals is a major emphasis – Mining executives see IT as a major
area of opportunity – this is given impetus by the new Minerals bill.
Generic
Structures
Performance
Management
Staffing reviews
& Succession
Planning
Career Path
Streams
Generic Job
Descriptions
Training and
Development
Generic Job
Designations
Competence
based
recruitment
IT HR Best
Practice
22. 23November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 23
SA Mining Co – Managing External Service Providers
Given the growing complexity of the IT environment, more SA mining
companies have turned to external service providers – requiring that IT develop
more advanced relationship and contract management skills.
V.
Transformational
Outsourcing
IV.
Targeted
Business / IT
Transformation
III.
Co-sourcing;
Targeted
Capabilities
II.
Leverage External
Advisor
I.
Keep Internal
Rapid Step ChangeIncremental Change
SA Mining Industry
De Beers Anglo Platinum
AngloGold (SA)
Gold Fields Limited (SA)
Impala Platinum
(De Beers)
Anglo Coal
23. 24November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 24
Agenda Revisited
The next part of this presentation looks at global technology trends
Global Mining
Industry
Trends
1
Local Mining
Industry
Trends
2
Mining Co.
Strategic
Response
3
Global Trends in
the Role of the IT
Function
4
Impact on SA
Mining Co. IT
Function
5
Impact on SA
Mining Co. IT
Solutions
7
Global
Technology
Trends
6
24. 25November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 25
Global Technology Trends
Whilst most organisations remain focused on realising value from their mature
and roll-out technologies, some are looking for new sources of value from
technologies which are just starting to be taken-up or adapted
Incubation Adaptation Take-up Rollout Maturity
Web Services
Virtual
Collaboration
Powerline
Communications
Intelligent
Objects
Silent
Commerce
Mobile
Commerce
Business
Intelligence
Digital Content
Services
Enterprise
Security
Enterprise
Integration
ERP
Customer
Relationship
Management
Services
Knowledge
Management
Natural Computer
Interfaces
Payroll
Product Life
Cycle Mgmt
25. 26November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 26
Emerging Technologies
Emerging technology is creating new business opportunities:
26. 28November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 28
Technology Evaluation Matrix
Companies can evaluate these technologies by trading-off their maturity against
the potential business impact
Insight
Experiment Pilot and/or deploy
MonitorMaintain Radar Contact
Potential
Business
Impact
(Value)
ProvenUnproven
Low
High
Technology
Maturity
Silent commerce
Natural computer interfaces
Enterprise integration
Mobility
Digital content services Next generation systems
High-impact Waves Of Technology Change
27. 29November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 29
Agenda Revisited
Let’s now looks at how global technology trends and Mining companies’
strategic focus could impact IT solutions in the SA Mining industry
Global Mining
Industry
Trends
1
Local Mining
Industry
Trends
2
Mining Co.
Strategic
Response
3
Global Trends in
the Role of the IT
Function
4
Impact on
Mining Co. IT
Function
5
Impact on SA
Mining Co. IT
Solutions
7
Global
Technology
Trends
6
28. 30November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 30
Impact on SA Mining Co - IT Solutions
There is already evidence that newer technologies are helping mining
companies implement their strategies
• Exploit opportunities to
standardise / share back office
systems through (ERP) solutions
• Greater focus on getting more
business insight through BI tools
• Leverage collaborative
technologies to work more
globally
• Use of EAI to integrate technical
applications
• Use technology to integrate
internal processes and with
business partners / suppliers
• Adoption of mobile solutions
Impact on IT Solutions
Mining Co.
Strategic Focus
Globalisation
Consolidation
Shareholder Value
SHE
Partnering / BEE
Operational Excellence / CI
3
Global
Technology
Trends
Digital Content
Enterprise Integration
Mobility
Silent Commerce
Natural Computer Interfaces
Business Insight
Next Generation Systems
Web services
6
29. 31November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 31
• Exploit opportunities to
standardise / share back office
systems through (ERP) solutions
• Greater focus on getting more
business insight through BI tools
• Leverage collaborative
technologies to work more
globally
• Use of EAI to integrate technical
applications
• Use technology to integrate
internal processes and with
business partners / suppliers
• Adoption of mobile solutions
Impact on IT Solutions
Impact on SA Mining Co - IT Solutions
We’ll focus only a few of these areas in this presentation…
30. 32November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 32
SA Mining Co - Technology Adoption
Before we explore these areas, it is important to be aware of technology adoption by
SA mining companies, which is mixed – many have adopted leading edge
technologies in business support processes, whilst the core areas lag behind
Incubation Adaptation Take-up Rollout Maturity Services
HR & Payroll
Financial
Accounting
Procurement
Maintenance
Planning
Performance Management
Logistics/
Materials
Vehicle Monitoring
Process Control & Monitoring
Seismic Monitoring & Analysis
Engineering Design
Geological Modelling
Exploration Management
Mine Planning
Mine Design
ERP
PMS
PMS = Production Management System
31. 33November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 33
Exploit Opportunities To Standardise
There are significant opportunities to free-up non-discretionary spending and
to use this to invest in value-adding solutions in the infrastructure
environment
Network convergence: voice, video and data
Integration of IT, Control & Instrumentation (C&I), telecoms and security
networks
Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony opportunities
Server and storage consolidation
Enterprise Systems Management
Standardisation of the front and back office
… Grid Computing
32. 35November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 35
SA Mining Co - ERP Solutions Opportunities
Given consolidation activity, many large mining companies will have a mixed ERP
environment to manage for years to come - creating opportunities for standardisation.
However, few business cases are realised and therefore there is a need to tread
carefully in this space, particularly with large implementations
A number of large SA mining companies
still have the opportunity to move to
ERP for business support areas –
possibly as an enabler of shared
services
Global SA miners have an opportunity to
rationalise their different ERP solutions
– and take advantage of SA as a low
cost geography.
Further opportunities for an SSV for
the SA mining industry?
The new “extended ERP” vendor
offerings provide an opportunity to
broaden the footprint of the ERP and
realise greater value
Most mining companies have
followed an ERP versus best of breed
strategy for business support – with a
few companies still on legacy
systems
However, many of the larger
companies have different solutions
between corporate and BU
Implementations are commonly
limited to a number of functions rather
than across the whole company
ERP = Enterprise Resource Planning, SSV = Shared Service Venture
33. 36November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 36
SA Mining Co – Collaborative Technologies
One of the most tangible effects of globalisation is the resulting demand for
robust and common collaborative IT applications and the supporting
infrastructure
Rationale
• Mobility of executives
• Single e-mail platform
• Group-wide address book
• Common culture
• Knowledge sharing
• Virtual meetings
• Project collaboration
• Global sourcing
• Performance reporting …
IT Solutions
• Global network
• Wireless LAN
• Common applications
• Common operating systems
• Web solutions & competency
centres
• Document & knowledge
management solutions
• E-Learning
• Enterprise portal …
34. 37November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 37
SA Mining Co – Integration Of Internal Processes
The impact of information technology
varies significantly depending upon
where it is applied in the value chain
Technology investments in the mining
value chain have not necessarily been
given the same focus as in the business
support areas
Integrated solutions are becoming
available for the business support areas
in Mining – the domain of ‘ERP for
Mining’. This currently is a significant
area of collaborative opportunity and
ultimately high value
Most mining companies have a best of
breed approach to technology in the
mining value chain
.. resulting in faster take up in specific
areas – but less integrated solutions in
the core, mining value chain areas
Work-
shop
Ware-
house
Work-
shop
Ware-
house
Geology,
Planning &
Scheduling
Production
Orders
Mine
Planning
Geology,
Planning &
Scheduling
Production
Orders
Mine
Planning
Purchasing
Inventory
Management
Spares Parts Inventory
Purchasing
Inventory
Management
Spares Parts Inventory
Crew
Availability
Skills &
Training
Human Resources
Crew
Availability
Skills &
Training
Human Resources
Work
Orders
Planning and
Scheduling
Maintenance
Planning
Work
Orders
Planning and
Scheduling
Maintenance
Planning
Mining
Value
Chain
“MVC”
(value
creation)
Mining
Value
Chain
“MVC”
(value
creation)
Enterprise
Resource
Planning
“ERP”
( process
support)
Enterprise
Resource
Planning
“ERP”
( process
support)
Costing and Finance
SaleTransport
Drill
& Blast
Load
& Haul
Process
Plant
ExtractionMarketing
Stock-
Piles
SaleTransport
Drill
& Blast
Load
& Haul
Process
Plant
Process
Plant
ExtractionMarketing
Stock-
Piles
35. 38November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 38
SA Mining Co – Integration Of External Processes (Inbound)
A prominent use of technology in the SA
Mining industry to integrate processes
with business partners / suppliers is
Quadrem Quadrem Founders include:
Alcan Ltd
Alcoa Inc
Anglo American plc
Barrick Gold Corporation
BHP Billiton Ltd
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD)
Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco)
De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd
Glencore International AG
Imerys
Inco Ltd
Newmont Mining Corporation
Noranda Inc
Pechiney
Peñoles
Phelps Dodge Corporation
Rio Tinto
Votorantim Group
WMC Limited
36. 39November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 39
SA Mining Co – Integration Of External Processes (Outbound)
And in the outbound supply chain, there is the opportunity to change
perceptions and attitudes through providing a range of information-
based services that drive ‘downstream’ thinking:
Build partnerships
Service ethic - accessibility of people, processes and strategies
Share ideas - grow support for involvement in incremental demand building activity
Efficiency & effectiveness
Automate existing processes
Govern and manage a common identity and downstream use of ‘trust’ marks
Promote
Endorse intermediaries
Promote specific programmes and end-product to trade and consumers
37. 40November 2002
The Emerging Role of IT within the South African Mining Industry (v.1.2) Page 40
Conclusions
In conclusion, the emerging role of IT in the South African Mining industry is
that of a ‘business value creator’ with a focus on providing IT solutions which
support the main strategic focus of the industry
• Global governance & architecture,
regional delivery
• Business value creator
• Service delivery improvement
• Transforming the IT workforce
• Managing relationships with
multiple external service providers
• SLAs measuring end-to-end
business aligned processes
Emerging IT Role
• Exploit opportunities to standardise
/ share back office systems through
(ERP) solutions
• Greater focus on getting more
business insight through BI tools
• Leverage collaborative technologies
to work more globally
• Use of EAI to integrate technical
applications
• Use technology to integrate internal
processes and with business
partners / suppliers
Role of IT Solutions
38. The Emerging Role of Information
Technology (IT) within the South
African Mining Industry
James AH Campbell
B.Sc (Hons) ARSM MBA (Dunelm) C.Eng MIMM Dipl Datm (UNISA)
General Manager, Information Technology
De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited
Gartner ‘Mining Event’
Mining Industry Technology Update
29th July 2003
Johannesburg, South Africa