Tata Consulting Services expands IT services deal with mining firm South32

Australian mining and metals company South32 has expanded its IT services deal with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as it looks to upgrade its IT operating model.

The multi-year deal involves application and infrastructure services to help South32 improve its operational resilience and business agility. TCS will also be the sole provider of critical infrastructure management services, consolidating what was a multi-provider contract.

It also builds on the two companies’ existing relationship, with TCS providing services related to South32’s divestiture programs and for solutions to help track employee health and safety at mining sites during the COVID-19 pandemic.

TCS will overhaul South32’s IT operating model with its Machine First Delivery Model, which uses Ignio AIOps and ERPOps to provide a “self-healing” capability and increased resilience in the IT stack consisting of ERP and other corporate applications, operational technology and underlying infrastructure.

The systems integrator will also provide a unified service desk for all of South32’s operations in Australia, with support from on-location IT staff.

“To achieve our strategic goal, it is imperative that we work with partners who have the global network aligned to South32 operations and offer the breadth of services required for an organisation like ours,” South32 vice president of digital technology Sara Braund said.

“In TCS we found a partner who understood our vision of simplification and had proven experience in establishing a resilient technology foundation.”

TCS head of energy and resources for the UK, Europe and ANZ Seema Mehra said, “The mining industry is embarking on digital transformation journeys to drive greater productivity, health and safety, and environmental sustainability. Foundational to all this is a resilient and future-proof digital core that will provide the flexibility, agility and resources needed to sustain their transformation journeys.”

“We are delighted to partner with South32, and use our technology expertise, domain knowledge, innovation and our ability to contextualize our digital assets with cross industry knowledge, to transform their IT operations globally.”

TCS ANZ country head Vikram Singh said, “Our customers in Western Australia are undergoing exciting stages of transformation, and our partnership with South32 to transform their IT operating Model will support in future-proofing their business.”

“We are proud to grow our relationship with South32 and take on responsibility for such a critical portion of their operations at an important time in their growth journey. At the same time, this partnership further highlights our continued investment in delivering cutting edge solutions to the mining and utility sector in the West Australian market, and we look forward to expanding our local capabilities in that market.”