MINING SOFTWARE
get as much functionality as possible out of products like GIM Suite and EnviroSys .
This is exemplified by its Nova Network , designed to give acQuire customers access to a qualified talent pool of geoscientific information management experts across its product range .
Alison Atkins , CEO of acQuire , called this a “ strategic differentiator ”, providing customers with more choice .
“ We align with independent consultants and external organisations who become our Nova Network Partners ,” she explained . “ Nova Network Partners are an excellent resource to supplement time-poor teams and can help customers explore and adopt new functionality available in software releases .” acQuire has 32 practitioners globally within this network who assist the company and its customers , while providing feedback that may influence acQuire ’ s product roadmap .
It is this customer feedback that is leading to acQuire working with third-party vendors its customers are also using for specific functionality .
Atkins explained : “ We ’ re partnering with technology organisations where we see there ’ s mutual benefit ; or , I should say , tri-party benefit between the customer and both vendors – ourselves and whoever we ’ re partnering with .”
APIs are one way of enabling acQuire ’ s customers to interoperate between these systems .
“ APIs are driven by us based on feedback from customers and third parties ,” Atkins said . “ If we look predominantly at GIM Suite , our core
An increased level of mobility has been added to acQuire ’ s newest geological data management solution , GIM Suite 5
solution , we have a very well-known global brand and reputation , with a great customer base that stretches to 500 sites over 220 organisations globally . We service multi-commodity , multidomain , geographically-dispersed customers . Third parties tend to come to us , but we have also engaged with third parties that make strategic sense for us based on customer needs .” What has also made strategic sense for the company is adding an increased level of mobility to its newest geological data management solution , GIM Suite 5 .
“ There ’ s an expectation to have mobile devices in the field for data collection and reporting observations ,” Atkins said . “ Our clear product roadmap is continuing to transition our desktop functionality into web and mobile capabilities . As we ’ ve evolved our technology , we ’ re building things more fit-for-purpose for how customers are working now .”
More automated and remote automated functions are the key areas where acQuire is
seeing the most focus and return from a development perspective , providing employees in the mining industry with the ability to work remotely .
“ We predominantly focus on information management from an observational perspective and ensuring compliance of the collection of data – how it ’ s stored and how the data is used ,” Atkins said . “ There ’ s a staggering amount of sensor data and miners are less reliant on individuals collecting information as more tools and systems generate and collect data .”
All of this results in more complexity , with observations and measurements becoming more digital .
Atkins said : “ One of the first questions we ask organisations that go down the route of collecting a lot of this newly generated sensor data is : ‘ why ?’ And , secondly , ‘ what are you doing with it ?’ The continual evolution of data types being collected in the field is an area we focus on with GIM Suite and EnviroSys .”
The use of AI is just one avenue the company is exploring for future solutions , which comes back to the volume of data the average mine site is generating and looking to leverage .
“ There are no standard products out there in the AI field , so we ’ re continually researching technology changes and assessing if this is something we adopt as part of our product strategy ,” Atkins said .
Helping automate decision making
Eclipse Mining Technologies , the mining technology provider led by Fred Banfield , Mintec ’ s former Chairman and Founder , and Susan Wick , Mintec ’ s former Chief Operating
38 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2023