Building an Agile and Scalable Data Environment for a Global Mining Leader

Mining companies understand the importance of efficiencies scale. A common operational objective among the industry is to streamline as many processes because even small efficiencies add up to massive savings in the end. Take iron ore for example: When you mine, process and ship millions of tons each year, shaving even a few cents of your operational costs can result in millions of dollars saved. In that sense, operational efficiency is truly a competitive edge.

In the case of this anonymous mining company with global reach, one strategy they’ve employed with great success is that of vertical integration. By owning the means of extraction, processing and shipment, they’ve been able to cut costs dramatically. Not wanting to rest on their laurels, they recognized another way to optimize operations was by empowering their decision-makers with faster access to reliable data. In order to provide that to their people, they needed the help of a trusted guide.

The mining company is one that, once set in a direction, will analyze every possibility to make the best decision they can – so it was in choosing an analytics platform. Knowing full well that their choice of analytics platform would ultimately guide the direction of their entire data environment, they did not make the decision lightly. In the end, they landed on Tableau as the best fit for enabling modern, user-driven analytics.

After purchasing Tableau, the mining company immediately reached out to a large analytics consulting firm to help them first implement Tableau and then help them grow in their use of the platform. Progress crept along, and this consulting firm soon became entrenched within the mining company. Seeking a change, they turned to their regional Tableau account manager to see if there was a different consulting firm that could take them further in their efforts. Knowing just the firm for the job, the account manager referred them to InterWorks, who had proven themselves time and again with clients of their stature. That’s where our relationship begins.

Before going all in on InterWorks, the mining company first wanted to see what we could do. This began with InterWorks-led Tableau Combo trainings across the company in addition to some exploratory dashboarding work. The trainings went swimmingly, and the dashboarding work was illuminating, but they kept coming back to the fact that InterWorks, at least at the time, didn’t have a large local presence in their area. Some consulting firms might be set in their ways, but InterWorks took it to heart, going so far as to add additional qualified resources local to the area.

Thanks to extensive experience in the mining industry, our new people were an immediate fit with the mining company. The InterWorks team started out doing small projects such as ad hoc dashboarding as the mining company needed it. Eventually, all these successful small projects with InterWorks showed the mining company a pattern – InterWorks was who they said they were. With firm trust established, even more meaningful work could begin.

Now that the mining company was familiar with InterWorks and the broad capabilities our team possessed, they wanted the same level of holistic work InterWorks was known for globally. The thought of implementing the same modern analytics technologies and principles as the some of the world’s most sophisticated companies had the mining company excited about their own potential to apply these best-in-breed solutions to their organization as well as pioneer them for the broader mining industry.

Knowing InterWorks offered full-stack data solutions beyond visual analytics, the mining company turned to InterWorks for strategic advice on what that ideal framework might look like for them.