U.K.-headquartered Rio Tinto, a well-known name in the global mining world, and California-based iGATE Corporation have come together to forge a ‘fascinating alliance' to usher in technology capability in-sourcing, an entirely new terminology in the information technology space.
The objective of the ‘innovation partnership' is to focus on creating next generation technologies and contribute to global growth and development of Rio Tinto's ‘Mine of the Future™' programme.
According to Phaneesh Murthy, CEO of iGATE, the alliance would open up a whole new vista for the company. iGATE could consider similar models for hitherto unexplored areas.
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Simply put, iGATE, using its expertise in providing IT solutions to assorted fields, would develop and deliver accelerated technology to help Rio Tinto address a host of issues connected with mining in an efficient and safe way even while improving the throughput.
The alliance, according to Mr. Murthy, has a revenue potential of $60-80 million for iGATE over the next five years, depending on the outcome delivered. iGATE will provide engineering research and development services, including industrial automation and control, software and embedded design and development to Rio Tinto to facilitate the Mine of the Future™ programme. A Rio Tinto Innovation Centre has already been set up at iGATE Patni facility in Pune, which will play a crucial role in facilitating and leveraging next generation automated technologies for mining operations.
The Pune centre will work in close tandem with Rio Tinto's centres of excellence in Australia, Canada and the U.K. The two partners have invested close to $3 million in developing the infrastructure in Pune. John McGagh, Head of Innovation, Rio Tinto, said, “this is technical capability in-sourcing through partnership and will enable us to move our innovations from concept stage to reality more efficiently through the work of a dedicated team of specialised engineers.”
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