South32 to pursue new IT operating model

Miner South32 is set to consolidate its IT infrastructure management and service desk operations, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) picking up the work.

TCS said in a statement that “critical infrastructure that was previously managed by multiple service-providers has been consolidated with TCS.”

The company will also provide a unified service desk for all South32’s operations in Australia, with immediate assistance from on-location IT staff.

TCS said that it would work to “enhance South32’s IT operation model and provide application and infrastructure services critical to South32’s global operations”.

“The new IT operating model will assist South32 in reaching its strategic objective of standardising, simplifying and streamlining its IT operations,” TCS said.

iTnews understands there is no impact to existing IT staff roles at South32 as a result of the agreement.

South32’s digital technology vice president Sara Braund said that to achieve its strategic goal of simplification, “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.”

The agreement is set to span “multiple” years. No contract value was disclosed.

South32 was spun out of BHP Billiton in May 2015. 

Its assets are in Australia, South Africa and South America, and were largely those that BHP inherited from its merger with Billiton in 2001.

The miner has some history with TCS; the service provider said it had worked with South32 “to enable accelerated execution of recent divestiture programs, and track employee health and safety at South32’s global mining sites during the pandemic.”

A video published last year also notes a role TCS played in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) transformation at South32.