Mines are becoming increasingly reliant on new technologies and software that generate data, creating the need for more robust data storage solutions.

The mining industry needs storage solutions where you have more control over your data and processes, whether used on the cloud or on-premise. That facilitates remote collaboration, scales easily, and integrates with legacy software that utilizes local storage.

Storage can be built either locally (on-premise) or hosted on the cloud. Building out a local storage solution can be costly and require expert knowledge. The hardware needed to store all of your mine’s data is costly, and scalability is difficult to achieve. In addition, any on-site disaster puts your data at risk because it exists only in the servers on location.

Cloud storage is an elegant solution to the problem of data and file storage. Instead of devoting resources to building out servers and hard drives, data is stored remotely and accessible via an internet connection. Multiple backups are stored in the cloud, so your data is recoverable, even in the event of an on-site disaster. In addition, cloud storage solutions typically require little expertise to implement and few resources.

In this article, we’ll review the different kinds of cloud storage solutions out there and what solutions are best for the mining industry.

Public Cloud Solutions

Public cloud platforms are some of the most widely used. These are cloud environments created from infrastructure that the user does not own. Some of the largest public cloud platforms are AWS, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft Azure.

The cloud provider hosts your data on their hardware, storage, and network devices in a public cloud. Storage is shared with other users, and your data is accessible to you via an internet connection.

Public cloud solutions are cost-efficient because they do not require any hardware or software investment and require little expertise to set up and maintain. Public cloud platforms offer near-unlimited scalability. The more data your mine produces, the more storage you can buy from the platform. Because these platforms have millions of users, they are highly reliable, secure and have protocols that ensure your data remains safe and recoverable.

Public cloud storage is ideal for individuals and small businesses, but it can get costly for mines that generate large amounts of data. In addition, because all of the storage is internet-based, you cannot access your data if you don’t have an internet connection. This is a disadvantage in the mining industry, where internet connection cannot be relied on in the mining site.

Private (On-Premise) Cloud Solutions

Private cloud solutions are used exclusively by one business or organization. These institutions utilize cloud computing to build out a customized cloud storage solution that is secure and specific to their needs. These platforms are often physically located in an on-site data center, but unlike local solutions, the data is still accessed by the institution via a web connection. The use of a cloud over local storage allows for data syncing and collaboration but is still reliant on an internet connection.

Private cloud platforms ensure that an institution can build its data infrastructure to meet its specific needs and continue to evolve and scale the cloud. In addition, because the institution does not share its data with other “tenants” on a public cloud platform, data is more private.

Private cloud solutions can be costly to set up and require many resources to house the data center and tailor the infrastructure to an institution’s needs. Although this cloud solution is on-premise, it differs from local solutions in that access to the data is still via an internet connection.

Private cloud solutions are often used by government and financial institutions because of the superior privacy they offer.

Hybrid Cloud Solutions

Hybrid cloud platforms combine a private cloud with one or more public cloud services. These solutions include proprietary software that enables seamless integration and communication between the cloud providers.

Hybrid cloud solutions offer the flexibility to move workloads between cloud solutions as the needs and costs of the company fluctuate. In addition, the use of private cloud platforms ensures greater control over data privacy. Hybrid solutions enable the storage of sensitive data on the private cloud while leveraging the computational resources of a public cloud.

While hybrid cloud solutions may seem complicated, they are simplified by powerful software that integrates the different cloud providers and creates a single plane of management. This simplifies the user experience while offering the company greater flexibility.

SourceOne® Industry Platform: A hybrid cloud solution for the mining industry

With increased flexibility and ease of use, we recommend hybrid cloud solutions for the mining industry.

The SourceOne platform provides a hybrid cloud solution developed specifically for the mining industry. SourceOne syncs all data and files, regardless of how many people are working on a document and eliminates the need for check-in or check-out documents.

SourceOne offers flexible management of data both on and off the cloud. You can choose to store older and more static data on an on-premise solution to save money and utilize the processing power of the cloud for more dynamic and collaborative processes.

Another hybrid solution that SourceOne provides is robust offline tools. We understand that mining sites don’t always have a reliable connection to the internet. If you get disconnected from the internet, you can continue working with your SourceOne data, accessing it through your local network or on-premise cloud. When your internet connection is restored, all changes are then synced to the cloud. SourceOne features powerful conflict resolution technology to ensure that the changes you make are stored accurately.

We are proud of our technology that facilitates remote collaboration and provides robust data management tools, but we are also dedicated to integration with existing software.

Many legacy products in the mining industry work locally, meaning they do not use the cloud to store data and work only on one on-site computer. SourceOne has the power to bridge these legacy solutions to work on the cloud. SourceOne readily accepts and shares data across all legacy products and centralizes access on one user-friendly dashboard.

SourceOne’s powerful integration tools eliminate the need to abandon legacy systems that meet the needs of the mine, ultimately saving money in updates and software acquisition.

Conclusion

Hybrid cloud solutions are ideal for the mining industry because they offer increased flexibility and security while still utilizing the computing power of large cloud providers. SourceOne’s hybrid cloud solutions integrate with existing software to create a robust data storage and management platform even if it’s not on the cloud.

Through products that revolutionize data connectivity and data management, their decades of experience in the industry and freedom from restrictive legacy technology, the Eclipse team is uniquely equipped to bring a much-demanded sea of change to the industry.

Unlocking the Power of Your Data

Download PDF