The GIM Channel 04: Reflections on 20 years of acQuire and the future of GIM

acQuire’s Managing Director, Alison Atkins, reflects on highlights and changes in GIM in the mining industry over the last 20 years.

She discusses current risks for the mining and metals industry as outlined in a recent Ernst and Young Report and gives her insights on industry trends such as automation, connectivity, and cloud technologies.

Alison also discusses new initiatives developed by acQuire this year and the company’s outlook for the future.

Show Notes

Here are some key take-outs:

“With every down turn, one of the big risks is the loss of people.” – Alison

“One of the big differentiators within acQuire, is that we spend a lot of time recruiting the right people. We have a very good retention rate.”

• Cash optimisation is one of the first things companies look at in a down turn, with resourcing and optimising human resources costs a focus area. However with redundancies and under employment, companies risk losing IP and talented people.
• A 2016 Ernst and Young report on risks in mining and metals, showed a major risk of previous years was the ability to source and access the right talent. This year, this is no longer seen as a risk.

“By retaining IP, we’re still innovating, we’re still creating and we’re ready for the turnaround in the industry…which we’re starting to see in some geographical locations.” – Alison

• acQuire views the loss of staff as a risk for lost IP. Alison explains how acQuire prides itself on recruiting the right people and maintains a high staff retention rate. The company employs a succession strategy and spends time upskilling staff throughout the organisation, meaning IP stays in the company allowing acQuire to continue to innovate.

New trends and initiatives

• Automation, connectivity and cloud technology are trends seen in the industry.
• New initiatives in acQuire includes the Nova Network which gives acQuire customers access to a greater resource pool for data management services.

“We have a fantastic client base. For us, establishing strong relationships with individuals and organisations is critical to our success.” – Alison

• In the last twenty 20 years acQuire has expanded and grown into a global technology company, with its robust technology used in sites worldwide.

“We’re passionate about what we do and we’re passionate about growth” – Alison

• acQuire will continue to grow and improve it’s technology and services, finding better ways to service and help customers with one of their most important assets – their data.

Here are links you might need

Have you heard the one about…

Recently The GIM Channel interviewed Luc Savoie from CNRL about how geoscientific data can impact business decisions in the mining and energy industries.

We also talked to acQuire’s co-founder Bill Withers on creating a resilient technology company. Listen here >

View all the highlights from acQuire’s 20th year of business.

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