What is it exactly?
Few weeks back we introduced this new series, with the objective of presenting what the Cloud for mining means and how you can build your own integrated industrial ecosystems. Today, we explore value, including costs and sustainability, and try to untangle some key misconceptions while clarifying definitions, such as the difference between Cloud storage and Cloud computing.
The Cloud can host oceans of data cost-effectively, but does it make sense to have all systems of a mining operation on the Cloud?
How do you use a Cloud?
An ideal mine would be a data-driven, fully automated and simulated, electrified system of systems operating continuously and reliably, adjusting on the fly as conditions shift and plans change based on continuous updates and input from intelligent sensors on every component and human in a fully integrated Industrial Internet of Things ecosystem. Like a modern factory.
The Cloud can handle massive amounts of data needed to operate the ideal mine, but does it make sense to have all systems of a mining operation on the Cloud? Or is it smarter to move only certain operations and certain data to the Cloud, or to distribute operations across a hybrid configuration? Which operations, when? What data? What conditions would make a Cloud option unacceptable?
How many Clouds types are there?
With the Cloud via an external provider, you pay for infrastructure and expertise elsewhere to store your data and do computing and processing instead of using your own resources (being hardware, software, and personnel to maintain it all). The elasticity of Cloud computing allows users to scale up resources on demand and then quickly scale down when the job is done. Cloud is flexible allowing each organization to choose how to use it. A public cloud hosts data on shared infrastructure that keeps each customer’s data separate while on a virtual private cloud customers access the cloud provider’s services through a virtual private network (VPN). With a private cloud (or dedicated cloud), all customers get their own dedicated infrastructure. Private clouds are ideal for data intense processes that require fast transactions rates or when extra security or compliance is required. A hybrid cloud configuration blends these cloud types allowing some data to be stored and processed on a dedicated server, while other types of data are pushed to the cloud for leveraging the provider’s resources.
Cloud has two major components: storage and compute. Cloud data storage is most common. Cloud computing is mostly used for big data analytics, data backups and disaster recovery, Software as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). The Cloud facilitates improved insights and fosters collaboration.
Costs and Trade-offs
The problem with the Cloud for many mining industry applications, however, is too much data, too much redundant data. This data volume can slow transfer speed (latency). Mine operations need reliable, continuous connectivity at all times with high bandwidth and low latency to enable a synchronized and harmonic operation of a system of systems mine configuration for continually chasing value while operating. They need the right data, at the right time, instantly. That’s where the choices for Cloud implementation get tricky.
In a straight up cost comparison, a Cloud solution looks good. The Cloud provider covers maintenance and upgrades, hardware, internal IT tasks, personnel and implementation. The customer saves on servers, personnel, power consumption and operating costs, and typically pays only for license fees and usage levels. But it’s not that simple.
The challenge is knowing when, where and how to use the Cloud based on a mine’s unique circumstances and the company’s specific goals, according to a 2020 McKinsey & Company report. Those planning issues include connectivity, bandwidth, latency, data and systems reliability, location of primary physical storage infrastructure, back-up systems, and cybersecurity. In our next post, we look at one of the most important these issues: cybersecurity.
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