The drive is the first of its kind worldwide and will see the creation of enterprise architecture reference models specific to the mining industry for all companies involved in The Open Group’s Exploration, Mining, Metals and Minerals Vertical (EMMMV).

“The first deliverables of the EMMMV will be reference models which can be applied to all companies in these sectors worldwide. These reference models will span the domains of business, information, data, applications and technology,” says The Open Group’s South African representative, Sarina Viljoen.

The reference models can shave up to 60% off the cost of developing enterprise architecture from scratch, says Viljoen. Member organisations, she notes, will have a significant edge over their competitors, and be able to participate in the development and evolution of reference models for their industries.

Enterprise architecture will help natural resource companies to tackle the skills shortage, by encapsulating existing knowledge, business and solution complexity, regulatory and reporting requirements – which change frequently – and the need for an integrated approach to safety, health, environment and quality (SHE-Q).

Viljoen notes that, while mining drivers of the twentieth century were typically about profit, new drivers, such as efficiency and safety, make up today’s mining scene, and this is where enter- prise architecture can be beneficial.

“Governmental pressure on SHE-Q will force mining companies to change their operating procedures, so as to reduce [the numer of] deaths. Changing pro- cesses are often a catalyst for enterprisewide change, which then spurs enterprise architecture,” she says.

Enterprise architecture is a discipline that allows organisations to model and depict everything that an organisation consists of, including all resources, pro- cesses, assets, technology and people. The organisation can then view the current state and plan towards a desired state.

Viljoen says that for many organisations, it will be the first time that they have been able to view their entire operation and, as a consequence, organisations will be aware of the impact of change before it happens, reduce risk and cut operational costs.

Viljoen says that Harvard Business Press in its work, Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, empirically showed that companies that execute their strategy in line with enterprise architectural prin- ciples are more competitive and more profitable than their competitors.

“Management is able to identify all organisational drivers and resources, reuse work already completed, standardise all pro- cesses, and understand the impact of change before it happens,” she says.

She maintains that company collaboration, which arises out of enterprise architecture, helps mining companies to realise sustainable business value. She says that companies collaborating towards a common goal, and sharing resources in pursuit of this objec- tive, share intellectual capital, and halve the time required to develop enterprise architecture by reusing existing work.

Through this drive, says Vil-joen, mining companies will be able to manage their operations better, align strategy with resources, cope with regulatory and other changes, and align safety with operations, with one of the most tangible benefits expected to be a reduction in accidents and fatalities.

Viljoen believes that this drive also proves that valuable skills resources exist in South Africa.

“This drive is a prime example of South African know-how being leveraged. The Open Group in South Africa punches far above its weight, making South Africa one of the most representative countries in the world,” she says.

Viljoen says that the objective of the EMMMV is to realise sustainable business value through collaboration around a common operating model, and admits that finding the resources to roll out the programme worldwide, is a considerable challenge for The Open Group, as well as informing members about the programme.

It will function across five continents, and follows on similar approaches in other industries, such as banking, telecommuni- cations and the supply chain, while the formation of the EMMMV follows an agreement reached at the Gartner Mining and Resource Industry Technology 2007 summit held in South Africa.

Real IRM, as a member of the EMMMV, will focus on applying enterprise architectural discipline based on The Open Group architecture framework. Founding members of the EMMMV are Real IRM, the representative of The Open Group in South Africa, Datamine, Debswana, Exxaro, Lonmin, Rio Tinto Mining & Exploration, SAP and The Open Group.