Rio deal opens new business line for iGate-Patni

In an infrastructure deal that will help define a new business model for it, mid-tier IT firm iGate-Patni has signed a five-year contract worth Rs400 crore with global mining major Rio Tinto for developing technologies for automated mining.

Under an “innovation insourcing” partnership to aid Rio Tinto’s ‘Mine of the Future’ programme, Rio Tinto and iGate-Patni have opened a research centre in Pune.

The Rio Tinto Innovation Centre, the sixth centre of the miner globally, will be managed by iGate-Patni.

The centre, spread over 44,000 square feet, would by the year-end employ around 300 iGate-Patni engineers, who will work on developing last-mile technologies such as imaging solutions for surface mining, advanced scanning and advanced data management systems.

The technologies will aid the Australian company in adding efficiency to its operations, lowering production costs and improving safety, all part of the new automated mining system.
While the initial investment for the innovation centre is estimated at Rs15 crore, the deal will generate revenues of `80 crore per year for iGate-Patni.

Phaneesh Murthy, chief executive officer, iGate-Patni, told DNA Money, “We are experimenting with newer business models, and working on such diverse projects will help us to offer innovative technologies to verticals which have been a little slower in adopting the same.”

Along with recent deals — Infosys-Portland and WNS-Suncorp — this latest partnership with iGATE-Patni points towards widening  of the Australian outsourcing market for Indian companies.
John McGagh, head of innovation for Rio Tinto, said the miner is also looking at a long partnership beyond the current five-year contract.