Big data getting bigger: data analytics companies a growing resource in North.

• Author: Myers, Ella
• Position: MINING

The mining industry is producing something besides minerals these days: it's producing massive quantities of data.

Data on finances, safety, equipment, productivity, scheduling, and more. It belongs to a category of information coined "big data" to describe the large, complex sets seen in the modern world of industrial production and technological innovation.

However, while these mining companies may produce tonnes of data, they don't necessarily have the equipment needed for extracting, processing and using them.

A new sector has popped up to service this need, a data analytics sector that provides hardware and software solutions to help businesses track and use the data to improve operations.

In Sudbury, this sector is primarily servicing the mining industry, and it's gaining recognition as the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC) advances their economic action plan.

The city focused their April Resourceful Cities lecture on the data analytics services sector, how it can be engaged by the mining industry, and local businesses that are leading the way.

"The key thing here is it's a very diversified sector," said Paul Reid, the city's business development officer in the mining and supply/services sector. "The city participates to try and advance the growth in this sector. It's all part of an ecosystem."

One of the businesses that has witnessed growth is Symboticware, a hardware and software company founded by Kirk Petroski in 2008. He addressed how the sector has changed in the last eight years, specifically in the North.

"We're taking the foundation and history of Sudbury, with the collective knowledge of the industry, and exporting more than I just mineral extractions," said Petroski.

Petroski said the slow cycle in mining is pushing companies to innovate and, despite rescinded budgets, investing in technology is becoming the norm.

"Solutions around mining are becoming valuable," said Petroski. "There's more attention to innovation and technology, and companies are faced with very little choice. You need to look at technology to make even marginal improvements."

Symboticware's specific products include things like an equipment monitoring device...