If your business runs out of an office, your managed services provider has a straightforward enough role. One network to take care of, with some hybrid work capabilities likely added into the equation too. What’s needed is reliable internet, secure devices, and someone to call when things go wrong.
For a mine site MSP, it’s an entirely different proposition. Remote geography, operational technology, safety-critical systems, and round-the-clock production schedules raise the bar that your tech provider simply has to reach – downtime on a mine site is too expensive for them not to. Never mind the safety and compliance risks.
Questions to Ask Your Mine Site MSP
So, what should a mining company look for in an IT provider? Here are seven important questions to ask.
1. Can They Support Your Remote Mine Site?
A lot of MSPs will tell you they support regional and remote clients. You need to determine whether they have the infrastructure in place to truly support your remote mine site. Check for:
- Proven experience with satellite connectivity, including Starlink deployments in low-coverage areas.
- How they handle 4G and 5G failover when primary links drop.
- Their remote monitoring systems and procedures.
If they largely cater to metropolitan clients, their response-time commitments will reflect that and may not apply to a mining setup. Make sure SLAs reflect the reality of your location.
2. Can They Get Boots On The Ground At Your Site?
Remote monitoring solves a lot of problems, but it doesn’t solve all of them. Some issues require someone physically on the ground. Your mine site operations manager needs to know that whoever shows up has the capability to resolve issues and keep the tech environment ticking over.
Smile IT has a dedicated projects team that mobilises directly to Queensland mine sites. They’re not subcontractors unfamiliar with the environment – they’re our own team members. Each one is experienced in the requirements of working on an operational mine site, including safety inductions, site protocols, and the logistical realities of remote deployment.
You want to know from your MSP – who physically attends the mine site? Are they your employees, and do they have experience working in mining environments?
3. Does the Mine Site MSP Understand Operational Technology?
OT (operational technology) and IT (information technology) differ in scope, even though there are significant areas of overlap between them. Many IT providers fall short, because they can cover the areas of convergence but don’t have the full grasp on the role OT fulfils on a mine site.
IT covers the systems that run your physical operations: SCADA platforms, programmable logic controllers, industrial control systems, and the networks that connect them. These environments have different security profiles, update cycles and failure modes than standard IT environments. Taking care of them requires a different subset of skills and experience than your average MSP has.
You don’t want an MSP with no occupational technology experience. Ask for specific examples of OT work they’ve delivered in mining or industrial settings.
4. Is Their Security Approach Built for This Environment?
Mining companies are an increasingly attractive target for cyber attacks. Production pressure, remote sites, and the mix of IT and OT systems create a complex attack surface.
On a technology level, the Essential Eight framework needs to be applied within a mining context. The specific vulnerabilities that exist at the intersection of IT and OT networks should also be understood, as should your compliance obligations.
Cyber liability is a board-level conversation in mining now. You want an IT partner who is well-versed in the best cybersecurity standards to apply to your mine site.
5. Are They Proactive or Reactive?
Proactive monitoring, scheduled patching, regular audits and documented maintenance cycles are the standard you should expect from an MSP taking care of your mine site IT.
Ask how they handle patch management, how often they conduct infrastructure reviews, and what their reporting cadence looks like. You want visibility across your entire IT platform.
6. Do Their SLAs Match How You Actually Operate?
Mine sites don’t run business hours. A critical system failure at 2am on a Sunday is not a problem that can wait until Monday morning. It’s not just that downtime is expensive – you also have strict safety requirements to adhere to. A faulty tech environment won’t help with that.
Your operating schedule needs to be understood and accommodated in the SLA. This means 24/7 support availability, clearly defined escalation paths, and response time commitments that account for your location.
The right provider will have a support model built around your operational reality.
7. Do They Have True Industrial Capability?
Most MSPs don’t have the industrial capabilities your mine site requires. They can competently manage your laptops, email platform and cloud environment – but not the infrastructure that helps keep a mine site connected and operational.
At Smile IT, we have built industrial capabilities to meet the complex needs of mine sites. This includes wireless mesh networking for large site footprints, private LTE for reliable connectivity and point-to-point and Starlink solutions for remote communications where traditional links aren’t viable.
Beyond connectivity, the capability extends to AI-powered CCTV solutions for site security and monitoring. We can also provide IoT platforms that give operations teams real-time visibility over assets and the environmental conditions they’re working in.
We can give operations or project managers ownership of their full technology picture on site. This is a far better outcome than having multiple vendors with no unified accountability.
Smile IT – The Mine Site MSP Specialists
Most MSPs are built for office-based businesses. Mine sites need a provider with remote capability, on-the-ground resources, OT expertise, and a security and support model calibrated for industrial operations.
At Smile IT, we work with mining companies across Queensland, providing managed IT services, cybersecurity, and operational technology support. Our projects team mobilises directly to site when the work requires it.
If you’re evaluating IT providers for your operation, get in touch with the Smile IT team to talk through what you need.
