Automation services market benefits from mining boom

The automation services market - including maintenance and repair services - has flourished in the mining boom. In 2013, the market earned revenues of $181.9 million and looks set to reach $279.2 million in 2018, according to new research from Frost & Sullivan. The ANZ Automation Services Market report predicts that most of the growth is expected from the power and mining industries.

The flip side of the greater automation in mining is the increased frequency of attacks by hackers; the majority of users do not have adequate security measures to thwart such attacks. As a result, newer automation systems will have to comply with additional safety protocols to gain acceptance.

“While there are numerous projects in progress, end users are conservative about investing in new systems,” noted Frost & Sullivan Industrial Automation & Process Control Research Analyst Krishnan Ramanathan.

“They are, however, likely to spend on services so vendors are ramping up their service portfolios - from consulting to maintenance.”

End users are also showing a willingness to engage with multiple vendors and their system integrators. Although most customers prefer to liaise with a single point of contact for all their automation requirements, in many cases, automation companies are unable to address all of them.

Gradually, end users are also realising that liaising with a single vendor could be detrimental if there are snags at the supplier level. In such a scenario, specifying open architecture standards could well be the most effective way to ensure flexibility and enable system integrators to step in to address technical concerns.

“Already, major automation companies have forged ties with local distributors in key regions in Australia,” noted Ramanathan. “Several of the distributors are also value-added resellers that sometimes exclusively market products and services of the companies they represent.”

Overall, with a rise in the number of projects in several industries including mining, energy, and water and wastewater, automation vendors are expected to experience significant growth. They will do well to introduce advanced technologies that will quickly gain acceptance and spawn greater demand across industries, Frost & Sullivan predicts