Open Text Web Solutions help create a consistent brand across a global Web site

1. 1 | Customer Success
Rio Tinto Mines Rich Vein with Open Text Web Solutions
Open Text Web Solutions help create a consistent brand across a global Web site
In the natural pursuit of mineral deposits, Rio Tinto has There was a wide variety of approaches to content
operations in more than 50 countries. In 2008, the company management. Some locations didn’t have any system and
employed around 65,000 people, and revenue for 2007 was some had written a home-grown facility, and there was also
more than $30 billion. a host of different systems sourced locally, each with its
Over the years, Rio Tinto has grown significantly, often own contract and commercial arrangements. This led to a
“We used Open Text to engineer a high-quality, degree of inefficiency and challenges in governance.
through mergers and strategic partnerships. For a major
worldwide Web presence that requires
global business, this created significant challenges in To address these issues, Smith set out a clear strategy
minimal resources but has the flexibility to
communicating a consistent brand and sending coherent to transform Rio Tinto’s global Web communications.
combine a consistent corporate image with
messages to its many stakeholders—including investors, The strategy focused on building a central hub of Web
local content generation. All within a secure, customers, suppliers, employees, and the media. templates—created, populated, and managed centrally but
low-cost, and easily managed environment.” tagged for dissemination throughout the various Rio Tinto
To address this challenge, Rio Tinto has replaced many of
its locally-managed Web sites with a dynamic, consistent, Web domains around the world.
and professional global cascade of Web presence, centrally Rio Tinto appointed Rufus Leonard to handle the technical
managed by a corporate team of just two people and build of the Web infrastructure and work with a design
supported by Web editors in the local businesses. agency, View Creative, on a new Web design. In addition to
“We used Open Text to engineer a high-quality, worldwide implementing a consistent and professional presentation
Rio Tinto has grown enormously since smart investors Web presence that requires minimal resources but has the for Rio Tinto around the world, a key requirement was for
purchased a local mine in southern Spain in 1873 and flexibility to combine a consistent corporate image with local local operations to be able to add their own content within
turned it into a profitable business. Today, Rio Tinto is one content generation. All within a secure, low-cost, and easily certain page frames whilst adhering to the global design
of the world’s largest mining and exploration companies, managed environment,” says Bryan Smith, Principal Adviser, and presentation standards.
mining and processing metals and minerals that Digital Media in Rio Tinto’s Corporate Communications function. “We conducted a thorough review of all the most appropriate
include aluminium, copper, iron ore, diamonds, Web content management systems. Our evaluations revealed
coal, uranium, gold, and industrial minerals. Evaluating alternatives Open Text Web Solutions as clearly being the best for our
Rio Tinto had created over 80 separate Web sites, which purposes in terms of cost, governance, platforms, and
were run by separate divisions and individual mines around outcomes,” Smith explains. “We wanted a cost-effective
the world. Overall there was a lack of clarity and governance solution from a responsible global organisation that
over Rio Tinto’s worldwide Web presence. could be trusted to deliver. We steered
away from open source

2. 2 | Customer Success
solutions or products that were restricted to only a small Rapid rebranding
number of high-profile, high-cost consultancy implementers.”
Industry: A major advantage of creating and storing Web pages
“Open Text Web Solutions is based on Microsoft®.NET,™ within a central hub is that Rio Tinto retains control over its
which gives us the important benefit of being able to develop Web presence from a single point. Not only do Smith and
our own applications and plug them into the global Web Customer: his team know what is being displayed on their Web site in
cascade,” Smith adds. “Open Text Web Solutions also allows places as far afield as Brisbane, Australia and Yellowknife,
us to run multiple Web sites from the core software hub, Canada, they are also able to change the content, image,
in multiple languages, and that populate multiple domains. Business Challenges: and presentation extremely rapidly and have changes
This is vital to us as a major, multi-product, global business.” implemented instantaneously throughout the world.
Rio Tinto recently undertook a corporate rebranding that
Security and control
needed to be reflected across its worldwide Web presence.
The range of businesses and mining activities within Rio Tinto’s “We simply modified templates in the central hub and were
global business is vast, and each is required to publish able to reflect the new brand throughout Rio Tinto Web
information specific to its particular products and markets. domains across the world. The exercise was particularly
It was essential that beneath a consistent corporate image cost effective,” Smith enthuses. “Previously, such a project
and presentation each local Web site should have the ability would have taken many months.”
to populate pages with locally-generated content.
Business Solution: Minute Web management team
Rio Tinto achieved this by developing a multi-tiered template
infrastructure of Web pages. At the top level, corporate Despite the scope and scale of Rio Tinto’s business
pages contain no flexibility to change content or restrict local Business Benefits: operations, the company’s London headquarters employs
content to specific frames within the page. However, further only two full-time people dedicated to governing the
down the hierarchy, flexible frameworks are provided that company’s entire global Web presence.
allow local editors to load content that relates specifically to In addition to normal text and images, Open Text Web
the local business. Solutions enables Rio Tinto to centrally load more
This means that a local operation sees that it has ownership sophisticated content, including external data feeds and
of its own Web domain, but the entire worldwide structure video presentations, which are then transmitted to the
adheres to the professional corporate standards for quality worldwide domain sites.
and design. Local editors are not permitted to breach The template pages in the central hub are tagged to target
defined boundaries when pursuing their own creative urges downloads to appropriate divisions and countries. Not all
to add local content. the global Web sites carry the same content, and flexible
templates with blank frames are provided within the
Open Text Web Solutions CMS Foundation for
local content uploads.

3. 3 | Customer Success
“Local staff find it very easy to use Web Solutions to upload View Creative. Supporting implementation in Rio Tinto’s “We have completed a successful large-enterprise Web project
content to the page templates, and there is no requirement locations across the world, Rufus Leonard introduced a that meets our corporate objectives at low cost to develop
for them to worry about page design or presentation,” Smith 24-hour job ticketing system, which facilitated highly efficient and very low cost to maintain,” Smith concludes. “Open Text
adds. “We have found it easy to train people, and Web follow-the-sun training and technical support. played an essential role in what we have achieved. The beauty
Solutions is an excellent tool for helping people with little All the code for Rio Tinto’s Web sites is held centrally. of what we have, going forward, is control over our global
expertise produce quality Web pages.” This means that when enhancements are suggested by Web presence, intrinsic scalability, and an easy ability to
one area of the business, they are implemented centrally deal with both change in our business and the adoption of
Rapid new site build and rolled out automatically so that every other part of the new generations of Web communication as they evolve.”
Rio Tinto frequently takes on new businesses that need to be company enjoys the same immediate benefits.
brought into the corporate fold. The most recent example was
the acquisition of Canadian aluminium producer, Alcan Inc., Impressive results
which made Rio Tinto a global leader in the aluminium industry. From humble beginnings as a collection of over 80
Using Open Text’s technology, the Web team in London individually managed Web sites, Rio Tinto is transforming its
created a brand-new Rio Tinto Alcan Web site, incorporating Web presence into a consistent, professional, and highly-
the style and layout of the parent company. effective global communications medium that meets both
corporate and local needs.
Ongoing support/maintenance Unusual for a global engagement of this scale and
Rufus Leonard is a premium partner of Open Text. It managed complexity, the whole project was delivered on time and
the development and implementation project, working with within budget.
www.opentext.com
Visit online.opentext.com for more information about Open Text solutions. Open Text is a publicly traded company on both NASDAQ (OTEX) and the TSX (OTC). Copyright © 2009 by Open Text Corporation. Trademarks or registered trademarks of
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