Given the perilous state of the global economy, businesses around the world continue to be consumed by thoughts of how to ratchet up their productivity while reducing their costs.
This has led many of them to embrace a practical approach to modernising their IT environments, striving to eke out every last drop of productivity they can from the systems and infrastructure they currently have in place.
Beyond this initial step, however, we are increasingly seeing organisations update or replace those applications that can enable greater automation and optimisation of their processes and workflows.
It is for this reason that the number of mobile applications continues to grow at a rapid rate. And it is also why more and more businesses are embracing the power of cloud computing, particularly as they realise the significant value that can be generated through the rapid development and deployment of new applications.
The establishment of solid, reliable IT systems also smooths the path for the introduction of Big Data analytics, thereby enabling businesses to efficiently and effectively manage critical data from multiple sources to provide a deeper and more holistic view of their operational performance.
These developments are occurring across the entire spectrum of industries, but they are finding particular traction in the oil and gas sector — a sector that is currently undergoing profound change.
That change is being spurred by a general shift in the supply-demand dynamics of the market as global economic weakness combines with the discovery of robust new reserves (i.e., shale oil) and the introduction of more viable forms of alternative energy to dramatically curtail the need for oil.
As such, that universal pressure to do more with less is being keenly felt in the oil and gas sector. And while oil companies have proved to be pioneers of innovation when required to cut costs, these technology breakthroughs have not yet covered all the necessary bases.
The time has come to tackle these limitations so that oil companies can confront the challenges of oversupply. And just as in other industries, digital investment holds the key to helping these businesses reduce costs, improve operational efficiencies, and enhance their decision-making capabilities.
Innovative and emerging technologies will continue to transform the oil and gas industry over the coming years as it increasingly embraces digital transformation and infuses cloud, mobility, robotics, and Big Data analytics into its day-to-day operational functions.
One of the key areas of investment will be security and risk management. This is a key concern for all oil and gas firms, but it is particularly pertinent for upstream operators given all the points of entry that now exist, including SCADA systems and the myriad of new sensors being delivered into the field.
When considering the huge rise in vulnerable entry points and the fact that energy companies are among the most attractive targets for cybercriminals and worse, it is little wonder that security is such a major concern for the industry.
The implementation of enterprise mobility solutions is the other top IT initiative for oil and gas companies as they embrace the technology to enable employee learning and collaboration, field-force enablement, IT system status updates, and network outage alerts.
Business intelligence and analytics are also becoming increasingly popular in the industry as upstream companies strive to find knowledge and value buried within the massive amounts of data that is generated as a by-product of their operations.
But it is important to remember that optimised oil and gasfields require a comprehensive framework platform to be put in place. Only then can Big Data be managed adequately enough to enable the deep analysis that is required to drive significant improvements in oilfield performance.
Linked to this is the broader idea of the internet of Things (IoT). Interest in the capabilities of IoT technologies is certainly growing within the oil and gas industry; indeed, the market for smart, IoT-connected devices is growing at pace thanks to the vast array of oilfield sensors that are being deployed, and we only expect this area to gain more attention as the technology matures.
While oil and gas companies will find their own unique use cases for the emerging technologies outlined above, their motivations for doing so are broadly familiar. And, ultimately, this should lead to a more cost-effective, operationally-efficient industry capable of withstanding the mounting pressures that are being placed upon it.
The columnist is group vice-president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey at global ICT market intelligence and advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC). He can be contacted via Twitter @JyotiIDC. Content for this week’s feature leverages global, regional, and local research studies undertaken by IDC.
