Why O&G Companies Should Adopt the Modern Energy Workplace

The oil and gas industry has experienced a fundamental shift from supply and demand trends, alternative power developments, and competitive markets disrupting the traditional energy industry. These changes and market-related pressures are different from previous cycles and super cycles the industry has experienced.

The “new normal” has forced companies to adopt cost-saving efficiencies and margin improvements, which given the market changes, are required for companies to succeed in the long term not just during a downturn. As organizations squeeze every ounce of improvement from operational technologies and innovations, additional steps are needed to create strategies with a greater propensity to adapt for the future. This convergence of industry and technological forces has shifted the industry yet again, surfacing new challenges and new opportunities.

Why the Modern Energy Workplace?
Three major trends in the energy industry are driving companies to reconsider how they do business: improving business agility, increasing operational efficiency, and a changing workforce. Meanwhile, four core digital technologies – the cloud, mobile, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data and analytics – are helping companies address these challenges through digital transformation.

“[Over the next decade,] digitalization has the potential to create around $1 trillion of value for oil and gas firms,” according to a report by the World Economic Forum. To capitalize on the opportunities brought about through change, and to remain competitive in the “new normal” era, oil and gas companies must continue to embrace digital transformation with the adoption of the “Modern Energy Workplace.”

When successfully undertaken, the Modern Energy Workplace is the result of the coordination and fusion of strategy, culture, and technologies necessary to ensure that digital transformation efforts don’t fail, and that value is captured through improvements to efficiency and productivity, risk mitigation, and attracting and retaining top talent. This includes connecting individuals regardless of their locations by using any modern devices, such as the Microsoft Surface Hub, or other tablets, PCs, and smartphones. The ability to leverage these powerful tools means that operational data is with users wherever they go.

Another reality which is quickly forcing energy companies to adapt is a changing workforce. Young professionals desire meaningful work, better tools to support their daily processes, and a workplace built on a culture of collaboration and a spirit of innovation.

The next generation of workers is also equipped with a different skill set than the experienced workers in the oil and gas industry today. According to the PwC report, “Millennials at Work: Reshaping the Workplace,” approximately 78 percent of millennials are more effective with technology. In fact, 59 percent of millennials claim an employer’s provision of state-of-the-art technology is important when considering a job.

The Need for Digital Transformation
Companies who undergo digital transformation experience a 55 percent average gross margin, compared to only 37 percent over the same three-year period for companies who failed to transform, according to a study by the Harvard Business Review.

For E&P companies, using modern technology (with a solid architecture and singular platform) to manage core workflows means that companies can focus on running operations, improving performance, and making better business decisions. Compared to legacy technologies, innovative oil and gas software solutions can break down data silos and increase collaboration across the organization.

In fact, there are four such technologies that help forward-thinking companies adapt to digitalization: the cloud, mobile, IoT, big data, and analytics.

The Cloud
In today’s volatile energy industry, the ability to quickly act on an opportunity to capture revenue requires streamlined access to insight, information, and computing power. Speed isn’t just a luxury, it can often be the difference between obtaining a first-mover advantage and missing out.

The cloud has changed both how we deliver and consume software; myQuorum cloud allows businesses to scale operations as needed, get up and running more quickly and easily, and reduce the ongoing demand of IT resources for maintenance and support.  
 

Mobile
Because several core operations along the energy value chain depend on accurate and prompt field work, it makes sense that the technology most commonly adopted by oil and gas companies is mobile. The reliability of data captured by mobile technology alone can make an enormous difference, but the ability to immediately store, share, or act on that data further increases the benefits to user efficiency, productivity, and collaboration – leading to improved decision-making.
 

The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to internet-connected and -enabled devices that can monitor, store, and share data in the service of faster, more informed decision-making. A Cisco study reported that by fully optimizing available IoT solutions, an oil and gas company with $50 billion in annual revenue could increase profits by nearly $1 billion.


As with cloud and mobile technologies, some of the benefits provided by IoT technology are the result of data integrity, real-time access, and improved visibility into asset health and performance. In addition to improving decisions, connected devices can automate tracking of assets, inventories, and shipments.
 

Big Data & Analytics
Energy companies have long produced copious amounts of data; they are now turning the page toward how to monetize that data by enabling predictive maintenance, commodity price arbitrage, and production optimization, to name a few.

Big data and analytics is a host of various technologies that allow companies to gather, display, and mine their data for insights that can drive better decisions, continuous improvement, and greater profit. myQuorum Data Hub brings data front and center, delivering it securely to decision makers and key stakeholders for reporting and analysis.

Delivering The Modern Energy Workplace
Quorum is the first energy software company to deliver digital transformation to the oil and gas industry. Driven by a platform, myQuorum helps E&Ps enhance every faucet of their upstream organization by capturing data once across land acquisition, accounting, reserves, budgeting, and production to generate a complete picture of the business across the organization.

Having a Modern Energy Workplace does not simply refer to a company that has implemented one or more of the four digital technologies above. Rather, it brings together different elements of technology, physical space, and culture to embrace a spirit of innovation and experimentation. The key is to continuously adapt to market and workforce dynamics to ensure growth and success as the future of the energy industry evolves.

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