Managed IT services in the Dallas oil and gas industry are one of the slowest sectors to adopt change. Largely, the industry still runs on manual processes that impose a significant drag on performance and agility.
Using spreadsheets to compile reports requires the input of numerous staff members. Not only does this increase the chance for human error, but in the days it takes to compile the report, the information has gone stale.
SCADA instruments in the field must be checked manually, distracting field staff from more important tasks.
Using local, on-premises servers to house geological data poses risk and limits the flexibility of geologists.
Legacy geological field software doesn’t integrate smoothly with other tools, requiring more manual administrative tasks and workarounds.
Oil and gas companies are challenged with keeping several field teams and management offices aligned to the broader goals of the business. Accurate reporting, effective communication, and proactive business intelligence systems are mandatory for staying ahead of the competition. However, an outdated and precarious IT infrastructure will always create a lag in decision-making and performance.
If you’re not sure what Managed IT covers, a managed IT partner covers the basics of maintaining your digital infrastructure, from providing data backup and systems management to break/fix support and help desk solutions—they manage the basic building blocks of your digital assets.
Managed IT in the oil and gas industry can solve your company’s most immediate problems.
Cloud storage solutions can more easily host huge sets of seismic data.
Better, more reliable connectivity can improve communication between field teams and office staff.
Security and disaster recovery protocols can help guard against viruses, malicious actors, and natural disasters. In the event of an emergency, your managed IT provider should be able to restore your system within the hour.
Help desk services give your staff access to a live IT technician to help them with their issues.
Systems management services keep your infrastructure clean and up to date.
Many companies neglect to hire a managed IT partner or create an IT strategy until an active problem presents itself. Maybe a new market mandate or regulation is forcing your business to adopt new digital protocols to comply. Or perhaps younger companies are starting to take bigger and bigger bites out of your market share.
Managed IT services in the Dallas oil and gas industry can help stave off these problems. However, managed IT alone tends to be reactive, and managed IT providers rarely possess the business acumen to offer digital strategies that support the broader business goals.
At Vudu, we help our oil and gas clients think differently to bring about transformative change.
Riley Permian, an E&P company focused in the Permian Basin, reached out to Vudu when it’s legacy systems started having trouble integrating with new equipment. Beyond that, they faced the common industry problems listed above.
Though these issues weren’t hemorrhaging pain points, the inflexibility of their digital infrastructure made it hard to improve their workflow. As Vudu and Riley Permian learned more about their respective industries and the possibilities within them, Riley Permian came to see that if they coupled their years of experience with a significant IT investment, they could outmaneuver their peers and ultimately reach their goal of taking the company public.
Vudu built a virtualized environment that laid the groundwork for Riley Permian’s business intelligence initiative, as well as its M&A strategy.
Vudu digitized diagnostic tools in the field. Once tied into a network, Riley Permian could check these tools remotely, while its field staff could perform higher work.
Vudu created data pipelines that made reporting and data aggregation a breeze. Vudu built a dashboard with all the information needed to gain a high-level overview of the business and make decisions in an instant.
With data comes clarity. Access to high-quality data allowed Riley Permian to observe inefficiencies that were previously invisible. By addressing these inefficiencies, Riley Permian reduced the cost to produce a barrel of oil from $26 per barrel to $6.
Throughout the process, everyone in the company came to understand where they fit in the workflow and how their roles and performance affect the business as a whole. This allowed all departments to truly collaborate and pull away from the competition. Riley Permian went public, ringing the opening bell on its IPO in the spring of 2020.
Digital transformation looks different for every business, but it’s never really about technology. It’s about empowering people to do the most valuable work and make more informed decisions. Most vendors that provide managed IT services in the oil and gas industry tend to think too technically and neglect the power of the people factor.
The one ingredient common to any digital transformation is data, and that data can pay off big time in an industry as speculative as oil and gas.
Companies like Shell are already using big data practices by collecting seismic data with special fiber optic sensors. The data is instantly and automatically uploaded to private servers, where it can be analyzed. Furthermore, this data can be compared to research data and data compiled during previous drilling operations to identify the best location for drilling.
Downhole temperature, pressure, and acoustic sensors produce huge volumes of data that can signal potential changes in flow within the reservoir. Real-time access to this data allows for instant adjustment.
In upstream, midstream, and downstream operations, data can be used to anticipate possible breakdowns in equipment. During the drilling process, machine learning data and operating parameters can discern patterns that point to an upcoming equipment failure. In the midstream, sensor data can detect corrosion, fractures, and displacement in pipelines early. In the downstream, equipment operational data can help businesses assess the ROI of maintaining the equipment versus replacing it.
In the oil and gas industry, obtaining thorough data quickly can mean the difference of millions of dollars. It takes a substantial digital infrastructure to handle the massive volume of data coming in at real-time velocity, organizing a variety of data sets and improving their veracity by combining several data models, and finally driving useful, valuable data.
If you think of IT as a problem to fix, then we’d urge you to step back a bit and look at the bigger picture.
Your IT strategy should make your business better at the areas it needs to excel in to meet its goals.
But when it comes to technology, it can be difficult to bridge the gap between technological capabilities and business outcomes. At Vudu, we bring the experience, technical ability, and business acumen required to fill the CTO void at the leadership level. The solutions we design are custom built to each client, and implemented with unparalleled operational excellence.
At Vudu, we are technology wizards who want to bring IT magic to your business and achieve supernatural results. Are you ready to excel in the oil and gas industry? Tell us more about your goals.
