Smart phones and other devices have become essential tools to navigate our daily life, helping us to read news, contact friends, and see new photos of loved ones. But beyond that, smart phones and tablets have become a part of the standard toolbox for any working professional. In the Oil and Gas sector, mobile access has become a requirement for an increasingly connected workforce. As of 2016, 80% of O&G CEOs we surveyed plan to invest the same or more into digital technologies over the next 3-5 years.
This isn’t limited to simply accessing production data on existing field hardware. The rise of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) movement brings with it new ways to capture, aggregate, and distribute data. Where wearable tech and IoT meet, we’re starting to see devices built to fit into clothing and monitor activity about the user and their environment. New technologies are being developed to allow wireless connectivity with only a fraction of current power requirements. Devices are being built to call out when they detect anomalies. And it won’t stop there: our research shows that the IoT market is expected to grow to $8.5 billion by 2020.
There is also a rapidly-growing interest in analytics. Many companies have some form of analytics in place to help them analyze historical data, but the future is bright for those who want to take this a step further and see their data as it changes, right in the palm of their hand. Of the CEOs we surveyed, 66% believe that analytics represent a very important opportunity to transform their business. 56% plan to use the cloud to enable analytics activity in the next 3-5 years. Meanwhile, only 13% feel their company has fully mature analytics capabilities. Clearly, this is an area where we can expect to see major growth in the years to come.
Today we face age-old challenges in new ways. An older chart well requires a site visit for the collection of any production data, but with modern technology that data can be collected automatically and sent back to servers in real-time at the click of a button. Where once a field operator might have used a pencil and paper to gather data, waiting to return to the plant to type it into a digital system, now it is increasingly common to capture that data automatically or by typing it directly into a mobile app on a smart device. And where well optimization traditionally required trial and error and manual adjustments, today we have the ability to intelligently control and optimize well production activities – often without any human interaction required.
At Zedi, we recognize that a truly mobile workforce needs tools that support smarter, more efficient, and simply easier daily workflow. That’s why we’re proud to announce the launch of Zedi Go, a truly connected way to access your field data from anywhere you go. Look for it today in the iTunes or Google Play stores!
