In the past few years, as oil and gas prices began to drop and investment capital dried up, ‘business-as-usual’ models began to die a painful death for those companies that did not have a targeted digital transformation goal, or (at least) a strong eye on the prize with an actionable plan already in place.

The digital transformation journey can look very different for each company depending on what (if anything) you already have in place; but there are some pretty easy; highly effective and easy wins you can score right out of the gate.

Every platform development is driven by you! Our Software team has brought another year full of impactful updates and here are your favorites from 2020:

If the year 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that technology is no longer the wave of the future; it's right now. It’s all around us, and the oil and gas industry is in the middle of it.

Most oil and gas producers have known that implementation of automation, with remote monitoring and control, and accurate, analyzed data would be more efficient leading to reduced downtime and boosting profitability. But 2020 showed us that having employees work remotely was not only possible, it was necessary.

The growing importance of technology for the immediacy of control and actionable data is changing the workforce. It’s prioritizing those who can deliver usable data for faster, better oil and gas production decisions.

Mergers and acquisitions are a part of life in the oil patch in any economic environment. 

Sometimes those transactions are fast and furious making our heads spin because of the amount of opportunity they can quickly deliver.

The steps taken after the sales transaction has occurred are what really determines the value of the long term return. Sure it was hard work putting the 'deal' together and making sure everything was in alignment before you even signed the dotted line. But, as with so many things in life, that was just the beginning of way more work, way more time, and way more attention needed to every detail to be sure the true value is realized and your previous efforts (and money) were well spent.

Way, way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I had a very annoying flip phone that was really only able to make and receive calls and (upon the rare occasion) get and send a few random text messages from other techie types. The main reason I found this phone so annoying is I wanted it to be able to do so much more; and it seemed like it shouldn't be all that difficult to make it happen.

But, that's all there was on the market at the time.

I continuously wondered why on earth someone didn't make them to fetch my email, or have a decent camera in them. Then it finally became a reality and just like that we all became more mobile than we had ever dreamed of being! It was AWESOME being set free from waiting for an email, and unchained from my desk where I would often be found waiting for information to be sent.

How do you like working from home? Since our world turned upside down I think it's been easier for some of us to adjust than others to remain, or even become more productive. Most of which completely depends on how you access your files and data to continue to WOW the boss, even in the strangest of times when people are told we have to stay home.

You need your files and data to all be easily visible from top to bottom without relying on thumb drives, portable hard drives, old drives, or clunky undependable drives that should have been replaced years ago or, worst of all—boxes of paper files (I'm cringing at the thought of that one)!

In 2011, IBM’s Watson took on two of Jeopardy’s top winners in a contest of knowledge and speed. After three exciting days, Watson had more than tripled the winnings of either human. Let's apply that to oil and gas production data insights enabling you to triple your 'winnings' - by gaining more production, more profits and more sustainability.

In the digital oilfield that lives on data and is powered by computers light years past Watson, end users are starting to get answers to questions they never dreamed of asking before.

Instead of competing with computers, many oil and gas producers are teaming with AI (artificial intelligence) so that everyone wins. And keeps winning.

Oil and gas producers have been realizing the benefits of technology with SCADA, IIoT and sensors in the field for a long time now, and while these pieces have certainly been worth their weight in black gold to the bottom line (and safety) there is a new evolution coming soon to the oil field near you.

The goal line for oil and gas producers around the world is to take the digital transformation journey to ultimately gain all the many benefits of an autonomous oil and gas operation.

But should you take that journey?

This is not a journey for everyone. There is much to consider before you decide.

Do you remember that old joke "Pete and Repeat went on a boat ride. Pete fell off, so who was left?" The answer was of course is "Repeat" and therefore the kid telling the joke would once again repeat the first line, and on and on... I'm often haunted by that horrible joke almost as if the joke is truly on me when I tackle mind-numbing tasks like laundry; wash, dry, fold, put away and then do it again, and again, and again...

I think about Pete and Repeat on that boat. I can't help but wonder where was the Captain of that boat? Why didn't the Captain step in and direct them both to hunker down, and grab a hold to stop falling off?