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Emerging trends in oil and gas sector making BPM software essential

Malcolm Ross, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy, Appian
January 18, 2013

The oil and gas industry is facing a crisis of sorts as many of the existing oil reserves are beginning to run dry. For years, many regions with large reservoirs of oil have been central to the growth of the sector. A significant number of those regions no longer have enough oil left to sustain industry growth,and oil and gas companies are left having to explore new regions and do geostatistical analysis to identify potential reserves. Business process management software can play a major role in making these types of exploratory operations successful through effective data integration and process automation.

The operational plight of oil and gas companies

Oil and gas organizations have to get the job done wherever the natural resources are. In the past, many businesses in the sector focused on fairly safe and developed regions for their material gathering. With those reserves running dry, a significant number of companies are heading to regions with extreme weather, political uncertainty or other major problems. These are not the types of places where businesses usually build large offices and data centers. However, oil and gas industry exploratory efforts require big data functionality,as large quantities of data are dealt with on an ongoing basis.

In response, many workers in the oil and gas sector are using a diverse range of industry-specific technological solutions and advanced IT systems that are often hosted at a remote site and delivered through the network. Third-party data center services are also gaining prominence in the sector. This creates a major integration challenge and presents an environment in which technological services have to be streamlined to work well in conjunction with day-to-day processes. BPM software provides that functionality, allowing oil and gas organizations to overcome key operational challenges.

Importance of BPM for oil and gas businesses

While solving operational issues is a key component of BPM solutions in the oil and gas industry, the value of the technology goes well beyond that. As companies research new reservoirs and work to start drilling projects, they have to constantly complete complex data analysis to evaluate how much oil or gas may be available in the area. This information can guide organizations by helping them identify what drilling resources should be sent to the area. Understanding how to equip a project based on potential profit is key to maximizing revenue and minimizing risk, making BPM's value in streamlining data analysis substantial.

Malcolm Ross

Vice President of Product Marketing