The new excellence center will assist organizations in the sector to drive digital transformation, cut costs and optimize their operations. It will help companies take advantage of trends such as the Internet of Things, advanced analytics, modern productivity, and cloud computing using Microsoft Azure and Office 365.
The company has partnered with leading industry players like Accenture, Aveva, Baker Hughes, Honeywell, OSIsoft, Schneider Electric and Schlumberger to assist in delivering integrated, cost-effective solutions on a functionally-rich platform that empowers businesses to achieve their goals.
- The Azure Internet of Things (IoT) suite gives oil and gas companies the ability to collect, process, analyze, share and store their data in near real-time for business process improvement.
- Coupled with the Azure IoT suite, Microsoft's comprehensive cloud vision empowers businesses to develop their solutions on-premises or in hybrid or public cloud setups –leveraging the cloud on their own terms.
- Microsoft's experience in cyber security, including its own Digital Crimes Unit, brings industry-leading experts and technology together to protect against modern threats. The topic of security will be at the core of conversations taking place at the new centre of excellence for the oil and gas industry.
Increased Spending On Digital Technologies
The 2016 Upstream Oil and Gas Digital Trends Survey conducted by Accenture and Microsoft revealed that 80 percent of upstream oil and gas companies plan to increase spending on digital technologies to help them drive leaner and smarter organizations.
Even the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicted that IT spending in oil and gas industry would grow up to USD 50 billion in 2016. Spending on connectivity and related technologies is expected to increase by 30 percent.
Omar Saleh, director for Oil and Gas at Microsoft, Middle East, and Africa stresses the importance of cloud services for the oil and gas industry.
“Digital transformation is top of mind for executives in the oil and gas industry, which is why we built the center of excellence in the Middle East. For the industry to transform, companies need to develop sound digital strategies, built on secure and agile platforms, either on a company's premises or in the cloud.”
“They are expected to continue investing in areas that help lower operations costs, infrastructure costs and drive better asset management through analytics. However, looking into the future, these companies are starting to realize that traditional cost-cutting levers will not be enough to sustain future growth,” Massimo Pagella, resources lead for Accenture Middle East and North Africa said.
