According to a newly published white paper from industry analysts IDC, 49% of upstream energy organizations are prioritizing data capitalization and monetization as preexisting challenges and 2020 turbulence has elevated digital transformation from priority to imperative status. But while digital transformation may be top of mind and top of budget for many E&P companies, IDC research found that most data-driven business intelligence and analytics activities today are being used to address narrowly defined internal business needs and problems vs. addressing larger strategic uses such as coping with volatility, identifying and reducing risk, increasing product innovation, or gathering and leveraging competitive intelligence.
The 12-page white paper contains statistical results and analysis of an IDC-IHSMarkit global survey of 100 upstream energy executives conducted in July and August to understand the approaches they are taking to build necessary data management foundations, the progress they have made to date, and the remaining challenges. It also includes some immediate- and long-term recommendations.
Key Findings and Conclusions
Among the survey’s key findings and conclusions are the following.
Organizations will spend an average of 3.7% of their 2020 revenue on digital transformation. Their goals are to be agile, trustworthy, empathic, informed, responsive, resilient, innovative, and connected.
The top-five 2020/2021 data investment priorities are centralization, consistency, integration, quality improvement, and governance.
Barriers to achieving data management goals include inappropriate technology architecture and tools; lack of necessary data science, decision science, and data architecture culture and skills to take advantage of latest technology and AI/machine learning advances; and siloed data.
Organizations that are mature in data management strategies—or “data thrivers”—are building a significant competitive advantage over those who are not—“data survivors”—and are shaping the future of the market. The data thrivers will be the “big winners” of the digital transformation journey and its associated benefits.
To download the white paper, click here.