Reduce Total Cost of Ownership with Process Design in the Cloud

Credit to Author: Kim Custeau| Date: Wed, 23 May 2018 09:35:56 +0000

This is the second blog post in a four part series on digital transformation in Oil & Gas. Read the first blog post on mobile operator rounds here, and keep an eye out next week for the next blog post on unified supply chain management.

Among the many challenges that O&G companies face in the market today, volatile feedstock prices have the most impact on the bottom line. Feedstock prices can shift dramatically over very short periods of time, making it difficult to maintain profitability. Due to these pressures, forward-thinking O&G companies are looking to maintain the same level of operational excellence, while reducing costs.

This blog post will cover one of the best ways to achieve these goals, by moving process design to the cloud.

Read our whitepaper to see how digital transformation helps O&G companies streamline process innovation

Benefits of the Cloud

Hosting functions in the cloud has several benefits. Because the cloud has near-infinite storage capability and processing power, cloud solutions are inherently scalable. This makes it extremely easy to scale from a pilot to covering an entire plant, from a plant to an entire enterprise, or even scaling down when necessary. Cloud solutions also increase information access by breaking down silos and making it possible to access valuable process design data from anywhere in the plant.

From a business perspective, the cloud’s extreme technical and commercial flexibility means O&G operators using cloud solutions can provision, design and configure exactly the solutions they need, when they need it. This means a level of efficiency that is hard to achieve with traditional on-premise solutions. Finally, cloud solutions do not require on-premises software installations, or an extensive IT staff, reducing total cost of ownership (TCO).

Digital transformation helps O&G companies develop agile business models – read our whitepaper to learn more!

Cloud Process Design

Process design in the cloud opens up a new range of possibilities for O&G companies. The improved agility from the cloud allows operators to continually adjust production processes. This facilitates the continuous improvement process, and allows companies in the upstream, downstream and midstream market to rapidly adjust operations when necessary to meet market requirements or comply with new regulatory guidelines. An open model writing environment on a cloud architecture enables users to extend simulation benefits downstream to areas such as reactors, polymers and specialty materials.

Digital Transformation

In addition to the collaboration and low TCO benefits, cloud process design solutions integrate well with other digital transformation efforts. For instance, by integrating cloud process design with augmented reality (AR), users can see a complete Digital Twin from design and conception through to its current operational state and maintenance history. Visit our website to learn more about digital transformation in O&G and the benefits your company can achieve.

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