Accenture and Microsoft Upstream Oil and Gas Computing Trends Survey, 2011

In the course of the last decade, Accenture and Microsoft have collaborated to deliver business and technology solutions on the Microsoft platform, quickly and at scale.

The alliance is one of the largest and most significant relationships of its kind for both companies. Together, Accenture and Microsoft founded Avanade, a global IT consultancy dedicated to using the Microsoft platform.

Microsoft and Accenture conducted a survey to uncover the latest computing trends in the upstream oil and gas industry.

The survey polled 200 upstream oil and gas professionals, including engineers, managers and IT staff within national, international and independent oil companies and service and supply companies worldwide.

Read the Press Release

The survey results show that close to three-quarters of the respondents spent as much or more “focus and investment” in information technology in 2011 compared to 2010 in integrating their operations and increasing access to information.

According to the results, many are using these investments to facilitate a more integrated and efficient operation platform as part of building a global collaborative environment. Respondents view the cloud as a technology in line with making these goals a reality, with most reporting they have plans in place to use cloud services in the future, while many have already adopted them.

Other trends include the increasing use of mobile computing devices in the workplace and the rise of “Big Data,” which refers to the proliferation of massive amounts of data useful for business intelligence. Oil and gas IT professionals are focused on having quick and easy access to the volumes of data necessary for informed oilfield decision making, regardless of their location. Just as importantly, nearly half (43 percent) say they also anticipate lower costs due to streamlined operational workflows.