Transforming Unstructured Data into Actionable Information

Unlimited Data

There are vast quantities of untapped and unstructured information across the Energy industry, particularly in Oil & Gas where asset transition is common. Often there is inherent value in this data, however unleashing value can be complex, with a lack of clarity on what information is out there, who it belongs to, and what state it is in.

The monetary value in data, bought in an asset transition or when buying rights to data, can be staggeringly expensive, and one dataset could be paid for multiple times by different departments in one organisation. Within the data, there could be multiple versions and if the wrong version is used, for example as the source for exploration in defining the target for drilling a well, the results could be catastrophic.

With the impact of unreliable data insights so critical to business operations, we help align information and data with business processes so that the right information is available at the right time. We apply an integrated approach to information management, MigraPath, a data-driven methodology, enables enterprise-wide clarity, facilitates rationalisation, reduces time to insight, and supports informed decision making.

Data Discovery

In the discovery phase, we help organisations address their (sometimes ancient) legacy information. Often this information is the primary reason for investment of billions into an asset or acquisition. The information can sit untapped for years as the cost of accessing it has historically been prohibitive.

We help clients to understand their information. Using a virtual window to demonstrate what their data migration will look like helps our clients to gain business buy-in for sign off on data-driven projects.

Rationalisation

Once visualised, we begin a process of identifying and streamlining data. We scour datasets and draw insight from them to help organisations reduce operational risks. This can help avoid hazards, such as with positioning information for boats, where using outdated information could result in a boat in the wrong position and the knock-on effect on operations disastrous.

The goal is reducing time to insight in achieving business benefits quickly and cost effectively, with clear impact on improving operational efficiencies.

Harvesting Value

Our third stage centres on classification, tagging and extracting information to harness the business value by increasing information confidence and quality.

We spend time thinking about how to improve processes and align information and data to business processes. Duplicate and outdated information is rife in our industry and the importance of applying a process that delivers data quality cannot be underestimated.

It can become an instant priority if, for example, the critical operations documents are not accessible. The lost production costs if a platform has to shut down while documentation is found would be a daily nightmare until confidence in the right information is gained.

Migration

In the final stage of MigraPath, we visualise and transfer information to reduce information management overheads, and increase information accessibility and availability.

We aim to build confidence in our client’s information so they can trust their data and make informed decisions. We also establish a process of governance and compliance that drives down risk, including reputational risk, as if an organisation gets an operational decision wrong then it can result in negative public reaction in addition to financial penalties.

MigraPath in Action

We applied MigraPath to tackle a global Oil and Gas operator’s inherited information estate, arisen from various business acquisitions, which was a mix of live and outdated information totalling over 320TB and 25 million+ files. Over 4.8 million duplicate, ROT, Archive and PII files were removed, significantly reducing the time to locate and find the right information. Combined with many other resulting benefits, we enabled informed business decisions that helped our client to make the most of their acquisitions and increase operational efficiencies.

As organisations hone their focus on becoming data-driven, the reliance on quality information being available at the right time for timely decision-making is increasing an exponential rate. If the industry is to achieve data-driven outcomes, then we need to make sure that data is placed at the heart of our operational and project thinking.

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