Harnessing Information Technology To Facilitate Change

Abstract

Summary This paper provides a business perspective of how harnessing information technology (IT) can facilitate change, especially in the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry has benefited significantly by leveraging developments in IT for applications that reduce the cost of oil exploration; reduce the time required to perform complex tasks; and link people and information, thereby enabling virtual teams. Typical examples of virtual teamwork are three-dimensional (3D) seismic surveys and million-gridblock reservoir simulations. To implement information-age solutions with global access and anytime availability, one must be aware of security, remote connectivity, and information management issues. Overcoming these issues can be an opportunity for oil and gas industry IT solutions organizations. Future developments in software, Intranet, powerful clients, massively parallel processing (MPP), and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) will further enhance IT's capability to facilitate change in the oil and gas industry. IT already has played a significant role in the revival of this industry and will continue to do so into the 21st-century.