Mobile Apps are Keeping Crews and Command Hubs Connected

The oil and gas industry is about to undergo a massive boom in spending for mobile apps and other mobile technologies, reaching nearly $18.7 billion by 2020, up from $7 billion in 2015, according to a study by MarketsandMarkets. North America will see the most spending, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

Over $8 billion was spent on oil and gas industry mobile apps in the last few years. The same survey also highlighted that mobile technology was No. 2 on the list of IT priorities of oil and gas chief information officers (CIOs), and 55% felt that such solutions would greatly enhance their operations.

So, where is this $8 billion in mobile apps going? Mobile device management, workflow management, and asset management solutions seem to be the top areas of mobile technology investments. However, this could soon be outpaced by other growing needs.

An emerging area for apps is data capture. In the oil and gas industry, a great deal of fieldwork is done by field managers, derrick hands, and geologists. They need to capture information quickly and accurately. Traditionally that has meant paper, which means lost productivity and inaccurate information. Laptops are typically too unwieldy to use. With a mobile phone or tablet, people in the field can retrieve information easily and spend more time doing other parts of their job, which reduces downtime. Workers can also organize and review information better with a mobile device instead of trying to decipher notes written from the field.

Oil and gas companies are often vast and sprawling, with many different people needing to work together — from out in the field to the offices, to executives on the road. Mobile apps and technology make collaboration easier and more effective. It’s important that operators, engineers, and other executives collaborate on projects since many organizations operate across different countries. Having a mobile device helps to enhance collaboration by giving these people a tool to send real time information and receive feedback immediately.

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