An Energy Consulting firm trusts bespoke Azure oil and gas solution developed by Motifworks to gain competitive advantage

The oil and gas industry has many processes and components that have been managed for decades on paper and in legacy software.  A consulting firm (Stonebridge) and two software companies (Next Gen Software and Motifworks) collaborated to develop a tool (Wellcast) through Azure oil and gas solutions.

To date, there hadn’t been such a software on the cloud, and most people are using an antiquated system. There is a lot of data to track and regulations to follow.  People are planning the wells they are going to drill, and making sure they are in compliance with various regulatory departments.  This includes completing the correct paperwork for audit trails, securing rights at both the state and federal levels, and acquiring finances, to name a few parts of the process.

It began with Stonebridge, who for 20 years, has provided business advisory and consulting services to the Oil and Gas industry, helping clients to produce hydrocarbons more efficiently and safely, optimize volumes, increase margins, and maximize returns.  Specifically, Stonebridge emphasizes their work with companies who want to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign oil.

In order for Stonebridge to help a client achieve organizational success, they needed a software tool that would set them apart.  A SaaS product seemed to be the right fit for their needs by leveraging Azure oil and gas solution; to adapt to the size of each enterprise.  Their goal was to gain insights faster and reach a technical prowess that was superior.

Custom Azure oil and gas solution to boost operational efficiency

Stonebridge approached Next Gen Solutions, a software company which develops tools for the oil and gas industry with their challenge.  However, they could not take on Stonebridge’s challenge alone and needed support from an Azure consulting services provider.

After vetting several software companies and development shops, NGS connected with Motifworks at a Microsoft conference focused on the oil and gas industry, and ultimately chose Motifworks, specifically for their expertise in Azure and Azure Migration services.  In the spring of 2014, they began working with Motifworks from a development perspective, but due to the effectiveness of the collaboration, it evolved into the creation of unique software tool, Wellcast, a pioneer in the cloud, and now a continued partnership.

Motifworks pushed us and encouraged us to think beyond the initial phases of development, and really took the lead in guiding us through the process.  We were in touch on a constant basis, and really appreciated the attention their team gave us on a daily basis.  They were very accessible, knowledgeable, and encouraging.

Their team has been great. They are one-of-a-kind people who are all working towards the same goal. They have architectural conversations and pushed us to have good ideas. We worked with the same people for the entire course of the project, and they were able to ramp up or ramp down, as we needed. They are flexible and dependable.

The business value of using the Azure oil and gas solution has been evident immediately. It’s proven to be a competitive advantage for many reasons.  Foremost, it’s cost effective.  It can be scaled up or scaled down, depending on the need of the customer.  It’s also available 24/7, without worrying about connectivity issues, which is good for this type of industry.   A large amount of data can be accessed very quickly.

One of the things that stands out with using Azure, is the ability to go to any company, or customer, and provide a demonstration and set up free trials.  Additionally, we don’t have to be there on site.  We can log in remotely and walk a customer through a process.  It can be used from anywhere, in any country, and in any time-zone.

Day to day business has changed.  With using a single code, we are enabled to focus more on the product, and the development of road maps for different ways to grow our company.  It’s already shaping the industry and sparked higher level discussions about future possibilities.