Engineering real success using digital technologies
The business press is full of articles extolling the benefits of digital transformation. Although no one wants to be left behind, getting caught up in a craze is not attractive either. But oil and gas companies have used digital technologies, such as computers and control systems for years; how is digitalisation different? The key difference between a company with digital systems and a ‘digital company’ is connection. The former is characterised by disparate, unconnected digital systems, whereas the ‘digital company’ integrates the company’s systems, improving the precision of each. This enables integrated solutions, reducing the potential for counterproductive individual initiatives. Integration enables Big Data and Machine Learning, delivering additional insights. However, integration is not a universal good; as knowledge acquisition has accelerated, so has misinformation. There are better and worse ways to digitalise. Acknowledgement that digitalisation is the way of the future will not induce change or ensure success. Digitalisation is an alternative method to achieve business goals; it is not the goal. To achieve real success using digital technologies, first a significant need must be identified. The root cause of the major business problems must be discovered before appropriate digital technologies to address those problems are selected. The challenge must be led and supported at the C-suite and the solutions must have enterprise-wide impact. Systems engineering digitalisation creates value through a set of initiatives rather than single-point optimisation. Selection of a suitable scalable digital backbone is a key element of successful implementation.