Digital Transformation Solutions for The Energy Sector

The energy sector has recently been challenged with uncertainties due to the simultaneous supply and demand shocks that occurred earlier in 2020. This oil crisis will have both short and long-term implications for energy companies, whether they are small or major players. Therefore, it is essential for these companies to re-examine their business fundamentals and undergo digital transformation within the energy industry supply chain to make processes autonomous, connected, and efficient. VIDIZMO, while leveraging AWS technologies, provides digital transformation solutions that are needed by the energy sector to innovate and be better prepared for the future.

Digital Transformation is the Way Forward

The recent global oil crisis occurred at the same time as countries went into lockdown due to the coronavirus. Prices of oil fell sharply as production was not cut down and there was an excess supply. At the same time, demand for oil decreased drastically as a result of reduced energy consumption under lockdowns. This has had a major impact on the energy sector companies. Although demand has slowly started to pick up, the future still remains uncertain.

It is natural for the energy sector companies to respond to the current oil crisis through cost-cutting as they did in previous similar circumstances. However, cost-cutting will only work in the short term. For long-term results, energy companies need to come up with ways to make their processes more efficient to be better prepared for similar situations in the future.

The way forward involves digital transformation of the energy industry supply chain. The use of digital transformation solutions will help structurally lower costs in the long run by making business processes more efficient. These technologies will not only help tackle the current situation but will also drive value for the business in the future.

Using VIDIZMO to Facilitate Digital Transformation

VIDIZMO offers the digital transformation tools that are needed by energy sector companies to achieve this. It’s a video streaming and content management system that offers scalable solutions by utilizing AWS and Azure services. It also offers the flexibility to be used for multiple use cases and be scaled as demand rises.  

Here are a few ways in which energy sector companies can use VIDIZMO to facilitate digital transformation across their value chain:

Improve Safety Across the Energy Industry Supply Chain

Constant monitoring of all upstream, midstream and downstream facilities for safety is costly, time consuming and requires a lot of resources. VIDIZMO can automate this through integration with Amazon Rekognition, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze images and videos. Videos can automatically be ingested from surveillance cameras on facilities and AI can be used to automatically detect hazardous situations. In a similar manner, these videos can be analyzed to check if personnel are always wearing the required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Rather than carrying this out manually and separately for each facility, VIDIZMO does this automatically through a centralized system.

Improve Monitoring at Retail

Oil companies have a large number of licensed retail outlets that need to be monitored periodically to ensure that they comply with company regulations. VIDIZMO can automate this monitoring process. Surveillance footage can be automatically uploaded to the portal and viewed by an inspector without the need to physically visit the retail outlets. The process can also be automated through AI. This efficient monitoring will help reduce the number of visits that are made, which reduces transportation expenses in the long run.

Introduce Smarter Ways to Train Employees

It’s inefficient to conduct the same trainings again and again. VIDIZMO allows employee trainings to be recorded and uploaded on to a centralized portal that can be viewed by employees as and when needed. Interactive tools such as quizzes or surveys can be added to these videos as well.

Enhance Collaboration Across Teams

Following the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of video conferencing to conduct meetings online has increased. However, managing video conferencing recordings and revisiting them later is a hassle. VIDIZMO allows for automatic ingestion and uploading of recorded meetings from video conferencing applications. These can be stored in a central library and distributed for more efficient communication. Within this library, users can even search inside videos and ease the process of finding specific information.

Collect Data Through Video

To make use of data analytics, energy sector companies first need to convert textual and visual data to digital forms. VIDIZMO facilitates this by using AI from Amazon Rekognition to analyze images and videos. Oil companies can use this to count the number of cars visiting their retail stations. This can help them understand the traffic patterns at different stations and the resources that can be allocated to each.

VIDIZMO also offers transcription of audio and video files through Amazon Transcribe, which can be used to convert audio recordings of customers into text. This text can be further analyzed using Amazon Comprehend to generate consumer insights.   

Engage and Connect with Stakeholders

Video can be used to effectively communicate with stakeholders and get the message across. What would they prefer, reading through large amounts of text or watching a short explainer video? According to a survey by HubSpot, 88% of the professional marketers found video content to deliver positive ROI and 90% of consumers found video to be helpful in their decision to purchase a product.

However, managing and sharing large amounts of video can be difficult. VIDIZMO solves this by allowing organizations to conduct and record live streams, integrate seamlessly with online meeting applications, upload videos, and share all of these with relevant audiences all through one centralized platform. These videos can be shared with specific audiences through link sharing or email, or with the public through social media. It also offers interactive tools to be added to videos such as quizzes or surveys. Videos can be transcribed and translated to cater to diverse audiences.

The current oil crisis is an excellent opportunity for companies in the energy sector to reimagine their business processes through digital transformation solutions and be better prepared for the future. As quoted by Andry Grove - Intel’s revolutionary CEO:

“Give me a turbulent world as opposed to a quiet world and I'll take the turbulent one. Bad companies are destroyed by crisis, Good companies survive them, Great companies are improved by them!”

Here’s a video to explain what VIDIZMO has to offer:

To learn more on how VIDIZMO can facilitate the digital transformation of your company in the energy sector