Thriving in the Digital Oilfield
Part 4: Cash Flow Consistency
By Brad Hext, Information Technology Service Manager at Stonebridge Consulting
Booking oil & gas revenue is just one side to an E&Ps financials, the other side is cost accounting and accruing for inbound expenses. If you are a CFO predictability is king. Yet overbudget information technology projects, break and fix support fire drills, and other unexpected digital oilfield budget blowouts make cost consistency and containment a moving target.
Over the course of my blog series on the IT strategies your team can deploy to thrive in the digital oilfield, I’ve put a lot of emphasis on the benefits of managed services. Outsourcing ongoing IT management and deploying an IT SWAT team when unexpected crises happen has a direct cost benefit by enabling your team to do more with the resources you already have. Bolstered by workforce support from Stonebridge SmartSource, your baseline IT staffing and G&A remain stable while avoiding sudden cost spikes from 911 type consultants. Our service level agreements (SLA) ensure you are covered for both day-to-day IT support and those occasional digital disasters.
Most CFOs agree that workforce support is a viable strategy to manage IT related costs and establish clearer budget/cash flow predictability. Stonebridge SmartSource managed IT services gives your team clear line of sight into IT costs to ensure predictable monthly spend.
We will tailor an agreement that is sized according to your digital oilfield environment and support needs. Each SLA is broken down by a block of hours at a fixed rate and closely monitored to avoid unexpected budget overages. With SmartSource your team also gets full accountability with monthly reporting that keeps everyone fully aware of support efforts, identified risks and recommendations. With SmartSource everyone wins!
Thank you for following my blog series on thriving in the digital oilfield. Read or revisit my earlier posts that delved into the challenges IT staff face in managing digital oilfield assets at scale, solving your oil & gas data management challenges, and supporting digital oilfield software ecosystems. Please reach out with any questions, I’m happy to hear from you.