The impact of digital disruption in the maintenance service industry, in the oil and gas sector

Abstract

The industry is on the brink on what many consider as paradigm shift due to disruptive technological developments. The current trend of automation, Internet of things, big data analysis, cloud computing, together with the emergence of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and autonomous vehicles has been labelled as a digital disruption. A combination of better computing power and data storage, together with more reasonable pricing structures makes the digital disruption more accessible and possible to any industry. There is broad consensus among think tanks, experts and industrial leaders that organization needs to embrace this development to stay relevant and competitive in the future. The thesis is an exploratory research to examine how the digital disruption will impact the maintenances service industry in the Oil and Gas sector. To understand the complexity of the transformation, it covers analysis of multiple elements that includes: expectations and semantics, technological solutions and services, changes in competences and skill sets, changes in business model and strategy, stakeholder perspective, and a summary of risk and opportunities. The research is conducted with a mixed-method approach, which covers quantitative survey data from global trends, together with qualitative case studies and interviews from relevant stakeholders in the industry. The research highlights that the digital disruption is more than a buzzword or an incremental change towards existing business models and practices. Digital technologies enable a whole new way to create and harness value, and is about to transform the nature of work tasks and future job requirements. Data driven technologies will require more digital literacy of the entire workforce, which puts an added pressure on training and development. Digital talents, such as data analysts and computer scientists are becoming more central to the business operations, and requires more cross-functional collaboration across the organization. Organizational structure and culture must adapt to a digital environment, where employees are empowered to make business decisions and initiate digital innovation efforts. The digital disruption will also reshape the organizational environment, which results in reshaping existing stakeholder relationships and the introduction of new ones. Change management is going to be key to succeed in the digital transformation, and viewing it as an opportunity rather than a threat will decide the fate of success for many organizations.