Customer overview
Headquartered in the Nordics, this broad energy company is one of the world’s largest offshore operators and a growing force in the renewables field. It is present in 30 countries and has production in over 18.
The company is engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas, as well as solar and wind power. It sells crude oil and is a major supplier of natural gas, with activities in processing, refining and trading. As a growing company it is developing new business opportunities in offshore wind, solar, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
This Orange Business customer wanted a secure, reliable global networking capability that would allow it to make a rapid entry into new markets, while controlling spending. Connectivity and big data are key to sustainability in both the oil and renewables markets. They provide the insight that maximizes operations and asset performance, drives smart decision making and reduces costs.
The challenge
Commodity price fluctuations, ambiguity about the future of fossil fuels and complex world trade negotiations are presenting major market challenges for oil companies. They are also being called on to access resources in increasingly remote locations. As a result, this multinational is looking to diversify its portfolio further into renewables. The global renewable energy market was valued at $930 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $1,510 billion by 2025, according to Allied Market Research.
The solution
The Orange global WAN delivers the capacity, continuity, security and agility that this organization requires for it’s growing business needs, as well as the capacity to support video collaboration. It incorporates Business VPN Internet, which securely manages growing Internet traffic with no additional CAPEX or overhead budget.
The solution also provides the security and flexibility to develop Internet cloud application usage, together with Internet VMs. This will also support an increase in video capacity for collaboration purposes.
To future proof the solution, Orange is providing router management, which will make it “SD-WAN ready.” This will allow the customer to simplify its network management and enhance real-time access to its critical cloud-based business applications. SD-WAN will also make it easier to turn on links to new branch offices and better manage voice, video and data, while reducing costs in the process.
The benefits
Like all energy companies, this Orange customer is hugely dependent on its network infrastructure for its mission-critical applications. In worse case scenarios, network downtime can cost oil and gas companies upwards of $88 million annually, according to a Kimberlite Oilfields Research Study.
Video collaboration is essential for connecting experts with teams in remote locations and providing training. With operations across the globe, including Canada, Nigeria, Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico, videoconferencing also plays a part in its strategy to cut its carbon footprint by reducing unnecessary employee travel.
At the same time, the Internet of Things is connecting assets, providing more and more data and valuable insight. One of the customer’s oil platforms, for example, now produces more data in one day than it produced in an entire year three years back.
The router management for SD-WAN will lay the foundation for a future-ready network platform that will provide greater agility and business responsiveness. It will enable the customer to prioritize business-critical applications and real-time traffic, such as voice and video.
As this Orange customer adopts more cloud applications, SD-WAN will also enable it to reduce costs by leveraging lower-cost local Internet access, providing direct access to the cloud and cutting back on the amount of traffic over the WAN.
$88 million
the annual cost of network downtime to an oil and gas company