Similar to Shell (which we covered previously on our sister website, ADA) BP is looking towards digital transformation as a means towards transitioning from a traditional oil & gas company into a leading-edge, integrated energy company. Therefore, in addition to pursuing more standard digital transformation objectives such as increased efficiency, improved customer service and enhanced decision making, BP is relying on digital technology to help it achieve its sustainability goals and develop new product lines beyond fossil fuels. 

Creating A Single Digital System of Work

Much like the company itself, BP’s digital transformation history is extensive and complex. In recent years, they’re launched a number of highly ambitious, cutting-edge digital projects including, but certainly not limited to: 

• The development of a new seismic device, Wolfspar, that led to the discovery of more than 1 billion bbl of oil hidden within Thunder Horse field in the Gulf of Mexico
• The creation of APEX, BP’s simulation and surveillance system - a tool that creates a virtual twin of all BP’s production systems throughout the world. The tool reduced the time it takes to create simulations down from 24-30 hours to 20 minutes as well as led to significant increases in oil production. 
• The use of lasers to remotely monitor production equipment for potential integrity or mechanical issues 

However, while past digital transformations were primarily focused on maximizing oil production, in August 2020 BP announced a new approach focused around 3 new objectives:

• Low carbon electricity and energy
• Convenience and mobility
• Resilient and focused hydrocarbons

Paramount to achieving these goals is a complete re-imaging of BP’s IT footprint along with extensive cultural change. As Roddy Barnes, Head of IT Strategy and Planning at BP explained at ServiceNow's 2020 Now at Work event, 

“It's a very exciting place to be and frankly also scary. As you can guess, IT and digital are going to play a big role in that. I'd go as far as to say we can't do that transformation without digital transformation going along with it. That's about developing new digital first business models and it's about getting more efficient, more safe, more reliable about the way we generate, deliver, trade and sell energy.

The old way of doing IT, a large IT department running big monolithic applications, which change slowly over time in response to a set of customer requirements - just ain't going to work. We realised quite early on that we needed to be much quicker to value. We had to try things quickly, cheaply. If they don't work, throw them away and don't cry over it. If they work, be able to scale them quickly, efficiently, safely, securely.

We needed to democratize digital. Everyone is an IT professional now. Our employees, they expect more. They expect to be able to do stuff themselves. They don't want to go to an IT person and then a year later get a shonky application they didn't really want. They want to be able to have a go at this stuff themselves, in days.”

In partnership with ServiceNow, BP completely reinvented it’s IT operating model. Through the creation of a robust IT activity model and the development of a ”true IT-to-IT” platform, they were able to enable 4 important things:

• Increased collaboration and connectedness
• Optimize agility 
• Accelerate automation
• Empower its employees to spearhead their own digital transformation and automation projects 

Sustainability Co-Innovation

Last year, BP and Microsoft announced a new strategic partnership to help each other achieve their sustainability goals. While Microsoft will help BP leverage digital technology to achieve it’s net-zero targets, BP will help Microsoft power its energy-hungry datacenters with renewable energy sources. 

According to NS Energy, “The two companies will initially focus on four key strategic areas that combine Microsoft’s digital know-how with BP’s understanding of energy markets: smart cities; clean energy parks; data-driven home energy consumption; and industrial Internet of Things (IoT). Deeper cloud integration will give BP access to a range of services including machine learning, data analytics and digital security.”

Could this type of partnership become a full blown trend in years to come? Let us know what you think @AiiA_Network. 

BP’s Digital Skill Academy

Without a trained and engaged workforce, any technology investments a company makes will be a total waste. With this in mind, BP launched it’s Digital Skills Academy developed to help employees reskill and become their own agents of digital transformation. 

In addition to teaching employees new ways of working (i.e. design-led thinking and Agile), BP’s Digital Skills Academy also offers self-directed learning via digital content hubs as well connected learners with outside experts such as coaches and subject matter experts. 

“[We’re undergoing] an enormous transformation and it requires, not just a complete set of new skills for this company, but also a mindset that pivots this entire organisation towards a new magnetic north of net-zero,” Diana Kennedy, Vice-President for Strategy, Architecture and Planning, BP recently explained to Diginomica, adding, “Digital skills plays an enormous part in any transformation programme and for BP, where the urgency for delivery has been incredibly stark, there has been a need to re-skill the existing workforce rather than looking to attract and hire new talent. 

And those skills are only valuable if they are delivered as part of a complete shift in mindset and culture towards innovation and collaboration. To begin with, we very much thought about the skills we needed in the IT organisation and set about creating an operating model based on service delivered through a DevOps delivery model.”

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