E&P companies today are very knowledgeable about identifying and investigating best-in-class technology resources that support the demanding core tasks that their business requires. These requirements include some that are unique to the oil and gas industry – and thus extend beyond conventional business IT requirements – including seismic interpretation, wellpath planning, and the transfer/availability of extremely large data volumes that support multiple areas of exploration and mapping. All of these are tied to “improved workflow performance,” which means reducing the amount of time and resources required to assess, deploy, and manage projects that deliver optimal results. Efficiency and productivity are critical requirements for the bottom line.

Inherent to optimizing workflow performance is the ability to identify and leverage top-tier data environments that not only support but enhance productivity and efficiency while ensuring 24/7 security and reliability. Some companies are recognizing the value of scalable, sophisticated data center environments.

Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) is one such company that stands at the leading edge of this trend. It repositioned a significant portion of its IT infrastructure to CyrusOne’s Houston West data center several months ago. David Baldwin, service support manager at PGS, noted several areas of performance that convinced him and his colleagues that a co-located environment was the best option for the company.

Cost efficiency is paramount

The most important factor CyrusOne encounters is cost efficiency, namely reduced power costs. Over the past half-decade, IT teams have experienced a dramatic increase in power requirements for data and network infrastructures. This is because the core hardware and architecture have evolved very rapidly toward high-density data environments in which power requirements have moved from 100 kW of power per sq ft to 300 kW/sq ft. Some high-density environments can reach 500 kW/sq ft. Managing power requirements and projecting budget outlays for ever-increasing power needs becomes more difficult and unpredictable as these requirements continue to escalate.

IT teams have three core options – build a data center, retrofit an existing center to meet current and future requirements, or co-locate with a hosted data provider. Build vs. buy analytics clearly indicate that co-location is the best option in many cases.

CyrusOne reviews the various scenarios with prospective and current customers on a regular basis. The most underrepresented factor when IT teams conduct their own analysis is power requirement. As previously mentioned, it becomes more difficult to execute this analysis correctly when confronted with power consumption metrics that increase rapidly and continuously over a short period of time. This year’s budget will not be next year’s budget; that much is certain.

A company that wants to build its own data center must consider the most advanced and scalable power supply architectures to ensure the facility will adapt to future technology, increased space, and growing electricity requirements. This is an expensive undertaking to say the least – a high-density data center built to meet the most advanced and most flexible specifications will exceed US $500/sq ft for a 10,000-sq-ft build. Economies of scale become critical at this stage of decision-making. A co-located data center is built to house multiple customers across a much larger and more dynamic architectural footprint, thus distributing and mitigating both cost and risk.

Because of the nature of data center business and operational models, top tier co-located data centers are designed with advanced 2N and N+1 architectures that deliver optimal power efficiency and uptime reserve in addition to superior power and ambient environmental control within the center. Because of this advanced architecture, CyrusOne is optimally equipped to predict and manage power consumption needs across the entire facility, accommodating power requirements on a per-customer basis from the lower end of the scale (150 kW/sq ft) to the upper limit (500 kW/sq ft).

Reduced infrastructure management

Oil and gas companies want to focus less on managing data infrastructure, including routine maintenance and iterative processes, and focus more on core competency and business-facing workflows. But for many IT teams, a large proportion of their workload is spent executing routine tasks in the name of quality control and supervision.

Co-located data centers are able to offload routine maintenance and tasks without sacrificing peace of mind. In fact, this is another area that PGS cited as a principal factor in its decision to migrate to co-location with CyrusOne. Leveraging intrinsic on-hand expertise is a fairly easy decision for many customers.

Additionally, many co-location providers offer training to further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of client work teams. Some clients prefer to manage all or most workflows themselves, while others carefully choose select process points at which to directly engage. In either scenario, on-hand training offers valuable insight and improved techniques for managing and coordinating critical pieces of the data infrastructure puzzle.

Having several customers in one facility provides economies of scale for power consumption. (Images courtesy of CyrusOne)

Future-proof scalability

The third component that all customers appreciate is a forward-designed data center environment. As requirements and architectures change, and as hardware and network protocols change, the data center remains ahead of the curve at every stage, and customers can scale their respective infrastructures accordingly.

Co-located customers can adapt and alter their data infrastructures as needed without headaches or bottlenecks. This arrangement aids greatly in planning because customers can reliably predict and anticipate next year’s budget with a great degree of certainty. Like most top tier co-located data centers, CyrusOne anticipates change based on innovation models and advances in technology and can thus ensure seamless upgrades and modification of existing systems and components. The technology curve is an elusive thing in many respects, but through expertise and a deterministic approach to future needs, CyrusOne ensures its customers are empowered to stay well ahead of this ever-shifting curve.

Another important aspect of remaining “ahead of the curve” is the ability to remain fully compliant with environmental standards and/or mandates, which can vary widely between regions. Any top-tier co-location provider should remain fully abreast of all environmental control factors and maintain full compliance at every required stage.

According to Baldwin, this feature of the CyrusOne value proposition gave PGS great confidence in consolidating the bulk of its IT infrastructure within the Houston West data center. “You have to be certain that the new environment is a better and more secure environment and that it can be managed and adjusted as needed without complication and with the full certainty that no interruptions, only improved performance and efficiency, will occur.”