Leading software consultancy Absoft hasn’t become a leader in its field by standing still.
Its most recent strategic moves – to forge a new business structure and enhance its product portfolio – underline its commitment to remaining at the forefront of service delivery to the oil and gas industry.
Absoft, one of the largest independent SAP consultancies in the UK, has created a new business practice focused solely on the industry.  The formation of the dedicated oil and gas business team as part of Absoft’s wider commercial offering represents the latest key phase in the company’s strategic development.
Established in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1991, Absoft today provides a complete range of SAP services to users across the UK, encompassing strategic consultancy, technical and functional implementation and development services, training and support.
It’s also a business partner and value-added reseller of SAP UK, supplying industry-specific, pre-configured SAP solutions to organisations across the upstream sector.  Its success is based on adopting a flexible and proactive approach to changing market dynamics and customer needs, tailoring its market offering and constantly enhancing its product range.
In recent years Absoft’s oil and gas interests have evolved from one focused primarily on foreign-based projects for a key client, to its diverse commercial activity of today.
Operations Director Don Valentine, leader of the oil and gas team said: “We have sought to move from a business model that was frankly unsustainable in the long term to one in which we established a broad customer base in the UK, across the industry spectrum, and featuring service offerings ranging from training and process audits to the supply of tailored SAP products.
“We’ve done that successfully and the establishment of an oil and gas team is a natural progression for us, bringing all our experience and expertise into a cohesive unit that means our customers get the best possible service.
“The oil and gas industry requires a specialised approach and we’re now well established as specialist service providers to many of its major players.
“Our new business structure has been very directly influenced by our energy customers – we asked them where they wanted us to concentrate our efforts – and via liaison with our staff to understand their aspirations and needs.
“One clear theme which emerged from our research was that in order to best meet the needs of the oil and gas sector, we needed to establish a core team whose passion and sole focus was to develop and support the oil and gas customer base.”
The new drive will see Absoft continue its work to establish relationships with an ever-wider range of business, from emerging operators through to service sector companies.
“Absoft has traditionally carried out a lot of work with the big operators such as Total, Talisman and Chevron. These companies are becoming increasingly interested in optimising their SAP asset and getting the best from it,” said Don.
“There is, however, also a desire among emerging operators to leverage affordable and scaleable business solutions which can expand with them as they mature. This desire is also evident amongst oilfield service companies who need integrated solutions to support duty holder and facilities management obligations. It is these types of companies – who are in it for the long-haul – that we believe we can help.”
Products – adding value
Absoft’s product portfolio is based on the key principles of adaptability and added-value. Its recently-launched software package designed to bolster the efficiency of small to midsize oil and gas operators is a case in point.
Advantage Oil and Gas is a sector-specific business management solution which has been developed in direct response to the needs of small and midsize operators.
It’s the latest in a range of SAP products tailored specifically for midmarket players in the upstream industry.
Don Valentine said: “Advantage Oil and Gas takes the strengths of SAP that are relevant to emerging operators and packages them up into a powerful proposition. It marks an important step in making SAP accessible to the growing upstream midmarket.”
Advantage Oil and Gas is a modular software solution and clients deploy only those functions they need. They can extend and enhance the system as appropriate when business requirements dictate. The core of the product includes financial management, joint venture accounting and analytics. Supply chain management and asset management functionality are optional extras.
Equally, Absoft’s Advantage HCM for Oil and Gas product provides the basis for dealing with many of the strategic issues associated with the modern-day industry.
As companies globalise and need to address the many HR-related complexities that go with it, Advantage HCM provides a complete view of all workforce-related processes across the business – ranging from payroll to the key area of competency management.
