BUILDING YOUR FIRST DIGITAL TWIN? THINK BIG, START SMALL, SCALE FAST
Think scale from day one. If you think of a proof of concept, you will deliver a proof of concept. Consider high-volume user communities like operations and maintenance or cases that can be scaled to benefit adjacent assets and industries. Be specific and purposeful, focus on high-value use cases, and align digital twin strategy with business strategy. A simplified roadmap, innovative partnerships, modularity in technology and strong data foundations are all key. But placing the end-users and the data and process owners at the core of the strategy, and letting them own the product, will ultimately help create the passion, dedication, and ownership required for scale.
AND THE BEST TIME TO START?
The time to start your digital twin journey is now. There's no straight line to success – lean in, fail fast and move forward. Movement brings clarity. Start with the data you have available today. You will build a better Digital Twin tomorrow. But the greatest Digital Twin is one that you have now.
COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE!
Communicate widely and communicate deeply. Include people early in the process from across all departments and all levels. Don't reinvent the wheel. Buying into existing industrial software solutions will fast-track deployment, but no one company can offer a complete set of solutions. Collaborate with strategic partners that provide distinctive capabilities and are open to innovative partnership models. Modularity of technology is fundamental. Successful decarbonisation and digital transformation will come from multiple collaborations across government, industries, sectors, and value chains.
HOW DO YOU BUILD A DATA-CENTRIC CULTURE?
One size doesn't fit all. Start at the top, engage leadership, improve data transparency and organisation, standardise processes, and measure with variety. The strategy must be relevant and recognisable at all levels of the organisation and perceived as a win-win for all parties involved. Trust in your partners, and trust in your people. Give them all the space to fail fast and learn – listening and learning are critical. Pivot and find value, celebrate and share learnings so they can be applied across the organisation. Technology should not be viewed as a threat to employees; it will augment individuals' capabilities rather than replace them.
WHEN YOU HAVE A CULTURE OF COLLABORATION AND TRUST, YOU HAVE DEMOCRACY
To fully reap the rewards that AI offers, business leaders must democratise AI. Putting AI into the hands of non-data scientists and making it accessible to every area of the organisation will empower employees to actively shape their AI journeys. Organisations must invest in culture and leadership and establish new ways of working, providing education and training. Promoting AI governance will deliver transparent and ethical AI for accountability, responsibility and oversight, removing AI from its "black box" and engendering trust. A user-centred approach will enable end-users to help identify the best use cases – they can frame the business problem and define their requirements for AI processes. Credibility, confidence, and smarter AI will come from investing in a strong data foundation. Leaders must embrace an AI-driven operating model to fully harness AI's potential and drive value at scale across the organisation.
MORE WORK IS NEEDED TO IMPROVE DATA STANDARDS AND INTEROPERABILITY
We need an open approach to Digital Twin – open standards, data, open source, and open innovation. Data standards are crucial for building and sustaining reliable interoperability for Digital Twins. If you don't trust the interoperability between different sources and systems, you will never break down silos.
A SLOW BURN FOR BLOCKCHAIN
Blockchain enables fast, controlled, immutable, transparent and auditable B2B transactions between network participants, suppliers, distributors and partners. From supply chain management to exploration and production, the technology can help streamline operations, mitigate risks, and enhance efficiency across the value chain. But security, privacy, and trust are key concerns, and education is critical. While there's a growing understanding that blockchain has a big role to play in the oil and gas industry, including ESG, the legacy technology and ideals the sector is built upon may create challenges in terms of speedy adoption.
NET ZERO NEEDS CONNECTED DIGITAL TWINS
The energy transition is the biggest challenge we've ever faced, and we need to step up and start now. Achieving net zero is a system-based challenge and requires a systems-based solution. The more we can get interoperability, and the more we can get Digital Twins to talk to each other across all sectors, the more options we give ourselves for making better decisions at a system level. A successful ecosystem of connected digital twins will only emerge when high-quality data can be shared securely and resiliently across organisations and sectors.
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