Arabianoilandgas.com presents a list of the top 10 Information Technology (IT) companies, in terms of revenue, servicing the regional oil and gas industry. The list has been prepared with inputs from the International Data Corporation (IDC)
Commenting on the this website’s online special report ranking IT companies catering to the Middle East’s oil and gas companies, Jebin George, senior research analyst – Verticals, IDC MEA & Turkey said, “The oil and gas companies in GCC are expected to spend $1.66bn on IT in 2016. Close to 43% of this spending is expected to go towards IT services.”
“The sector is going through turbulent times, with low oil prices impacting revenues. This is subsequently having an effect on IT budgets. However, the business focus on reducing costs to address pressure on revenues could translate into new IT initiatives aimed at increasing operational efficiency,” George said.
“Security remains the most important area of focus for energy-sector CIOs in the region. The level of automation in the industry is increasing, while the threat landscape is becoming increasingly complex, resulting in CIOs increasing their focus on IT security,” he further said.
Let’s get on with the rankings now…
10. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Indian IT major Tata Consultancy Services, part of the Indian business conglomerate of Tata, is making considerable strides in the Middle East’s oil and gas IT market. Having a strong presence in the region, being based out of Dubai, TCS has over 4,000 energy industry consultants on board and partnerships with SAP, Oracle and Microsft, among others to offer to the industry. ‘We have helped global energy companies achieve business agility through business transformation, IT-enabled process standardisation, optimisation of costs and deployment of best-in-class decision support systems’, TCS says on its website.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
9. International Turnkey Solutions
Kuwait-based International Turnkey Solutions (ITS) is partnering with the leading IT vendors in the energy sector to provide a mix of advanced services for the regional sector. ITS’ services help oil and gas companies optimise production and reduce costs, making the company a significant player in the local energy IT market.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
8. SAP
Cloud computing giant SAP is increasing its hold over the regional oil and gas industry. SAP supports a network of almost 3,500 global oil and gas companies, with over 50% of the world’s oil movements being managed with SAP products. ‘They (SAP services) provide the digital platform for simplification, innovation, and the acceleration of business goals’ the company says on its website.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
7. IBM
American IT giant International Business Machines (IBM) has been a long-term player in the Middle East’s oil and gas industry. Among its achievements doing business in with region’s energy industry is its work for the Kuwait Oil Company. IBM is helping KOC to reach the latter’s goal of producing 4mn barrels of oil per day of 2020.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
6. Diyar United Company
Kuwaiti IT major Diyar United Company (DUC) as a system integrator and as a service provider, has forged alliances with integration technology providers to grow its business. DUC has made major investments to improve its oil and gas services and, moreover, the company has also fostered an excellent working framework with various upstream solution providers in order to provide national oil companies with a single point of contact that their application integration needs.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
5. Accenture
Accenture has a different model of business to cater to the oil and gas industry – collaborating with other IT majors to increase its portfolio of services and expand its market reach. Accenture which had previously tied-up with SAP in 2014, has recently joined hands with Microsoft, making it one of the strongest ICT services provider.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
4. Hewlett Packard (HP)
Oil and gas is an integral part of American IT giant Hewlett Packard’s global business. HP is a leading provider of networking services to oil and gas companies in the region. HP enterprise networking services are designed to help energy companies rapidly deploy new services and enhance user connectivity and productivity; helping them achieve IT and business agility and continuity to better serve their customers.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
3. Mideast Data Systems (MDS)
Abu Dhabi-based Mideast Data Systems sits on Number 3 on our list. MDS has been operating in the UAE and the GCC for over 30 years now, and quite naturally has been catering to regional oil and gas companies, notably ADNOC. MDS has been nominated by IDC as the number one IT service Company in UAE for nine consecutive years. MDS UAE is part of the part of the international Holding MIDIS Group which operates all over Central East Europe, Middle East and Asia.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
2. Wipro
Indian IT giant Wipro sits on Number 2 in our list. The $7.5bn-worth company earns a significant 6% of its global revenues from its oil and gas business, and has traditionally depended on the energy sector for a sizable chunk of its earnings. Wipro made a considerable breakthrough in the energy ICT services sector in 2011 when it acquired the oil and gas technology services business of UK-based SAIC for about $211mn, thereby boosting its portfolio of services to the industry.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
1. Saudi Business Machines
Topping the list of IT companies operating in the oil and gas realm is Saudi Business Machines. The company was formed in 1947 when American IT giant IBM opened an office in Saudi Arabia to service the Arabian-American Oil Company (now Saudi Aramco). ‘With the rapid economic development in the Kingdom, Saudi Business Machines Ltd. (SBM) was established in 1981 as the General Marketing and Services Representative (GMSR) of IBM World Trade Corporation in Saudi Arabia’, the company says on its website. Catering to the world’s largest oil and gas company (also the world’s largest company; estimated to be worth trillions of dollars), naturally makes SBM the highest earning IT company in this sphere. Among SBM’s major delivered contracts for Aramco is securing the client/server network for Saudi Aramco using two RS/6000 running Oracle Parallel Servers with 80 Windows NT, enabling picture ID cards, signature and fingerprinting recognition. SBM also led the implementation of a joint system between IBM, IGS and SBM, connecting 45 refinery buildings, with over 1200 users, through an ATM network at Aramco’s Ras Tannura Refinery.
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC)
