Microsoft and Accenture Study Shows Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Still Wrestling With Information Overload

Oil and gas industry sees promise in IT standards, service-oriented architectures, cloud computing and social media; gives nod to upstream computing collaboration.

FLORENCE, Italy, September 20, 2010 - Upstream players are calling for a simpler and more unified computing
environment to help them manage information overload, according to a
Microsoft Corp. and Accenture survey released today at SPE's Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in Florence. Sixty-four percent cite a
simpler and more unified computing environment as very valuable to their job
performance. And more than one-third see an industrywide collaboration of
oilfield products and services providers, IT providers, industry IT standards
organizations, and upstream operating companies as most capable of bringing
about the needed improvements. Most-often cited benefits include easier
access to information, more accurate information and enhanced collaboration.

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In related news, the Microsoft Upstream Reference Architecture Initiative
(www.microsoft.com/industry/manufacturing/oilandgas/solutions/mura.mspx)
, an effort by Microsoft and its industry partners, continues to move
forward to define and expand a common reference architecture as the "unifying
language" and a force for productivity and integration in the industry. Since
the initiative's launch in June 2010, six industry players have announced
their participation in the initiative - Esri, Idea Integration Corp.,
Neofirma Inc., NetApp, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and The Information
Store Inc. - bringing the total number of initiative participants to 25.

"The sheer volume of upstream information produced by today's digital
oilfield environment has prompted oil and gas professionals to call for
systems and processes that drive better decision making and job performance,"
said Ali Ferling, managing director, Worldwide Oil & Gas Industry for
Microsoft. "Information overload in the form of siloed, redundant and
unstructured data often hinders proactive operations and collaboration.
Fortunately, next-generation information technologies are available today and
the Microsoft Upstream Reference Architecture Initiative is set to create a
more efficient upstream computing environment."

Computing trends survey findings

The Microsoft and Accenture Upstream Oil & Gas Computing Trends Survey
2010, which polled 172 upstream oil and gas professionals within national,
international and independent oil companies and service and supply companies
worldwide, found that for 44 percent of respondents, the upstream data
explosion continues to have a negative effect on their ability to get their
work done. They most often cited the following challenges:

    - Difficult and time-consuming search of diverse systems to find
      information (44 percent)
    - Data appearing in unstructured forms not easily captured or archived
      (44 percent)
    - Data stuck in individual repositories and not easily shared across
      disciplines (43 percent)
    - Too much redundant and/or unnecessary data available (35 percent)

In particular, respondents state that more extensive upstream IT
standards (57 percent), a service-oriented architecture approach (57
percent), cloud computing (30 percent), and social media (30 percent) hold
the most value for providing enhanced computing. Yet, company adoption of
these technologies lags behind worker interest. Fewer than one-quarter of
professionals polled said their company has fully implemented these tools.

"Of course the effective deployment of these technologies is critical,
and unfortunately there are few great examples in our industry," said Johan
Nell, upstream global lead, Energy Industry Group, Accenture. "We believe
that business-problem-driven solutions based on simplified, consistent
architectures are key."

"To ensure consistent information and application integration, the
industry will need close industry alignment among multiple solution
providers. This collaboration will allow upstream companies to streamline
business processes, onboard projects quickly, and be more agile and flexible
in their upstream operations," Ferling said.

Microsoft Upstream Reference Architecture Initiative updates

In recent months, the Microsoft Upstream Reference Architecture
Initiative participants advanced the development of architecture components
and expanded the reach of the collaboration. They have also defined the
foundation structure for the reference architecture based on a three-level
service-oriented architecture: Business Architecture, Application
Architecture and Infrastructure Architecture. And participants have developed
scenario demonstrations that illustrate how interoperability can be improved
among various products and vendors.

More information about the Microsoft and Accenture Upstream Oil and Gas
Computing Trends 2010 survey methodology and the full results can be found at
www.microsoft.com/oilandgas.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with more than 176,000 people serving clients in more
than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive
capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive
research on the world's most successful companies, Accenture collaborates
with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.
The company generated net revenues of US$21.58 billion for the fiscal year
ended Aug. 31, 2009. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize
their full potential.

Virginia Brooks of Brooks & Associates Public Relations, +1-214-923-5859, virginia at brooksandassociatespr.com, for Microsoft Corp.; or Wendy Grover of Microsoft Corp., +1-425-705-7609, wegrover at microsoft.com; or Christine Fields of Accenture, +1-330-234 6406, christine.fields at accenture.com. NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.