Data-Driven Tools Boost Efficiency in Oil & Gas Software Use

Q: ​​Could you tell me about the origins of Open iT in Latin America and how the company positions itself in the oil and gas industry?

A: Noemi: Open iT Latin America was founded in 2021. In reality, we are part of Open iT Inc, which has been in the market for more than 25 years and is dedicated to optimizing IT assets. We measure, analyze, and optimize the use of software, cloud, and SaaS for companies, not only in oil and gas, but we can actually automate and optimize different industries. We work with oil and gas, engineering, aerospace, automotive, government, education, and electronics, to name a few. Globally, we are about 160 employees, all of them specialized in software or services for any type of software or licensing.

In the case of oil and gas, optimization is very important, and we rely heavily on our experience with companies we are currently optimizing, such as BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies. These companies work with us to achieve efficient software optimization. Some of the software we currently optimize are Eclipse, Merak, and Landmark, which are specialized oil and gas programs and very expensive. What we seek is that clients optimize these licenses, really knowing how many users they have and whether the licenses are being used correctly. Many times, companies assume they need 50 licenses for 50 employees, but in reality, they are not all necessary because usage is uneven, or employees are in different time zones and can be managed more efficiently. So, what we do is provide companies with the visibility of their licensing and its proper use.

Q: How does Open iT’s License Analyzer work, and what added value does it bring to companies in negotiating and managing their licenses?
A: Noemi: Our product is called License Analyzer, which shows the data of the licenses companies have, such as those in oil and gas. We work with different licensing types and various software programs. 

Alfonso Villanueva, Pre-Sales Engineer: What we basically do is measure. If you do not measure, you do not know what you have, and if you do not know what you have, you cannot make decisions about how many licenses to buy, which to remove, what is being used, and what is not. We often see that 30% of software is not used, it is there, being paid for, but it is outdated, with security issues and bugs. Through our analysis, companies can detect this, and then analyze the data through our reports, or with their own tools like Power BI or Tableau. The idea is that the data belongs to the client, and they can use it however they need. For example, a report for engineering might show what software is being used, by whom, and at what times, while a management report focuses more on costs, how much is being spent by department, project, or area. With this information, companies can negotiate with vendors: “I bought this many licenses, but I actually need fewer,” or even more, to keep efficiency.

Noemi: It is also important to add that we have trained personnel who can advise on license renewal negotiations, helping companies determine exactly what they need and the type of licensing that is most suitable. This applies not only to oil and gas but also to other industries with expensive software, such as design.

Q: What are some common problems companies face in managing licenses, and how does Open iT’s tool help solve them while generating ROI?

A: Alfonso: Many vendors sell you a batch of licenses, which you then distribute among engineers and geophysicists. Usually, companies buy about half as many licenses as employees. But during projects or peak times, such as when exploring a new site or building a new platform, demand spikes. Clients who do not use Open iT often resort to a WhatsApp group to manage licenses, which wastes productivity because while one user is looking for a license, someone else is using it. Sometimes, a license is left open all weekend by someone who is not working, preventing others from using it. What we do is identify these cases of unused or hoarded licenses, release them, and return them to the server so others can use them. This is mission-critical. We also provide dashboards showing in real time which servers are active, which failed, and which licenses are available. This makes software usage more efficient.

Noemi: Clients can also set their own rules in License Analyzer. For example, if a license is open for more than 24 hours, it can be automatically reclaimed. This does not mean work is lost; only the license is released, while the work is saved. Clients can choose whether to just send a reminder email or to automatically reclaim the license. The important thing is that clients have control and learn to measure and optimize with our tool. That is how ROI begins. Although we charge a fee for License Analyzer, clients can recover their investment in six months to a year, and we have seen savings of up to $1 million.

Q: How does Open iT address the shift toward cloud-based licensing in oil and gas, and how do you ensure clients achieve real efficiency rather than just more control by vendors?

A: Alfonso: Software is managed in different ways within companies. Some require license servers, others cloud licenses, or even USB dongles. We can measure all of these to get a complete picture of software use within the organization. In terms of trends, many are moving to the cloud. Some platforms still offer both options, but others are going fully cloud-based. Oil and gas has been slower to adopt, but everything points to the cloud. Even then, software is still installed locally, or as SaaS where users log in via browser to access geophysical data, modeling, and simulations. We can measure all this. Vendors push cloud transitions to increase control and require one license per user. But we step in to see whether licenses are really being used efficiently. Sometimes, companies buy an expensive license with 10 modules, but the user only needs 3. We identify these cases and reassign licenses to maximize efficiency.

Noemi: That is why we say our offering is not just about tracking clicks. We do not want people to think we are monitoring individual productivity. What we want is to help decision-makers in procurement make the best choices for the company and its users.

Q: How does Open iT help companies allocate licensing costs by project and forecast future needs using data and machine learning?

A: Noemi: We can break down licensing by project. For example, we can determine what percentage of licenses are used by Latin America versus the United States. If Latin America uses 20%, it pays 20% of the licensing. This helps companies allocate costs fairly and understand usage across projects.

Alfonso: There are also low-activity seasons when licenses are not needed. Our system can identify unused licenses and reassign them. Based on a year of usage data, we can project future needs, such as when a company knows it will hire 50 new people. Feeding this into a machine learning model provides a forecast: whether more licenses are needed in three months or not at all. The more data we have, the better the projections. That is how our plugins add value.

Q: What is Open iT’s biggest challenge in Latin America, and how are you working to raise awareness among companies about the potential to optimize and save on software costs?

A: Noemi: Our greatest value is the service we provide to companies. We even have internal and external certifications for optimization with Open iT. We are always in contact, across time zones, so clients can reach someone when needed. Our biggest challenge in Latin America is that many companies are not aware they can optimize and save on software. Many assume that if they have 100 employees, they need 100 licenses, instead of optimizing. Sometimes engineers have specialized licenses they do not really need but still hold. In Latin America, we need to become more aware of how much we are spending on software. In Europe and the U.S., companies are already asking for these services. They are learning how to use optimization to extract more value at each renewal. Companies here need education, everyone needs to learn how much is being spent and how optimization can generate savings.

Q: How does Open iT plan to grow in Latin America by 2030, and what differentiates your model from simply selling software licenses?

A: Noemi: Open iT’s presence in Latin America is very recent, only about five years, while globally we have been around for 25. Our goal here is for companies, whether oil and gas or others, to know that we can provide services locally and in their language. We offer support in Spanish and Portuguese, which is very important in the region. Looking ahead to 2030, we see growth by helping companies achieve savings and optimize software usage. For example, we have achieved savings of up to 39% for oil and gas companies, which is significant.

Alfonso: Another important point is that we are not just a product you buy, install, and forget. We are a service company. We stay with clients, providing reports, validating information, and supporting them in renewals and vendor negotiations. This is a long-term relationship, because companies undergo mergers, acquisitions, and divestments, so monitoring must be constant to ensure efficiency.

Open iT provides advanced metering and reporting solutions to help companies and institutions worldwide to make smarter decisions on managing engineering software licenses.