Civil infrastructure geoprofessionals are ready to adopt the cloud

• 1 October 2023
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The report highlights time-consuming data management practices, with data residing in disparate “‘silos’”

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND, July 19, 2023 – Seequent, The Bentley Subsurface Company, today announced the findings of its latest Geoprofessionals Data Management Report, which looks at the trends, challenges, and opportunities in geoscience data.

Jo Knight, Chief Customer Officer, Seequent, said, “As civil infrastructure projects become larger, and budgets become tighter, it’s more crucial than ever for organisations to garner greater value from their data. Our aim is for the Geoprofessionals Data Management Report to shine a light on common and emerging challenges amongst the subsurface community so we can collectively address them. It is an initiative Seequent feels passionately about, and one which now spans over 12 years.”

The report revealed that across the civil sector, there is a remarkably high level of readiness to embrace cloud technology, with 85% of respondents indicating they are ready – the highest of all geoprofessional industries surveyed. Despite the positive outlook, the report identified barriers hindering the full potential of cloud adoption. Reliability, lack of skill/capability, and cost were identified as primary obstacles. Additionally, many respondents said that internet access was a significant challenge.

More than 700 geo professionals from sectors that work in the subsurface responded to the survey, including 120 civil engineering professionals. Other respondents included those from the mining, energy, and environment sectors. The report is the only one of its kind.

Other findings for the civil industry included:

• A staggering 67% of civil professionals acknowledge that they have data organised in various systems, indicating a lack of centralisation. The report also highlights a substantial amount of time spent on data management, with 24% of respondents devoting more than 30% of their working hours to this.
• Indeed, data management practices in the civil sector were found to be behind other sectors. Only 13% of respondents reported having an established framework for data management, in stark contrast to the mining sector’s 39%.
• However, the report also revealed a promising statistic, with 35% of respondents indicating their intention to implement a data management framework within the next 12-18 months.
• In terms of decision-making, 17% of respondents said they did not have access to necessary data, although this figure was lower when compared to other industries.
• Regarding technology adoption, 41% of civil professionals considered themselves early adopters of new technologies, suggesting a willingness to embrace innovation.

Pat McLarin, Segment Director, Civil, at Seequent, commented, “The report makes for fascinating reading and casts a sharp light on the deficiencies in data management across the civil sector. It also underscores the importance and urgency of implementing sound data management practices underpinned by digital workflows.

“It is reassuring to see that there is a readiness to adopt innovative technology and a strong appetite for change. Cloud-based solutions have progressed significantly in terms of cost efficiencies and reliability, and we need to do more to present their ease of implementation to the civil sector.”

The Geoprofessionals Data Management Report is in its sixth edition. Fieldwork was undertaken in May 2023, with a total of 704 responses. The highest response rate was from the Americas, and the civil industry made up 17% of the respondents overall.

Read Seequent’s Geoprofessionals Data Management Report Sixth Edition

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