Geoprofessionals data management report preview

Foreword

All subsurface projects need good geoscience data to make the best decisions. So where is this process going right, and where is it going wrong?

The technology to gather and manage such data is improving constantly, yet barriers remain to achieving those clear-sighted choices that drive success and profitability.

In this sixth edition of the Geoprofessionals Data Management Report Seequent set out to discover and share where those final challenges to true data empowerment may be hiding. And the results make compelling reading.

For example, the pursuit of a single source of truth for all data has never been more intense. It was critical to 17% of respondents in 2017 and 25% in 2020. But now, nearly 30% of those surveyed see it as fundamental to their jobs and organisations.

Establishing strong data management frameworks, tracking the chain of custody of data, and managing historical data are also regularly cited as issues of concern.

Fresh on the horizon is the impact of AI, machine learning and data science scripting. In 2020 around 23% of respondents were using or considering one or more of those techniques. In three years that’s leapt to nearly 40%, bringing a whole new set of questions around best practice and data security. In comparison, participants readiness to leverage the Cloud remained relatively steady.

Over the past 12 years, the Seequent Geoprofessionals Data Management Report has become a revealing – and sometimes surprising – window into data management challenges, how they twist and turn across all subsurface industries, and what those industries are doing to overcome them.

In Edition 6 the findings are perhaps more indicative than ever of where the form and future of good data management lie.

Executive Summary

The sixth edition of the Geoprofessionals Data Management survey achieved 704 responses from across the world and across a range of geoscience industries. This latest report explores the state of play with data management in the market, the key challenges being seen across the various industries, and a look to the future with emerging technologies.

Key takeaways

Over 70% stated that the data management is of high or critical importance to their organisation.

Data Management is viewed as an important issue across all industries, with over half of each individual industry stating its importance, however less than a third of respondents currently use an established data management framework with over half keeping data organised in various systems.

Over half of those without a data management framework are looking to implement one within the next 3 years.

Whilst the value can be seen in data management frameworks, there are also nearly 1 in 4 of those without an established framework who don’t know whether or not there is a plan to implement one, regardless of how important they find data management.

24% don’t have the information to make data driven decisions.

Almost 1 in 4 do not have the required information to support data driven decisions. When prompted as to what was missing, there was a specific call out for historical data as well as an integrated centralised database.

On average, 22 people interact with the data in an organisation.

With over 20 people interacting with the data in an organisation, challenges can arise such as difficulty knowing that the data set being used is the most current and best quality one available.

24% of geoprofessionals spend more than 30% of their time on Data management tasks.

Although a quarter of the market spend a large proportion of their time of data management, this figure shows a marked decrease vs 2020 where it was over a third.

Almost 80% claim to be early adopters of new technology.

Whilst almost 80% claim to be early adopters, this differs by management level, with Directors and above being much more likely to believe the organisation is an early adopter vs entry level employees.

58% stated that unmanaged historical data is a challenge for their organisation.

Unmanaged historical data was the most significant challenge for organisation, with respondents also having relatively less confidence in their organisation to handle it.

Almost 2 in 3 now use or would consider using AI, Machine Learning, Advanced Analytics and or Data Science Scripting.

There has been a significant increase in those using or considering the use of emerging technologies. With the highest use / consideration of use, almost one in two use or are considering the use of Data Science Scripting.

The need for a single point of truth has doubled since 2017. There has been continued growth in the reported importance of one point of access for all data / a single point of truth. In 2023 29% reported this as the most important outcome expected from resolving data management issues vs 25% in 2020, and 13% in 2017.

Introduction

The Geoprofessionals Data Management Survey is the sixth iteration of its kind, in field throughout May 2023 and receiving 704 responses in total. The survey was distributed to a randomised sample of Seequent contacts, and published on Linkedin and geo-professional sites. The survey and report have been drafted by a third-party research consultancy. This year, a total of 25 questions were asked on the topic of data management, covering areas such as:

Importance of geoscience data management and data types

• Key challenges in geoscience data management

• Barriers to geoscience data management success

• How geoscience organisations are overcoming their data management challenges

• Challenges faced when implementing a data management solution

• Level of readiness to leverage the Cloud for data management and access

• Main challenges when leveraging the Cloud for data management and access Data management frameworks

• Ease of data access

• Data practices (i.e. data science scripting, advanced analytics, AI, Machine Learning)

25 questions different countries, industries, and organisations

704 responses

Survey Statistics

The Mining industry made up 42% of the overall respondents, with the Civil industry accounting for 17%, 12% came from the Environmental industry, 10% from the Geothermal industry, 9% from Oil & Gas industry and 8% from the Governmental industry.

Amongst these different industries was a range of different job roles including Geologist (35%), Engineering Geologists (18%), Geophysicists (16%) other types of Engineers (29%) Data Managers (16%), Geoscientists (13%) and the remaining 21% made up of Project Managers, Business Owners and Procurement.

The 2023 Geoprofessionals Data Management Survey collected responses from a range of countries, industries, and organisations.

Role of data management

Subsurface data is of critical importance to timely and successful projects. The management of that data is equally important to ensure that the correct data is available and easily accessible to users. The 2023 Geoprofessionals Data Management Survey set out to explore the importance of data management, the time spent on data management tasks, and the prevalence of frameworks for data management and data chain of custody.

Importance of Data Management

71% of respondents rank Data Management as an issue of high or critical importance (see Fig.1). However, across job roles, the importance of data management is viewed differently, with Geoscientists (84%) and Geologists (83%) more likely to rank data management as a 4 or 5 out of 5 in terms of importance, and Engineers (61%) and Procurement (50%) the least likely.

Figure 1. THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA MANAGEMENT

Whilst data management is important in all industries with over 50% in each stating it as an issue of high or critical importance (see Fig 2), the Mining industry places a higher degree of importance on the issue with 81%. The Civil and Geothermal industries both place a lower degree of importance on data management at 55% and 57% respectively stating it is a high importance issue.

Importance of Different Data Types

Respondents also selected how important different types of data are to their organisation, with the results displayed in Figure 3 below. Geological and Drill hole or Well data remained the two most important, consistent with the findings from the 2020 survey after growth vs 2017. Reports & Documents and GIS & Imagery data have both continued increasing in importance since the 2015. The importance of different data types is heavily dependent on the industry however, with the Mining industry ranking importance for Geological, Drill Hole or Well data and Reports and Documents as the most important data types, whilst industries such as Civil placed higher importance on Geotechnical data, Reports & Documents and Design/CAD/BIM, (a new option added in 2023 but not featured in the graph below).

Figure 2. IMPORTANCE (4-5/5) OF DATA MANAGEMENT BY INDUSTRY

Figure 3. IMPORTANCE (4-5/5) OF DIFFERENT DATA TYPES

Current Storage of Data

50% of respondents are utilising folders or files on a centralised server to store and manage their data. This has increased vs the 2020 figure of 43% and reverting to similar levels as 2013 and 2015. Less than a fifth (18%) of geoscientists now manage their own data, showing consistent decline since 2017 (see Fig 4). The use of commercial solutions has remained steady after growth between 2017 and 2020 with a wide range of different solutions being used by different organisations.

Folders/files on a centralised server

Geoscientists manage own data

Commercial solution

Internally developed solution Other

Time Spent on Data Management

Time spent on data management tasks has fallen, with 24% of respondents spending over 30% of their / their geoscientists time on data management tasks, as opposed to 35% of respondents in 2020 (see Fig 5). Data Management is now much more likely to take up between 10-20% of Geoscientists time. The Mining industry is more likely to spend longer of data management with an average of 27% of their time spent on data management tasks, whilst only 22% of geoprofessionals time is taken up by data management tasks in the Civil industry (see Fig 6).

Figure 4. CURRENT METHOD OF DATA STORAGE / MANAGEMENT

Figure 5. TIME SPENT ON DATA MANAGEMENT

Data Management Complexity

In order to fully comprehend challenges, it is important to understand the complexity of managing the data that is being used and see if the frameworks in place are suited for the level of complexity. On average, respondents reported using an average of 4 different software solutions on their data throughout the life of a project, with 15% unsure of how many solutions are used on their organisations data (see Fig 7). There is also an average of 22 people interacting with the dataset, with 15% of respondents stating that there are over 50 people interacting with the data (see Fig 8).

Figure 6. AVERAGE % OF TIME SPENT ON DATA MANAGEMENT BY INDUSTRY

Figure 7. NUMBER OF SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS USED ON THE DATA

Figure 8. NUMBER OF PEOPLE INTERACTING WITH THE DATA

With an average of 22 people interacting with the data, an established data chain of custody can help to track and ensure the quality and security of the data. Only 45% of respondents however, had an established data chain of custody (see Fig 9). Whilst this did increase to 61% amongst respondents who stated that more than 20 people interact with the data, it still leaves over a third who either have a single point of data ownership, a data audit process or no established chain of custody at all.

We have an established data chain of custody framework

We do not have an established data chain of custody

We have a single point of data ownership, but no chain of custody

We have a data audit process which can be used for chain of custody

Prevalence of Established Data Management Frameworks

Whilst data management remains an important issue for most, less than a third of respondents have an established data management framework (see Fig 10), with the majority (53%) having data organised in various systems. Amongst respondents who classed data management as 4 or 5 out of 5 in importance, the figure was slightly higher at 37% with an established data management framework.

We do not have a defined data management framework We have data organised in various systems We have an established framework

The Mining industry, consistent with the higher importance it placed on data management, are more likely to have an established data management framework (see Fig 11). Oil and Gas, Civil and Geothermal industries however, are less are more likely to have data organised in various systems, with less than 20% of respondents having an established data management framework.

We have an established framework

We have data organised in various systems

We do not have a defined data management framework

Figure 9. PRESENCE OF DATA CHAIN OF CUSTODY

Figure 10. PRESENCE OF DATA MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Figure 11. PRESENCE OF DATA MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK BY INDUSTRY

For those that do not have an established data management framework, over half (56%) have plans to obtain one within the next three years (see Fig 12). However, 1 in 4 of respondents who don’t have an established data management framework don’t know the intention to get one, regardless of the level of importance placed on data management.

As can be seen in Figure 13, all the industries surveyed have over half of their respondents looking to implement a data management framework within the next 3 years. This is higher amongst the Oil and Gas, Environmental and Geothermal industries with a significant proportion of the Mining industry unsure of intentions to implement a framework if they don’t have one already.

Figure 12. INTENTION TO GET A DATA MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK AMONG THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE ONE

Figure 13. INTENTION TO IMPLEMENT DATA MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK BY INDUSTRY

02. Data management challenges

The 2023 Geoprofessionals Data Management Survey set out to fully understand the key challenges emerging for geoprofessionals around the world. Respondents were asked about their data management challenges, their challenges with collaboration and confidence in their organisation to handle certain areas. This study was also used to understand the usefulness of different solutions, with respondents being asked about the main challenges with solutions, preferred approaches to data management challenges and their most important outcome as a result of using a solution.

COVID-19 Impact on Data Management

Over the last few of years, Covid-19 has led to changes in ways of working across most industries, the 2023 edition of the study sought to understand how Covid-19 has impacted data management processes and practices. Almost a quarter of respondents stated that Covid-19 has highly impacted (4-5/5) their organisations’ data management with only 20% stating that there was no impact at all (see Fig 14). Oil & Gas and Governmental industries have been impacted more than other industries with almost half the respondents stating Covid-19 has had a high impact (4-5/5) (see Fig 15). Mining however, did not have as high an impact with 30% of Mining respondents stating that Covid-19 had no impact at all on their data management processes and practices.

Figure 14. IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON DATA MANAGEMENT PROCCESSES / PRACTICES

Figure 15. HIGH IMPACT (4-5/5) OF COVID-19 BY INDUSTRY

Current Data Management Challenge

In the latest survey, respondents were asked whether they have the information needed to make data driven decisions with almost 1 in 4 reporting that they do not. As visible in Figure 16 the lack of necessary information is more prevalent within the Mining industry (33%), and much less so within the Oil and Gas (12%) and Geothermal (9%) industries. When prompted as to what these respondents are lacking, two main themes emerged: accessible historical data and integrated / centralised databases.

Unmanaged Historical Data

Unmanaged historical data ranks as one of the most significant data management challenges organisations face, with 30% of respondents stating that it is a significant challenge for their organisation (see Fig 17). Alongside unmanaged historical data, there is a challenge around the accessibility of the data with dependency on key people and ease of finding and accessing data selected by over 50% of respondents as a challenge for their organisation (4-5/5).

What exacerbates the unmanaged historical data issue further is that respondents have relatively less confidence in their organisation to handle historical data with only 1 in 2 being firmly confident (4-5/5). This figure has remained the second lowest issue from the 2020 survey (see Fig 18), with the management of duplicated data the only issues respondents had less confidence in the organisation handling. The confidence in both the management of duplicated data and the access to historical data is much higher amongst more senior members compared to Manager, Mid and Entry Level positions (see Fig 19).

Figure 16. % THAT DON’T HAVE THE NECESSARY INFORMATION FOR DATA DRIVEN DECISIONS BY INDUSTRY

Figure 17. SIGNIFICANCE OF DATA MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

Challenges in Collaboration

Two thirds of respondents highlighted one of two challenges as the main difficulties when collaborating: having the most current and best quality version of the data (36%) and Real-time access to datasets in a useable format (30%) (See Fig 20). There has also been an increase vs 2020 in the proportion of respondents who stated that reporting tools to see who has accessed/edited the data is the biggest challenge when collaborating (8% in 2020 to 14% in 2023).

Knowing that you have the most current and best quality version of the data

Real-time access to datasets in useable format

Protecting datasets, restricting access (view/edit), ensuring security

Reporting tools to see who has accessed/edited data

Figure 18. CONFIDENCE (4-5/5) IN ORGANISATION HANDLING ISSUES

The relevancy of the data being used The quality of data being managed The quantity of data being managed Management of 3D models Access to historical data The management of duplicated data

Figure 19. CONFIDENCE (4-5/5) IN ORGANISATION TO HANDLE ISSUES BY SENIORITY

The relevancy of the data being used

The quality of data being managed The quantity of data being managed Management of 3D models Access to historical data The management of duplicated data

Figure 20. BIGGEST CHALLENGES WHEN COLLABORATING

Implementing Solutions

Almost 30% of respondents prefer purchasing and implementing Cloud solutions in order to address key data management challenges (see Fig 21). A further 27% purchase and implement the solutions in-house. Cloud implemented solutions are preferred by the Civil, Environmental and Oil & Gas industries, with Geothermal and Governmental industries more likely to approach challenges through in-house proprietary solutions and the Mining industry favouring purchased solutions implemented in-house.

When maintaining and populating these solutions, the most important factor with almost 1 in 3 respondents selecting it, is the level of time and resources the solution would require (see Fig 22). The importance of the time and resources has grown since the 2020 and 2017 iterations of this study as the importance placed on the complexity of integrating the data silos has fallen from 30% in 2020 to 21% in 2023. The importance of solutions adhering to standards, policies and or best practices is of growing importance, having increased from 15% in 2017 to 20% in 2023.

Figure 21. PREFERRED APPROACH TO ADDRESSING CHALLENGES

Purchase and implement a solution in the Cloud

and implement a solution in-house

an in-house proprietary solution

quo, allowing users to manage data

to external services group

Figure 22. MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN MAINTAINING AND POPULATING SOLUTION

The most important outcome of a given solution, with almost one in three respondents selecting it, is to get the full value out of the data available. This remains consistent with the 2020 findings, however one area seeing consistent change is the continued growth in the importance of a single point of access, (29% in 2023 vs 25% in 2020 and vs 13% in 2017) (see Fig 23). The importance of the outcome then differs by level in the company, with more Directors and above placing a much higher importance on the Quick return on investment (18%).

Figure 23. MOST IMPORTANT OUTCOME OF A SOLUTION

Challenges in Solutions

There are some barriers to purchasing and implementing the solutions however. The perceived cost is the number one challenge with implementing a solution, having increased significantly to 29% from 19% in 2020 (See Fig 24). Similarly to previous challenges, the perceived cost and financial impact is a great issue for more senior respondents with 35% of Directors and above selecting the perceived cost as the main challenge implementing a solution.

Figure 24. MAIN CHALLENGE IMPLEMENTING A SOLUTION

03. The future of data management

Given the consistently changing landscape of data management across multiple different industries, it is important to look to the future and be ready for further technological disruptors that could play a major role in the next few years of data management.

This survey looks towards the future, garnering an understanding of the level of openness to new technology, use of currently emerging technology and readiness as well as barriers to leveraging the cloud.

Focus on Future

With continuous disruptive technologies emerging, it’s important that geoprofessionals monitor new technologies and look to incorporate them where applicable. 78% of respondents claim to be early adopters (see Fig 25), stating that they either are among the first to use new technologies or use them when they’re still considered new. There is a distorted view of this early adoption between different job levels. Whilst 58% of Directors and above believe they are among the first to use / trial a technology, only 19% of entry level respondents believe the same. As evidenced in Figure 26, this view differs by industry with the Mining Industry (71%) less likely to state that they use or trial technologies when they are at least relatively new compared to industries such as Geothermal (91%) and Oil and Gas (86%).

Figure 25. LEVEL OF FUTURE FOCUS

We are usually among the first to use / trial new technologies

We use / trial new technologies when they’re still relatively new, but aren’t often the first

We only use / trial new technologies when we are in the minority by not using it

We are typically among the last to use / trial new technologies

Figure 26. LEVEL OF FUTURE FOCUS BY INDUSTRY

We are usually among the first to use / trial new technologies

We use / trial new technologies when they’re still relatively new, but aren’t often the first

We only use / trial new technologies when we are in the minority by not using it

We are typically among the last to use / trial new technologies

Emerging and Future Technologies

Since 2020, there has been increase in the proportion of respondents utilising some of the emerging technologies available to them. 64% of respondents are using or considering the use of Data Science scripting, Advanced Analytics, Machine Learning and or AI (see Fig 27), whilst 39% of respondents are using or considering the use of multiple. In 2020, these figures were significantly lower with 55% using or considering one or more of the technologies, and only 23% using or considering the use of multiple.

When probed around the technologies that will have a role to play in the future of the industry and data management, there was a focus on two areas. The first area was around the use of artificial intelligence and automation in order to reduce the time spent on medial tasks and driving both “efficiency and accuracy”. The other focus area was the use of the Cloud to enable real time collaboration and syncing across platforms.

Leveraging the Cloud

With the cloud set to play an important role in data management moving forward, 71% of respondents were at least Somewhat Ready to leverage the Cloud (see Fig 28) presenting only a very slight increase vs the 2020 findings. The Mining industry showed the least readiness to leverage the cloud with 29% of respondents either unsure or stating that they are not ready.

Those who are early adopters of new technologies are more likely to be ready to leverage the Cloud (see Fig 29), however there are still just under 20% of those who state that they are among the first to use and trial new technologies that either feel they are not ready for the Cloud or they are uncertain.

Figure 27. THE USE / CONSIDERATION OF CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES

Figure 28. READINESS TO LEVERAGE THE CLOUD

With the readiness to leverage the Cloud aligning with the respondents who stated they usually adopt new technology whilst it is still at least relatively new, this indicates industries such as Mining which are slightly slower to adopt new technologies, are in turn less likely to be ready to leverage the Cloud, whereas industries such as Geothermal are the most ready (see Fig 30).

The primary challenges facing the respondents to leverage the cloud were the security risks it poses, the cost and a lack of capability and skills (see Fig 31). The importance and value of the cloud can still be seen however, with Cloud solutions being the number one preferred approach to addressing challenges.

Figure 29. READINESS TO LEVERAGE THE CLOUD BY FUTURE FOCUS

Figure 30. READINESS TO LEVERAGE THE CLOUD BY INDUSTRY

Figure 31.

TO LEVERAGING THE CLOUD

Within each industry, there is a variation of factors that challenge respondents ability to leverage the cloud, however security stands out as a key issue for respondents in the Environmental, Governmental and Mining industries (see Fig32). There are some challenges more specific to industries such as ‘Jurisdictional compliance’ which is of much greater concern for those in Governmental and Oil and Gas industries, as well as the Performance which is more of a challenge within the Geothermal industry. Internet Access is of greater concern to the Civil industry than that of others.

32. BARRIERS TO LEVERAGING THE CLOUD BY INDUSTRY

Figure

Conclusion

So, what’s the good news?

The recognition that robust data management is important to your organisation is both growing and being acted upon. In 2020, the number of respondents with no defined data management framework stood at nearly a quarter. That’s dropped to less than 20% in this latest report, and more than half of those without such processes are planning to implement them within the next three years.

Perhaps as a result, geoprofessionals are wasting fewer of their critical working hours wrangling their data (and hopefully more of them putting it to use). The time geoprofessionals spend managing their own data has dropped significantly. In 2020, 35% of respondents confessed to spending nearly a third of their time doing it. Now that is fewer than 25%.

Areas for improvement…

Historical data can be vital in extracting new value from old assets. Yet managing it has emerged as one of this year’s biggest challenges –a clear area of concern considering the role of such data in future profit and the journey to sustainability. Only one in two of respondents felt firmly confident of their organisation’s ability to handle such data well.

A quarter of participants said they still didn’t have access to the data they needed to make robust and well-informed decisions.

And while data may be touched by an average of 22 people within an organisation, fewer than half of those surveyed said they had a reliable chain of custody in place.

So there’s still work to do…

Thank you to everyone who took part in the sixth Geoprofessionals Data Management survey in 2023 – it is your feedback which led to the illuminating insights shared in this report.

Seequent have been conducting and sharing this critical research since 2011, and hope these latest findings help to drive the subsurface industry forward in extracting more value from your data.

PLEASE NOTE: For any figures which include comparison to previous surveys, we have kept the methodology the same in order to deliver more accurate changes in perceptions and behaviours. This means data sets may differ slightly throughout the report.