About GeoEnpro Petroleum Ltd
GeoEnpro is a private-sector oil and gas exploration and production company, operating 41 wells in Kharsang Oilfield in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Headquartered in New Delhi, GeoEnpro employs around 100 people.
Challenge
The nature of GeoEnpro's business requires employees to respond immediately to vendor queries on a routine basis. With many employees located in the remote site where the public communication infrastructure is unreliable, it was hard to be sufficiently responsive.
Staff would frequently travel several kilometres to send daily reports and other important messages by fax to headquarter. Faxing documents also posed security risks for confidential information. Furthermore, this method of communication was unreliable, and the resulting communications were often not completely legible.
GeoEnpro needed a collaboration solution that would enable its employees to exchange data reliably between its head office and remote site, offering a fast and stable channel for collaboration, while ensuring the utmost confidentiality and security.
Novell Solution
Working closely with Novell's team of consultants, GeoEnpro implemented Novell Open Workgroup Suite, which enables collaborative working for both office-based and remote staff. GeoEnpro implemented the software in phases to ensure a smooth transition, and to encourage user uptake at the production sites where training was less accessible.
"Novell Open Workgroup Suite offered all of the features that we needed at a cost-effective price," said Ramesh Daryani, Senior Executive, IT & MIS, GeoEnpro Petroleum Ltd. "It was clear that the Novell solution offered far better value than anything else on the market."
Remote workers now connect to the server in the GeoEnpro headquarters using VSAT technology. The Novell solution provides shared storage spaces and synchronises reports created on local PCs automatically, reducing paperwork and helping to share accurate information throughout the business.
Central IT staff use Novell eDirectory™ to ensure that only authorised employees are able to access local and central services. With Novell GroupWise® running on SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server, remote users now have their own private mailboxes, ensuring high levels of security and confidentiality as well as greater efficiency.
Novell Open Enterprise Server features such as Novell iFolder®, Novell iPrint and Novell Storage Services provide GeoEnpro with the scalability and flexibility it needs to deal with an increasing volume of data. The company is now rolling out Novell ZENworks® to monitor and manage the IT infrastructure at its remote site.
Results
"GeoEnpro used the Novell solution to communicate crucial information such as well logs and daily drilling reports curing its Phase I drilling campaign," said Daryani. "We were able to exchange data rapidly and reliably between the site office and headquarters, helping us to take the right business decisions without delay. The Novell software solution played a key role in exchanging crucial information successfully."
By implementing Novell Open Workgroup Suite, GeoEnpro has created a secure and reliable collaboration infrastructure for all employees, regardless of location. Timely delivery of information to management has improved, helping to speed up business decisions.
"The Novell software provides a secure and reliable collaboration system that enables our head office and remote site teams to stay in touch with one another and the outside world," said Daryani. "The Novell solution has reduced our administrative and communication costs and, most important, freed up our employees so that they can focus on more productive work."
"The Novell team had a personable and proactive approach that helped us address all potential issues," said Daryani. "Based on our positive experience with Novell's support team and its reliable, cost-saving and open source compliant solutions, GeoEnpro looks forward to a successful longer-term relationship."