Monitoring the state of oil pipelines built far from metropolitan areas is no small task, but the Willbros Group, Inc. tackles it with help from Amazon.com, Inc.’s Amazon Web Services (AWS). Jason Cradit, VP of Information Systems at the Willbros Group, Inc, said that his employer chose AWS because connectivity and analytics are paramount to its ability to deliver value to customers.

The ability to “drive value hour by hour” is a top priority for the Willbros Group. It needs to provide clear, accurate analytics and predictions because it costs so much for their customers to repair physical assets — and even more if those assets should fail without warning. Analytics like “skate information” and a “pipeline integrity report” offer customers options other than just shutting down the pipeline to figure out whether something is wrong. Armed with AWS analytics, Willbros Group offers customers a contextual awareness that can help “extend the life of an asset,” Cradit said.

Willbros used to build pipelines themselves, said Cradit, but realized that “those products will eventually go away,” but “the need for information and contextual awareness isn’t going away.” At present, Cradit explained, the Willbros group wants “to become an engineering technology company that also builds energy assets.”

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