MG Bryan breaks into cloud-based asset management

The company, which serves the oil and gas industry, is working with Rockwell Automation and Microsoft, piloting the system, which is based on Windows Azure cloud computing. Sujeet Chand, chief technology officer at Rockwell Automation, says that basing the system on Azure enables secure remote access to real-time information, automated maintenance alerts, and service and parts delivery requests. For MG Bryan, it's all about improving productivity and business intelligence. "In the oil and gas industry, production has to follow the resources and never takes a break," comments Matt Bryan, president of MG Bryan. He explains that fracturing vehicles operate in extreme, isolated environments, and typically require new oil filters every 200 hours, plus complete engine rebuilds after 4,000 to 5,000 hours of service. "Leveraging the cloud, we can cost-effectively keep tabs on our equipment and help customers maximise asset uptime, dramatically improving their return on investment," states Bryan. Rockwell Automation upgraded MG Bryan's fracturing equipment with a control and information system that brings together disparate information sources, including historical, relational and transactional data. Using mobile technology and seamless transfer of business information over the cloud, MG Bryan gains access to considerable intelligence, enabling what it sees as new levels of customer service in this industry. "For MG Bryan, the cloud offers a highly scalable, cost-efficient method for storing and remotely accessing real-time information that will help extend equipment lifecycles and optimise productivity," comments Chand. "Focusing on building solutions that consider productivity, user-friendliness and connected intelligence in a scalable platform is how we leverage the pillars of Microsoft's 'Discrete Industry Reference Architecture'," he continues. "We see this as an attractive solution for many other equipment builders and end users around the world."