Repsol S.A. (Madrid, Spain) will begin marketing ARiA, its proprietary, cloud-based data and analytics platform, in collaboration with Accenture (Dublin, Ireland). Originally conceived for internal use by Repsol, the platform will now assist other companies in accelerating the use of big data and deploying artificial intelligence (AI) at scale. ARiA is designed to facilitate the democratization of an organization’s data maximizing business value and facilitating more agile decision-making.
The ARiA platform includes data ingestion solutions, various cloud storage alternatives included in Microsoft’s Azure, data governance tools, development lab, and machine learning models. The platform also offers a wide array of self-service tools. All these features make it possible for any employee, regardless of one’s knowledge of analytics, to make decisions based on data.
Accenture will design, develop, and launch a marketing plan for ARiA, using its experience and industry expertise both in Spain and around the world. This will include drawing up technical and commercial proposals with input from Repsol based on its expert knowledge as the platform’s developer. Repsol will also provide suggestions and guidance on how to create a data-driven culture within organizations by scaling up the use of big data and artificial intelligence, should this be among potential customers’ needs.
Working together, Repsol and Accenture will also identify the possible solutions developed using ARiA that can be marketed for use in other companies. These could include specific business solutions based on artificial intelligence and machine learning for industrial, commercial, or management applications.
This initiative builds on the ongoing project of both companies focused on the development, operation, and maintenance of the data platform over the next five years. This project has made Accenture one of Repsol’s primary collaborators in its digital transformation journey.
ARiA, Repsol’s own personalized digital brain
Two years ago, Repsol decided to invest in the development of a proprietary big data and analytics platform based on Microsoft’s Azure cloud service. Its purpose was to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence solutions and scale up the use of data and data analytics to be applied in the majority of the processes in all the company’s business units.
The goal was to have a single platform that would act as the company’s “digital brain” and could be used to capture and extract data from all the various sources in each business unit and corporate area. This data would be stored in data lakes — repositories capable of storing large amounts of raw data of any kind. There it would wait to be used for a decision-making need, either in the company’s advanced analytics “lab” or through one of the self-service tools available to employees.
As such, all of Repsol’s digital analytics cases have been built upon ARiA, extracting all the knowledge contained in the data and developing models and algorithms that provide the maximum intelligence possible to processes and decision-making. The platform also adapts to the needs and capacities of each user based on data consumption and processing, thus performing efficiently, with agility, and on a large scale.
ARiA has directly contributed to meeting a sizable portion of the objectives of Repsol’s Digital Program. The program has obtained returns of up to €300 million through 2020, of which €150 million are specifically linked to the use of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence.
Thanks to its features, structure, and innovative profile as a platform built in the cloud, ARiA is also enabling Repsol to look ahead and position itself with respect to the next generation of technologies based on data and artificial intelligence.
Digitalization, a key component for sustainability and efficiency
Repsol launched its Digitalization Plan in 2017 as a key element in tackling the challenges of the energy transition and sustainability, helping to reduce emissions, and make progress towards decarbonization of our societies. The plan seeks to rely on various digital tools and technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things.
Having already passed the halfway mark, the plan has brought about important changes in Repsol’s corporate culture in terms of the value placed on data. Just as importantly, these changes have taken effect throughout the company’s business units, with a systematized methodology that makes it possible to anticipate decisions and achieve important efficiencies.
During this time, 280 digital initiatives have been launched, 60% of which include a significant component of analysis of advanced data or the use of artificial intelligence. This forward-looking undertaking is made possible thanks to having a platform such as ARiA among the company’s resources, in addition to the data-driven culture adopted by all business units.